Annealing is a jewellery term referring to the process of heating and pounding glass, metal or pottery to harden it.
Annealing is the process of heating a metal and then cooling it to make it more workable. As metal is hammered, rolled, etc. stresses make the metal brittle. Annealing the metal make the metal re-crystallize, putting the molecules in an orderly structure. The temperature and amount of time it takes for annealing a metal depends on what metal or alloy it is. Large pieces are annealed in an annealing oven; small pieces are annealed using a blow-torch.