[SPEAKING CHINESE]
Our traditional filigree art applies
the following basic handiwork skills,
nipping, plaiting, filling, jointing, piling, knitting, et
cetera.
Now what you can see here are my students
applying all these different skills.
They're mainly dealing with fine gold and silver threads,
and this studio specializes in fine gold art.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
Let's look at what this guy's doing.
This is the first step of our fine gold art called nipping.
He's nipping the fine gold thread
to a specific pattern that is called Jin in Chinese.
All of my students are graduates from the Gemological Institute
of China University of Geosciences.
Nowadays, it's hard for young people
to sit down and learn traditional craftsmanship,
which is almost lost.
He's now using a special tool to nip fine gold thread
to different patterns, according to the design request.
Finished products of this step are these pattern units.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
Now, let's move to the second step of filigreeing.
This takes place right after the first step, nipping.
This step requires the goldsmith to put the pattern
units finished by the first step together based
on the design for a certain shape or profile.
The material he's working on is fine gold thread as well.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
The reason our brand, Zhaoyi, is only
dealing with the high-end market is
because all of our luxury products are strictly handmade.
She is also nipping gold thread but to a different pattern
unit.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
This is the piling skill we mentioned earlier.
After receiving the pattern units,
he will pile them together based on a 3-D model.
This specific product is a dragon head.
This is a small dragon head.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
He's piling the units on the surface of the gypsum model.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
It is great to rotate it and have a 360-degree view.
It will look more alive after the dragon's hair is added.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
She's making a cage, which is an imitation of a historic piece
from the Tang Dynasty.
The skill used here is knitting.
This net is knitted by fine silver thread.
It is easily stretched as you can see.
The net is the cover of the bucket shape.
This is what the historic cage originally looked like.
It needs every part to be easily stretched like a spring.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
This is the finished shape of the cage
after the knitting is done.
Please be gentle.
It can be lifted as is.
This is the Tang Dynasty style.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
What we just saw in the studio are some basic skills
used in filigree inlay art.
But it did not cover everything.
Basic skills include nipping.
You use a pair of very fine tipped tweezers
to nip the fine gold thread into different patterns.
Plaiting, you put the pattern units together
to form a two dimensional shape or profile.
All these skills were combined by the old masters.
When you see the final products you
think that they are extremely complicated,
but they broke it down to many very simple steps
to make the final products.
Filling is to put different 2D or 3D parts together.
Piling is to form layers.
If you look at the finished jewelry, lots of them
have a layered side view.
It looks like a cameo to a certain degree.
This is made by layering 2D components together.
Knitting is to knit gold and silver threads together.
The net you just saw was made by knitting.
It's easy to say, but it is extremely
time consuming and hard work.
Every piece is made by hand.
Countries like Italy and India have
something similar to filigree and inlay art in China,
but it is also hard to inherit and to pass along.
[SPEAKING CHINESE]
I do have some prerequisites for my apprentices.
Usually, if they went to college,
I hope that they finished school and got a degree.
But the most important thing is that they have to love this art
and want to do it.
This is different than painting.
You have to love it and be obsessed
to have the patience to sit there.
If you can't guarantee to sit down and do it,
then you are not a good apprentice.