Filigree Art... Part of jewelry' Heritage

Filigree is a form of intricate metalwork used in jewelry and other small forms of metalwork.

Hany Yakot, one of the Filigree jewelers, says: the filigree is a design element that requires very delicate, intricate metalwork. Many consider it an art form passed down through history for millennia. Filigree has been used on everything from fine jewelry".

the filigree, an ancient jewellery art form, and you envisage gossamer threads of gold and silver interwoven intricately to create a magical web of forms – light in weight, but heavy on style! The age-old jewellery making craft has won many hearts over generations.

Filigree is a complicated handcrafted jewellery art form that was practised since the 6th century BC in Greece and Etruria, and later the art took root in Italy, Egypt, India and Armenia.

The name filigree is composed of two words – Latin for ‘filum’ which means thread, and ‘granum’ or grain. The process to make filigreed jewels is tedious, to say the least. Silver or gold bars are first melted and converted into rods, which are then placed inside machines that draw out thin wires. For instance, a gram of silver can produce a kilometre-long wire.

However, it’s said that the art of filigree jewelry really exploded in popularity during the reign of King Edward VII during the Art Nouveau era. King Edward was considered to be quite a fashion-forward fellow. He is credited as the one who came up with the idea of combining precious metals like platinum with precious gemstones like white diamonds, to create a monochromatic look that is still extremely popular today.

Today, to find hand-crafted filigree jewelry means you have to find a jeweler that has specialized skills. Once upon a time, these skills were commonplace, and filigree work was really the norm more than the exception.

The wiring work in filigree goes through several processes like annealing, straightening, twisting, and flattening. Various types of thin wires of gold and silver are twisted, braided, coiled and soldered with ‘rava’ or granules in an aesthetic manner in the voluminous web-like designs – and all this demands precision often requiring delicate work with fingers or tweezers. The end result looks a lot like lacy flourishes, which is why it’s so prized by people who adore the beauty of antique designs and vintage styles.

yakout , “The art of creating jewellery from golden wires and balls requires utmost concentration, patience and skill. Unfortunately, with digitalisation, patience and skill are virtues that are almost alien to our young artisans, thus making this a rare and dying art. We, as a jewellery industry, need to make efforts to preserve it.

Filigree rings are made by creating intricate designs using fine threads of silver or gold wiring. Some jewelers also use bronze or platinum for filigree work. You’ll find that the basic structure when creating filigree rings comes in four types.

The first type is called openwork. This type of filigree design uses heavier wire that is soldered together at its touchpoints and has no backing.

There is also ground-supported filigree, the second type. This type solders all wire points to a supporting surface.

Sometimes openwork and ground-supported filigree work are combined to create a third type. Combining these two means that openwork wires are attached to a supporting surface. Note that there are also other types of attachments besides soldering, including rivets, split rivets, claws, or bezels.

The fourth type might be one of the above types but it uses added material as filling between the wires, such as enamel.

All of these types of filigree work can be applied to creating jewelry, including wedding and engagement rings.

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