The process of making a complete relief pattern on metal by forcing, by a blow of a hammer, a punch with the desired pattern in relief (cameo or male) into a metal sheet placed over a correspondingdepressed (intaglio or female) mould, or vice versa. This process, unlike the repoussé (embossing) process, permits the making of a number of identicalobjects, and was an early method of mass production.The process was used in ancient Greece for metal jewelry, and also in making Renaissance articles in the 16th century; it was highly developed in the 19th century to make mass-produced jewelry. It isnow done by die stamping or on a mechanical press by machine stamping.