Embossing and chiselling, as the sculpture-jewels are born
Lo overhang , chiseling are two techniques of the toreutics, which is the art of working metals to obtain ornamental figures in relief. It is an ancient art: among the first examples are the hammered bronze statues of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt, which date back to around 2600 BC. In Italy the Etruscans became experts in working with bronze and in Imperial Rome they made statues of gold and silver and all kinds of decorations in worked metal, including jewels. There cantilever technique , chiseling they were then developed and refined from the Renaissance onwards. In the workshops of the masters the aspiring artists learned the techniques of sculpture, which also included the working of metals to create jewelry and goldsmith objects.
So let's see what these two techniques are and how they are still used for the creation of contemporary jewelry.
Chiseled and embossed brooch in yellow gold with aquamarine and diamonds
What are the embossing and the chiselling
They are two techniques that both serve to create relief figures on metal plates or objects, but which operate in a different way. There cantilever technique , chiselingin fact, they work in a complementary way. The overhang he models the metal "in negative", engraving and "hollowing out" the surface to create concavities which, when the work is finished, will be embossed on the side of the decoration. There chiseling, on the other hand, he works "positively", modeling the decorative elements down to the smallest detail.
In jewelry, the two techniques are therefore used together, on the two sides of the sheet to be worked, which must be of a malleable metal, such as gold and silver. The main tool is the chisel, consisting of a steel rod, on average 10 to 15 centimeters long, with different shapes depending on the operation to be carried out on the metal.
There are therefore different types of chisel: those for drawing and modeling the metal, creating shapes and curves, and those for modifying the surface of the metal and decorating it. Among these are the checkering, which create the checkering, a slight incision, and others with special shapes to draw decorative motifs of all kinds.
The chisels, in different forms, are used both for the embossing and for the chiselling, which defines the details that embellish the jewel.
Copper brooch chiseled by Franco Daverio in 1933
Jewelery-sculpture between tradition and modernity
As we have already said, there is a very strong link, from the very beginning, between goldsmith and plastic arts, which has been handed down over the centuries from the Renaissance to more recent times. An example of this is the goldsmith's art of Franco Daverio, who in the Thirties, a young student of the art school, tried his hand at metalworking by applying the techniques of overhang and chiseling. Thus were born his first jewelry-sculpture in copper and then in gold and silver, which made Franco Daverio a well-known and appreciated artist all over the world.
Even in more recent times, embossed and chiseled jewels continue to be the symbol of a goldsmith's art that combines ancient techniques with the aesthetic taste of the period. To the large necklaces and bracelets, typical of the Years' 80, smaller jewels have been added, made even more precious by friezes and precious stones.
The collection Heritage, designed by Luca Daverio, who continued the art of his father Franco, combines the sculptural tradition of the Daverio family with the design of the 2000s: necklaces, bracelets, rings, earrings are carved in white, yellow and pink gold with fine chisels that create glossy / opaque effects, enhancing the materiality of the creations. They are jewels that recall an ancient art, but with contemporary shapes and styles, which are perfectly suited to even the most classic jewels, such as wedding rings: with the overhang , chiseling gold rings can be customization and thus become unique and unmistakable pieces.