Articles » How to recognize authentic filigree jewelry

When shopping for handmade jewelry, it is always important to make sure that the jewelry is actually handmade. This is also true for handmade filigree jewelry. It is hard enough spot real from fake when holding the object in your hands, and even more so when looking at just a picture on the internet.

Below are some examples illustrating the different qualities of handmade filigree jewelry which tell us that the jewelry we’re looking at is actually made by hand.

Example 1

Let us take a look at this cross. It consists of two main types of components: the frames and the filling. The frames are two: the outline of the cross, and the outline of the central circle. These are made from thick, flattened wire pieces which are then annealed (i.e. welded) together. There are also two groups of components: the large central coil and the smaller coils, of which there are 14 in each ‘arm’ of the cross.

There are a few things which can help us tell whether a piece of handmade filigree jewelry is authentic or fake…

Take a look at the little coils in the cross above. All the coils are similar to one another, but not equal. There are little differences in each little coil. It is impossible to find two identical ones. Notice also how they are placed. The spaces between them are not identical. This is one sign that the filigree jewelry item you are seeing or holding in your palm is indeed handmade.

The second thing to notice is that there are two types of wire used here. A thick flat wire for the frame, and the thin grainy wire for the filling. These wires are uniform. There is no casting involved here, no machine work. The wires are worked with small pliers, tweezers, and the artisan’s fingers, nothing else.

Finally, notice how the frame is composed of different sections which are joined together. Nothing special here, but you can notice slight differences in how the frames touch, when you look at different joining points. Again, this indicates that the frames were joined by hand.

Take a look at the second example to see more details which show that a piece of filigree jewelry is authentic.

Example 2

Take a look at this pretty flower. You will notice that the basic make up is the same – frame and filling. You will also notice that each petal frame contains one single coil, shaped to fit snugly inside the petal frame.

You will notice that each coil is slightly different from the next one, in the spacing between the turns of wire. Also, in each coil, the spacing between each turn of wire varies slightly, due to the fact that they are hand made.

Also notice how each coil fits differently in its petal frame, especially close to the centre, where you can see a gap between the coil and its frame in some of the petals. These are slight, almost unnoticable things (the real flower is just about 1cm across), which immediately tell you, the interested shopper, that the item is made by hand.

Example 3

Take a look at this beautful pair of earrings. Their top part, where the frames are joined, is annealed together. You can see some signs of the annealing process. In both earrings it is similar yet not identical, showing us that it was done by hand. Even when looking at just one earring it is obvious that the item was not machine made. Remember, though, that to make this noticable the earrings are larger than life here. You might have to use a magnifying glass or enlarge the image if you know how, in order to notice these details.

To summarize, look out for the following when shopping for filigree jewelry online:

These are general guidelines. Filigree artisans are a careful lot, and they try to make their jewelry as perfect as possible. Therefore one usually will not be able to notice all of the above in a single piece of jewelry.