All over the world there have been many different ways to manipulate metals in order to obtain beautiful and unique shapes. Although they were meant at first to create practical objects, they have later become the primary process of creating decorative objects such as jewelry.
The art of manipulating metals has been taken to another level in the early centuries of the 2nd millennium in Japan. The swords obtained here were recognized as being the best in quality and endurance by rights, because some of them still have a sharp edge after a few hundred years.
In Japan there were many sword types: katana, nodachi, wakizashi, tanto, kwaiken and many others. Each of these swords is grouped according to their length or by being either single or double edged. The effectiveness of a Japanese sword in combat exceeded that of the opponent's.
After the age of war ended, in the 17th century, the manipulation of metals was undertaken for decorative purposes. This is when mokume-gane took birth, a process that consists of mixing metals in order to obtain unique and distinctive patterns.
The designs obtained through mokume resemble those of wood fibers. In fact, if you would translate the expression into English, it means metal that resembles knots in wood. Traditionally, the design is obtained by using soft metallic elements or alloys, which would form bonds with one another without melting. The complexity of the design could be increased by hammering them flat and folding them.
In present days, mokume consists of the same basic process but with more modern machinery. Thus a controlled atmosphere is usually used in an electric furnace with temperature control. Hand forging is now replaced by a hydraulic press that can apply far greater force to the metals. The use of modern machinery also allows the creator to include other components in the design like titanium, nickel, platinum and others.
The whole process of mokume requires a lot of concentration and also exactness from the artist. The key to it is to know exactly when to stop it, because each moment too soon or too late can make the difference between a unique piece of jewelry and total disaster.
If the process would be halted too soon, the metals would not bind together and thus the piece could no longer be obtained. On the other hand, if the process wouldn't be stopped at the required moment and it would go on for longer, the effects of this would be the melting of the metals and the result would be a metal paste that could not be used for anything anymore.
This is the reason why mokume should be undertaken only by those who know what they are doing. The cosmic jewelry artist David Weitzman is one of those people and he uses this process to create some of the most unique pieces you have ever seen.
One of his creations is the mokume ring, the perfect creation that can be offered as a wedding or engagement ring, because it symbolizes unity and harmony. If you are interested in purchasing such a ring all you have to do is visit the website
