In the light of the new find from Ebreichsdorf (in this volume), this contribution reconsiders Bronze Age precious metal vessels from Northern, Western and Central Europe. In this article the focus is on gold vessels, only one short mentioning of silver vessels. These luxury and ceremonial objects appear in various shapes and dimensions during the Bronze Age. On the basis of case studies from Spain to Scandinavia, this paper offers an overview of numerous aspects of the precious metal vessels. The find circumstances provide insight into a few burial and numerous hoard contexts. The technical aspects of production concern the tools and the chaîne opératoire, from the ingot to the decorated finished product. This includes, in addition to the shaping by casting or plastic deformation of the body of the vessel, the execution of the decorative patterns as well as techniques for attaching handles. This part of the history of technology is supported by information from experimental archaeology, ethnoarchaeology, textual sources and Medieval and Renaissance representations relating to the manufacture of metal vessels.