Collection 0

Kim hoàn · Định Công

Hand-wrought jewellery

Silver and gold drawn into thread and twisted into filigree — the technique Định Công has kept for over a thousand years, now set in forms for the wrist and ear.

Silver and gold drawn into thread and twisted into filigree — the technique Định Công has kept for over a thousand years, now set in forms for the wrist and ear.

5 works · each one unique or in a small edition

Craft

5 works

Filigree hairpin, phoenix: A sterling-silver filigree hairpin topped with a phoenix of twisted wire and bead feathers, lying across dark worn wood, at a Định Công silversmith's bench, worn wood, fine silver wire and a small torch flame, warm grey and silver tones, by Đinh Văn Hùng

Filigree hairpin, phoenix

Đinh Văn Hùng · Định Công

$240
Filigree hairpin, phoenix: A sterling-silver filigree hairpin topped with a phoenix of twisted wire and bead feathers, lying across dark worn wood, at a Định Công silversmith's bench, worn wood, fine silver wire and a small torch flame, warm grey and silver tones, by Đinh Văn Hùng

Filigree hairpin, phoenix

Đinh Văn Hùng
Định Công · $240

Filigree ring, silver: A sterling-silver filigree ring, the band built from twisted wire with a crown of silver beads, standing on the jeweller's bench, at a Định Công silversmith's bench, worn wood, fine silver wire and a small torch flame, warm grey and silver tones, by Đinh Văn Hùng

Filigree ring, silver

Đinh Văn Hùng · Định Công

$170
Filigree ring, silver: A sterling-silver filigree ring, the band built from twisted wire with a crown of silver beads, standing on the jeweller's bench, at a Định Công silversmith's bench, worn wood, fine silver wire and a small torch flame, warm grey and silver tones, by Đinh Văn Hùng

Filigree ring, silver

Đinh Văn Hùng
Định Công · $170

Filigree pendant, lotus: A sterling-silver filigree pendant in the form of an open lotus on a plain silk cord, lace of twisted wire with bead tips, on worn wood, at a Định Công silversmith's bench, worn wood, fine silver wire and a small torch flame, warm grey and silver tones, by Đinh Văn Hùng

Filigree pendant, lotus

Đinh Văn Hùng · Định Công

$220
Filigree pendant, lotus: A sterling-silver filigree pendant in the form of an open lotus on a plain silk cord, lace of twisted wire with bead tips, on worn wood, at a Định Công silversmith's bench, worn wood, fine silver wire and a small torch flame, warm grey and silver tones, by Đinh Văn Hùng

Filigree pendant, lotus

Đinh Văn Hùng
Định Công · $220

Filigree drop earrings: A pair of sterling-silver filigree drop earrings, teardrop lace of twisted wire with bead edges, laid on dark worn wood, at a Định Công silversmith's bench, worn wood, fine silver wire and a small torch flame, warm grey and silver tones, by Đinh Văn Hùng

Filigree drop earrings

Đinh Văn Hùng · Định Công

$260
Filigree drop earrings: A pair of sterling-silver filigree drop earrings, teardrop lace of twisted wire with bead edges, laid on dark worn wood, at a Định Công silversmith's bench, worn wood, fine silver wire and a small torch flame, warm grey and silver tones, by Đinh Văn Hùng

Filigree drop earrings

Đinh Văn Hùng
Định Công · $260

Filigree cuff, silver: A sterling-silver filigree cuff, hand-drawn wire twisted into open lace and finished with tiny silver beads, lying on the jeweller's bench, at a Định Công silversmith's bench, worn wood, fine silver wire and a small torch flame, warm grey and silver tones, by Đinh Văn Hùng

Filigree cuff, silver

Đinh Văn Hùng · Định Công

$390
Filigree cuff, silver: A sterling-silver filigree cuff, hand-drawn wire twisted into open lace and finished with tiny silver beads, lying on the jeweller's bench, at a Định Công silversmith's bench, worn wood, fine silver wire and a small torch flame, warm grey and silver tones, by Đinh Văn Hùng

Filigree cuff, silver

Đinh Văn Hùng
Định Công · $390

Looking for something that is not here — a size, a colour, a pair? Most of our artisans take commissions, and we will carry the conversation for you.

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About the craft

Fifteen centuries of thread

Where it is made

Định CôngHoàng Mai, Hà Nội8 km

Định Công, the goldsmiths' village now inside Hà Nội, has drawn silver into thread finer than a hair and twisted it into filigree since — by the village's account — the sixth century. The craft nearly vanished in the 1990s. It survives in a handful of workshops that build every curve by hand inside a frame, solder with a mouth-blown flame, and finish the joins with the tiny granules the village calls silver beans.

Nothing here is cast. The cuffs, earrings and pendants weigh almost nothing, which is the point of filigree, and each carries the maker's stamp inside the clasp.

Most pieces are small editions; sizes can be set to the wrist. Prices include insured shipping and duties.

The makers

Portrait of Đinh Văn Hùng, silversmith in his forties, bent over the jeweller's bench in Định Công with a loupe and a coil of silver wire, third generation of the family trade

Đinh Văn Hùng

Silversmith

Caring for jewellery

Filigree is fine wire: put it on last and take it off first. Silver tarnishes with air; store in the pouch provided and rub gently with the cloth inside it. Never an ultrasonic cleaner.

Full care notes