Designers are giving the ancient art of filigree jewelry a contemporary twist.
In 3,000 BCE in Mesopotamia — the area we now call the Middle East — artisans wound delicate silver and gold wires together by hand to create the intricate patterns that adorned the jewels of the time. Though millennia have passed since then, there is a clutch of contemporary jewelers still working with this ancient technique. The artisanal skill is surprisingly versatile, offering tightly packed mesh-like effects or simple winding forms for minimalist, contemporary looks. There are also jewels that take inspiration from the style of filigree work, but use more cost-effective casting methods to achieve it.
Natalie Perry . The jeweler’s inaugural collection, Floral Fragments, uses fair-trade gold and diamonds to mimic the millennia-old artistry of filigree.Eleuterio. The Portuguese filigree master made its Couture debut this year with a line of 1930s-inspired gold and diamond jewels blackened with ruthenium.Al Coro. The decorative metalwork of this rose gold Amalfi bracelet, with 334 white diamonds, takes inspiration from the Italian coastAmma Jewelry. This Dutch jeweler has used filigree to create a gold butterfly clasp with a marquise-cut, 0.47-carat diamond on a string of freshwater pearls.Filipa Oliveira. Tightly wound oxidized-silver filigree creates a striking design, framed within the archways of these gold and diamond earrings.Christina Soubli. This Greece-based designer uses the filigree technique to wind gold wire by hand into minimalist circles that adorn its fashion-forward gold and diamond ear climbers.
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