Ntsikelelo Shange Jewellery Practice 3 2019: 2019

RESEARCH

COMBINATION OF GRANULATION AND FILIGREE

Granulation is a jewellery manufacturing technique whereby a surface is covered in spheres or granules of precious metal.The ancient technique called granulation is a specialized version of fusing in which tiny spheres “granules” are attached to a piece with such a delicate fillet that they appear to be simply set into place. The result is a rich yet delicate pattern of great beauty.

· Metals

· Pure gold and silver can be used for granulation, as can alloys with high proportions of pure metal. For gold, alloys over Au 750 are recommended; for silver, though sterling (Ag 925) can be used, mixtures with a higher percentage of silver are recommended. Gold and silver can be mixed, as can different alloys. It is possible, for example, to fuse gold granules onto silver sheet, or to use golds of different karats in the same piece.

· Making the Granules

· Roll a sheet of metal as thin as possible and use scissors to cut parallel lines, making a fringe.Cut across this at a right angle to create tiny squares (pallions) as is done when cutting solder. Alternately, it is also possible to snip a fine wire into short pieces. For extremely fine granules, catch the dust made with a coarse file.

· In order to prevent the pieces from melting into each other in the next step, the small pieces are moistened and stirred into powdered charcoal with a miniature whisk. This will coat each piece with a fine layer of powder. Sprinkle a half inch layer of charcoal powder into a crucible then distribute the gold pieces over it. Add another layer of charcoal powder and sprinkle in more chips, continuing until the crucible is full.

· Set the assembly into a kiln and heat it until the crucible glows red. Use a spoon to lift out a small sampling, which is dropped in a container of water. If the granules have formed spheres, the heating is done and the rest of the batch can be retrieved. The contents of the crucible are poured into a container, rinsed and then dried.

· It is also possible to simply set the gold pieces on a charcoal block and heat them with a torch, a method that is particularly useful when only a few granules are being made. A disadvantage with this method is that the spheres tend to have a small flat facet, especially in the larger granules.

· To sort granules by size, make a graduated series of sieves using either commercially obtained screens or disks drilled with holes of different sizes. There are several approaches to this; many use a tube to rank the sieves in sequence, enabling the granules to be sorted and stored in each section according to size.

Filigree is a unique piece that incorporates handcrafted twisted threads of precious metal into its design. The metal is then soldered to the Gold or Silver jewellery and can take the shape of lacy flourishes, beautiful scroll work, symmetrical Art Deco style designs, among other astonishing motifs. It’s good to point out that Filigree can also be used to describe any pattern in jewellery that can be seen as delicate and sophisticated.
History of Filigree Jewellery

Filigree is an incredibly old art form which has a rich history in jewellery design and beyond. It has been featured on other things like trophies, bowls and buttons incorporating Filigree patterns for decoration. Filigree jewellery was discovered and unearthed in the ancient Mesopotamia area and this was about 5000 years ago. Filigree was also popular during Roman times, extending throughout the empire.

Moving forward, jewellery designers started creating ornamental pieces with complex design, drawing inspiration from ancient Filigree art and lace designs.

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