This soldering process has possible roots in Ancient Greek and Etruscan times.
A word often misused to describe jewellery with lots of detail. Filigree is a process where Gold or Silver wires are soldered onto the side of a piece of jewellery to create beautiful patterns.
Today the phrase is more often used to describe the crown of a ring where holes have been cut, drilled, punched or indeed styled into a mould. The more accurate name for this style of work is “ajoure”.
It is believed that filigree got its name by combining the Latin words for thread “filum”, and “granum” meaning grain.
Sarah Bennett is fond of adding intricate detail to designs by the delicate use of filigree work, often setting 18K gold prongs on Sterling Silver pieces; and with more and more leading jewellery designers experimenting with non precious metals, resins and plastics, many are using silver or gold filigree detail in order to classify their pieces as “precious”.
