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Balinese Jewelry Traditons

by Amy_Carrington

If you enjoy beautiful and intricate designs in silver jewelry
you are likely to already be familiar with the famous jewelers of
the island of Bali. The Indonesian culture has long been revered
for their ability to work with silver to create unique and
beautiful pieces of jewelry that have both traditional Asian and
Indian influences but are also on the forefront of creating new
jewelry trends. Interestingly enough gold jewelry was originally
the biggest export of the country, but this has changed over the
last 20 years to reflect the increasing demand for high quality
silver jewelry.

The history of silver work within the area begins in the Bronze
Age with the local artisans trained in working silver and other
metals by jewelers from China and Southeast Asia. Since both gold
and silver were and are mined in Indonesia, the artisans had lots
of raw materials to work with both in the form of the two metals
but also in pearls, gems and jewels as well as other naturally
occurring items such as bone, shell and beautiful polished rock.
In fact by the end of the 1300s Bali was the central area for
silver work and jewelry making in Indonesia and was a true
hotspot of trading activity in the East.

The main area of silver work is the town of Celuk, which is
located on the southern part of the island. There are other
artisans spread out over the island, however the major
concentration is in the area of Celuk. The skills and training
has always been passed down through families on the island with
great pride in the quality, uniqueness and beauty of the pieces
produced by the family. Some of these families can trace their
lineage and their craft back to the first silversmiths in the
area, even though local legend indicates that the skill of
working silver was actually taught to the families by the gods.
There are different patterns and designs used by some of the
silversmith families and those that are very familiar with the
silver jewelry produced in Bali can identify which artisans
created different pieces just by the style and patterns used.

One of the most common methods used to produce the distinct
jewelry from the island is know as granulation. A solid natural
silver piece is decorated using small granules of silver to form
the pattern. This takes a tremendous amount of precision to work
with these tiny spheres to place and fix them in the pattern.
Since the silver is left natural and not plated or treated, the
background between the spheres becomes black, providing a sharp
relief to the pattern and really making it pop from the base.
Often, especially in the more modern pieces, gems and other
metals are used in the design and may play more of a center role
in the pattern than would have been found on very early
traditional Balinese jewelry.

Another form of decoration used in Bali is actually more from
the area of Java, but is still widely used in Bali. This style
produces very fine and intricate filigree patterns that are
attached to polished silver, resulting in amazingly detailed
pieces. Jewels and other metals can also be used in this style,
as can a combination of granulation and filigree work. Recently a
style of silver jewelry that looks like woven or basket weave
patterns on necklaces, bracelets and even earrings has become
popular in the exported silver items from the island.

Amy Carrington is a fashion maven and editor at
www.SorellaJewelry.com. Sorella Jewelry Studio creates elegant
and original <a href="http://www.sorellajewelry.com">personalized
jewelry</a> with the names, words, dates and Chinese symbols that
matter to you.

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