The main feature of filigree is knitting a very thin, already processed wire called "srma". Sometimes the wire is thin as a fiber. Filigree is considered one of the finest and oldest techniques when it comes to processing of metal. By the mid-nineteenth century, this technique was named as wire-craft or working with wire. In fact, filigree is derived from the Latin words: filum (wire) and granum (grain), indicating the thickness of the wire in the hands of the filigree maker.
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| Filigree jewelry box |
A number of operations are used for preparation of jewelry, including: whitening (silver jewelry is cleaned, polished), burnishing (cleaning, polishing), gilding (process in covering with gold), molding (process of making molds for casting), tempering (purification of silver for getting more carats), wire spinning (two wires are joined into one) and others.
Filigree in Macedonia had the biggest flourishing in the Middle Ages, reaching its climax in the XVIII century and the first half of XIX century. Craftsmen have a large contribution to the economic development of Macedonia. However, with the introduction of machine-products, there's a sharp decline in filigree too. Serial products are cheaper than handmade. Being in such an unenviable position, in the second half of the XIX century the majority of silversmiths have closed their shops reorienting to other activities or left abroad. Only the stubborn survived, so there are rarely silversmiths in the cities today. In fact, today there are quite a number of filigree and goldsmith stores, but in essence, they are commercial rather than creative shops.
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| Filigree jewelry |
