Filigree

In Filigree work, twisted silver wire is the material, and the articles have the trellis-like appearance of jali. The silversmith crimps thin strips of fine silver into zig-zag patterns and loops using it to fill up the ground of designs formed by thicker silver strips.

Silver repousse work is made by beating the metal sheet on ornamented surcaces to form the designs.

West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are famous for the silver craft.

Overview of Techniques involved

1. Sourcing and Transporting raw materials and raw material preparation

Metal
Tools & machinery

2. Design preparation and Transferring

The design drawing of the product is made & transferred onto a tracing sheet

3. Design Outling

The wires for the outline are shaped on the design sheet.
For zig zac effect the wire is crimmed in a zig zac machine

4. Design filling & soldering

The thin wires are flattened and carefully bent to give it different shapes and then carefully soldered to the outline frame.

5. Assembling

The different parts are then assembled & soldered together with pincers & scissors.

6. Hand polishing, finishing and checking

Finally the completed piece is hand polished, checked and packed.