Pulled gold Settings - post 123

Settings in Jewelry - 2 .        Pulled Gold Settings.     Post 123.  

Sometimes we take the setting of a jewel for granted. We don't give much thought to the technology available at the time the jewel was made. This is typical of very early jewelry, dating up to the early Georgian period and sometimes included in that period, when the jeweler wasn't from a sophisticated city.

Most of the jewelry we look at is in high carat gold, a very soft and malleable metal, easy to work with and difficult to corrupt. 

Pulled gold is the oldest form of jewelry setting, predating sophisticated technical goldsmithing tools. For this reason, the pliability of gold is a huge advantage. 

Ancient Roman gold and garnet earrings - look how beautifully the garnets are set.  (sold)

 
These ancient gold jewels are all-the-more magical when we consider what tools the ancient craftsmen had at their disposal. Certainly, they had no modern machinery and everything was done by hand. The very tools used might be quite crude.

 

So, how to set a stone in a metal mount? Well, they simply placed the stone on the gold and pulled the thin, pliable metal (possibly warmed up a bit to make it more pliant) up and around the edge of the gem. 
Tap, tap, tap with a small hammer and it would stay in place for hundreds of years. This method of setting gold jewelry is often referred to as 'pulled gold'. 
Primitive techniques were compensated for by devoted attention and meticulous care. The end result was nothing short of beautiful and gives us no clue to the limitations of the maker.

Look at this wonderful ring. It dates to the Ancient Roman period - about 2000 years ago and has survived exactly as it was made thanks to the skill of the maker and the durability of the gold.  The ring is tiny in size and shown many, many times magnified in the picture. No roughness, no sharpness. A perfect fit. 

                    #5658

 

 

Here is a very simple sketch of a gemstone and then one showing how the gold was pulled up around the gem.

Pulled gold settings help us authenticate the age of antique jewelry. I once had a very old Georgian ring, set with gems in marvelous old pulled gold settings. I took it to someone to appraise the stones. When I came back, he proudly showed me that he had stamped the shank 18k (a mark only put in use after the mid 20th century in the USA). He could not understand how he had destroyed the integrity of my ring. 
Make sure your jeweler does not 'correct' or 'improve' your very old jewelry. 

When looking at an ancient jewel with a pulled gold mount, don't expect perfectly smooth and uniform edges. The irregularities are exactly what promises authenticity of age. 

 

Questions and comments: Please email antiques@brendaginsberg.com
Find jewelry on www.brendaginsberg.com
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The full series of metal settings are in the following order:
151 introduction to metal settings
123 pulled gold 
148 collet
150 prongs
120 pave
121 channel
277 invisible 
149 gypsy /flush
278 others