This is how a Royal Selangor figure is made — from melting to finished work of art

Raw material for artwork: a 20-step journey

A Royal Selangor collectible — say, a Harry Potter figurine or a Zodiac dragon — can take 20 to 30 separate process steps from raw pewter to finished object. Here is the whole journey, told step by step.

Steps 1-3: Design and Shape

Each new Royal Selangor piece begins with a designer. Whether it's a collaborative piece (to match a licensor's visual universe) or an original design, the piece is drawn in detail — often in 3D CAD — before being sculpted by hand or digitally to create the master shape.

The master mold is of the utmost importance: all the details engraved here will appear in every single piece produced. Royal Selangor's own designers and sculptors are among the most experienced in the industry.

Steps 4-6: Mold-making and casting

From the master mold, production molds are made — from sand, rubber or metal, depending on the complexity of the piece. The liquid tin — heated to 250–280 °C — is poured or centrifuged into the molds. Cooling takes minutes for simple pieces, longer for complex shapes.

Steps 7-10: Removal, filing and cleaning

After the block is removed from the mold, the labor-intensive craft begins. Molding seams are removed with precision files. Any imperfections are identified and corrected. Separate components — body, arms, bases, accessories — are filed individually.

Steps 11-14: Assembly and soldering

For figures with multiple parts, the components are soldered together with a precision soldering iron. A good soldering session is invisible — the seam disappears into the design. After soldering, the piece is thoroughly scrubbed to remove flux residues and prepared for finishing work.

Steps 15-18: Polishing, finishing and engraving

Here the character of the piece is determined. Satin finish, brilliant, antique or a combination? The polishing techniques are practiced with care. For pieces with an antique finish, a chemical patina is applied to darken the depressions — followed by polishing the high points to create the contrast.

Then, for pieces with engraving: initials, dates, logos or ornaments are engraved by experienced engravers.

Steps 19-20: Quality control and packaging

Each finished piece is manually inspected by a quality controller looking for surface defects, geometric symmetry and proper finish. Approved pieces are placed in Royal Selangor's signature presentation box — ready to ship worldwide.

The piece you receive has undergone all of this. The next time you hold a Royal Selangor piece — do you know it?