Cuttlefish is a Mollusk making it cousin to the Squid. When the Cuttlefish dies its “bone” or more accurate internal shell washes up on beaches all over the world.

The cuttlefish “Bone” is very familiar to many people with budgies (budgies use it to sharpen their beaks), but for goldsmiths it is an excellent tool for casting.

Since the bone is soft (it can be scratched with a fingernail) it can be carved into with various tools to create a mold to cast molten metal into.

The bone itself also has a very distinctive “waive” texture and each bone is unique in its pattern. With great care the texture can be preserved and used as a design element in the cast piece of Sterling Silver jewellery.