Wearing jewelry accessories can add glamour to people’s clothes and looks. Most western countries pay more attention to the design of jewelry. They regard the design of jewelry as a kind of artistic creation, so they will look at jewelry with the eyes of artistic appreciation and aesthetic appreciation. While the art appreciation of jewelry in China started later than abroad, fortunately, the development of the art field is still relatively fast, and now our jewelry industry is very mature. When designing jewelry, we incorporate many common art forms, which helps to enhance the artistic value of jewelry.
What are the characteristics of metal engraving?
The art of jewelry engraving, as the name suggests, is the art of using various engraving techniques in the process of jewelry making. Metal and gemstones are the two most important materials used for jewelry engraving. Gemstones used for carving include Hetian jade, crystal, onyx, jadeite, tourmaline and so on. In the thousands of years of traditional Chinese craftsmanship, gemstone carving has gone through several stages of knife carving, axe carving and jade carving, leaving a colorful mark in history. Gemstone carvers in ancient times pursued a simple and abstract style, and in modern times carvers preferred to visualize their carvings by combining carving and painting.
Along with the accelerated pace of China’s scientific and technological development, the number of rare materials that can be used for gemstone carving has also increased. This also inspires the carvers to exert their independent innovation ability, combine modern ideas with technology, and strive to carve out more characteristic works.
The application of metal engraving in jewelry is that precious metals such as gold, silver and copper are first molded into special shapes, and then beautiful patterns are engraved on them.
Metal craft has a very long history in China, and there are different representative works in different historical periods. For example, the bronze craft of the Shang Dynasty, the bronze mirror craft of the Tang Dynasty, the Jingtai craft of the Ming Dynasty and so on. Metal engraving is an important part of metal craft, and its rapid changes and development have created opportunities and directions for jewelry engraving, and also made great contributions to the spiritual and material civilization of the human world.
Gold and silver have good ductility and good texture, so it is very easy to carve and set jewelry. Gold and silver can also be combined with other materials, which will make the jewelry more exquisite. Traditionally, the only materials used to make jewelry are precious metals and gemstones, which greatly limits the production of jewelry, so jewelry designers are exploring new possibilities, such as the application of organic plastics to the field of jewelry production. 3D printing and the development of parametric technology seems to be a booster, but there are still some difficulties in order to achieve this goal. Organic plastics are often used to make inexpensive products because they are mass-produced and very popular, making it difficult for people to accept jewelry made from them. The use of mixed materials in jewelry making is also a great innovation of many designers. Metal and leather, wood and resin …… you can try, the collision of the nature and differences between the materials will produce a lot of unique effects, you will not be disappointed.
The History of Jewelry Engraving
Jewelry engraving has evolved from its beginnings as a casual creation to a more rigorous and independent stage. The most popular carvings in the beginning were pendants and ornaments symbolizing good luck and prosperity. With a better understanding of materials such as metals and gemstones, the
artists began to design detailed drawings which were strictly followed for carving. For example, different metals were worked with a variety of specialized engraving tools that could render different lines and three-dimensional patterns. In modern times, people carve jewelry following a principle – from life and above life – and therefore pursue more concise forms in the hope of bringing new opportunities for development in the field of jewelry carving.
What are the most common engraving techniques?
Jewelry can be carved in the round, openwork, relief and intaglio, which are categorized based on the final effect of the piece.
Round engraving, also known as 360-degree engraving, is extremely expressive. Round carving is a ratio of one to one multi-angle carving, and strive to real, all-round restoration of the artistic image, so the works carved with round carving can be appreciated from any angle of its craft and mood.
Skeleton carving is the entire carving work through, will give people a kind of exquisite experience. Of all the carving techniques, skeletonizing is the most difficult to master, especially with multiple layers. The selection of materials for skeletonization is very strict, because once skeletonized, the joints of the material become very fragile and vulnerable to cracking.
Relief carving is a combination of carving and painting, it is usually attached to another plane, so it occupies less space and is more suitable for decorating the environment. In jewelry, it is mainly used for the body and the base.
Intaglio is the complete opposite of cameo, it is the raw material of jewelry dug inward, using different degrees of depth to construct the desired words and patterns. The seal ring is the most representative piece of intaglio jewelry. Not only does it serve a decorative function, but it can also be used as an identifier. Ancient aristocrats would use intaglio carving to engrave patterns on necklaces and rings they often wore, and the pattern could be used as a unique identity symbol printed on secret letters to prevent them from being opened or forged in the middle of the letter.
