techniques: wire and chains
Thin wire, worked into chains or filigree, has been used in jewelry making since the Graeco-Roman period. The Greeks and the Etruscans mastered the art of filigree and subsequently influenced later jewellers. Filigree is occasionally confused with ajourwork; filigree consists of wire soldered into intricate patterns, ajourwork involves decorating a piece of metal with fine, openworked holes.
Wire is also used to construct chains for necklaces and bracelets; many of the techniques in use today were first invented in the Graeco-Roman period.
Chainwork in an Omani ornament, where a flexible triple chain has been constructed