About TREASOVI
The craft
Filigree is jewellery drawn in wire. A frame of twisted wire is filled with fine flattened wire curled into scrolls, so a piece is mostly light and air held in place by metal.
A very old way of drawing
Filigree is found in jewellery from many places and centuries. In northern Portugal it became something of its own: in the Minho, around Viana do Castelo, gold filigree hearts are worn with the regional costume at festivals, passed down in families and given at engagements. The heart filled with scrolls and crowned with a small flame is the shape most people know.
TREASOVI takes that drawing and makes it small enough for every day. The traditional festival pieces can be large and heavy; ours run from a 9 mm heart on a fine chain to a 38 mm pendant, in gold-plated 925 sterling silver.
How a filigree piece is built
- The outline. Two fine wires are twisted together like a rope and bent into the shape of the piece. This frame carries everything else.
- The scrolls. Thinner wire is flattened and curled into small C and S shapes, then packed inside the frame until the space is filled with pattern.
- The join. The scrolls are soldered to the frame and to each other, small round granules are added along the edge, and the piece is cleaned, polished and plated.
Because every scroll is a separate curl, two pieces of the same design are never identical down to the last coil. Small differences in the scrolls are part of the technique, not a fault.
Six motifs, six drawers
The collection is drawn from six motifs: the Heart, Onda (wave), Rosette, Clover, Bow and Drop. The same motif appears in a pendant, an earring, a ring and a brooch, so pieces belong together without needing to match exactly. They are kept the way you would keep them at home, in six drawers: heart necklaces, earrings, rings, brooches, charm bracelets, and velvet boxes to keep them in.
What we tell you, and what we do not
- Materials are stated piece by piece: gold-plated 925 sterling silver for necklaces, earrings, rings and bracelets; gold-plated brass for brooches. None of our pieces is solid gold.
- Gold plating is a thin layer. It wears gradually with daily use; the care guide explains how to make it last.
- Our designs follow the filigree tradition of northern Portugal. They do not carry any certification of origin, and we do not claim one.
