It is likely that, if you’ve spotted Mokume Gane Rings and other jewelry, you haven’t gotten the look from your brain. Metals like gold, silver, and platinum seem to be nearly pedestrian and uninteresting next to the exhilarating designs produced in a piece of gorgeous Mokume gane.
To check out the superb art of a genuine Mokume artist, visit The Chris Ploof Studio. Chris’ work is well known for women and mens wedding rings and countless other special occasions. Chris also creates jewelry with Damascus steel and meteorites. He’s seriously from another universe.
Mokume gane is a type of mixed-metal laminate, in which soft metallic elements and alloys combine to create the original look. When the metals are melted down, they create liquid phase diffusion bonds that never fully melt. The original look of Mokume gane is produced when an experienced artist manipulates the material to create a completed product. Because of the different ways to join metals and the distinctive methods each artist uses, you can be confident that no two Mokume gane jewelry pieces are identical.
Mokume gane has been called kasumi-uchi, translating to “cloud metal” and itame-gane, translating to “wood-grain metal.” If one reflects on the sophistication and diversity of a cloudscape or the wonderful ways wood grain can vary, it is easy to see how Mokume got its various names.
The process was created in 17th century Japan. The metalwork was put into use for striking sword fittings, but when weapon modernization came to Japan, Mokume gane artists had to find a different outlet for their trade. Their answer was to design decorative pieces instead. Traditionally, gold, copper silver, shakudo, shibuichi, and kuromido were used, while current Mokume gane techniques use such metals as titanium, platinum, iron, brass, bronze, sterling and nickel silver and assorted colors of karat gold.
The process of Mokume gane is quite complicated, and only proficient artists can confidently ply the trade. Typically the modern Mokume gane artist will use customized equipment to laminate Mokume. After a process of heating and clamping layers of metals, a billet is created. A billet is simply a block of metal. This billet is then forged, rolled and otherwise altered to come up with the designs.
