jeudi 25 septembre 2014

Uncover The Riveting Truth About Micro Mosaic Jewelry

By Karina Frost


The significance of jewelries can be seen during the earliest civilizations of man. It is a symbol of your status and it represents who you are. In a way, jewelries, up to this day became a representation of who you are as a person. It is not just considered a simple ornament but in the artisans mind, it is an artwork like any other.

Like all the things that exists, jewelries have evolved from single dots to what we see now. There is one particular kind however, that is strikingly beautiful for every jewelry connoisseur out there. That is what is now known to the world as the micro mosaic jewelry.

This kind of adornment reached the height of popularity during the 19th century. During these times, many rich families from all around Europe would make the Grand Tour and take in different scenic spots from the different parts of Europe. Out of all the cities, Italy became the most famous spot. Not only because of the beautiful views but because of the creativity of the Italian artisans.

Based on the concept of Mosaic, the micro mosaic art is a little bit distinct from the original one because of the particles or tiles that are used in the process of making the piece. The small tiles that are used in making the design is a type of glass that is calle the tesserae. Customized jewelry were the fad during the 19th century. In this case, the aristocrats would need to pay more.

Pendants, earrings and brooches are the most common pieces made from this kind of art. The fine pieces of varied colored tesserae are cemented on a flat surface usually metal or stone. Some people even use glass as the blank canvas. After cementing and drying the design, it is then framed and the piece is finished.

The most amazing thing about it is that you would need to use a microscope to determine if it is micromosaic or if it is hand painted. The usual deduction of other people is that it is painted when in fact it is not. The pieces being sold served as remembrances that they have visited this particular place. So, before the post cards and the printed shirts were invented, they had jewelry.

The Florentine and the Venetian Mosaic are other known forms of micromosaic art. Florentine art or is sometimes called as Pietra Dura, is the kind of craft that would make use of original gemstones. The stones are then sliced into thin pieces according to what is asked by the design.

Antique micro mosaic pieces are being auctioned nowadays and is worth a lot. If you have one and you plan on auctioning it, you need to consider some factors to determine how much it is really worth. How well the condition of the jewelry is, the precision of the work and the size of the tesserae are some of the determining factors. The smaller the tile size is, the higher the price would be.

The effort at making one piece of micro mosaicjewelry is already painstaking. But if you look closely at the results of each hand work you would see that it is worth it. Then you would be able to understand why a lot of people would pay for such a small piece.




About the Author: