With the right size, materials, and design parameters determined, the Finkey surfboard necklace was finally beginning to take shape. What started as a simple idea, a wearable fin key that doubles as stylish jewelry, soon revealed a new set of challenges. Turning this functional concept into a reliable, everyday piece meant carefully addressing details that aren’t obvious at first glance, from durability and comfort to precision in every fold and mechanism, ensuring that each necklace would perform perfectly while still looking elegant and effortless.
Designing What You Don’t See
One of the most important elements of Finkey Jewelry is something almost invisible: the concealed locking mechanism.
Because the necklace folds open to function as a fin key, it needed to stay firmly closed while being worn. No accidental folding. No rattling. No compromise on comfort or safety.
We spent a lot of time engineering a locking system that was discreet, intuitive, and strong, one that preserved the clean surfboard silhouette while ensuring the necklace behaved like jewelry first, tool second.
Choosing the Right Production Method
Once the design was dialed in, the next big decision was how to produce it.
Due to the fine details, tight tolerances, and mechanical functionality, traditional casting methods simply wouldn’t deliver the precision we needed. Metal Injection Molding (MIM) quickly became the only suitable production path.
MIM allows for:
- Extremely high detail
- Consistent accuracy at scale
- Strong, durable metal parts
It also comes with strict design requirements.
Adapting the Design for Manufacturing
After finding the right production partner in China, we learned that the original design had to evolve again. Finkey Jewelry requires precision, and Metal Injection Molding demands specific wall thicknesses, radii, and tolerances, where every small change can affect how the final product behaves.
What followed were months of tweaking:
- Adjusting the geometry
- Refining internal clearances
- Modifying molds
- Testing new samples
Eventually, everything looked perfect or so we thought.
When Reality Hits: The First Production Run
The first small production order arrived, and at first glance, the pieces looked great. Clean lines, solid weight, and a premium feel.
But once assembled, an issue appeared.
Because the front and back parts of the necklace were polished individually, tiny gaps formed between the two pieces when they were put together. It wasn’t a structural problem, but visually, it wasn’t up to our standards.
For a piece of jewelry, those details matter.
Solving It Together
Instead of accepting a compromise, we went back to the drawing board with our production partner. Through close cooperation and problem-solving, we developed a new polishing process: the two parts would be polished together, as one surface. A fixture would make that possible, much like the craftsmanship and tradition explored in The Ancient Origins of Surfing, showing how attention to detail has always shaped surf culture.
This small change made a huge difference.
The gaps disappeared, the surfaces flowed seamlessly into each other, and the necklace finally looked and felt the way it was always meant to.
Built the Hard Way: The Right Way
Part Two of the Finkey journey was about learning that great products aren’t just designed they’re refined through mistakes, adjustments, and persistence.
Every challenge brought us closer to a piece of surf jewelry that’s not only functional and durable, but also something you’re proud to wear every day.
