A centuries old tradition.
Lakh jewelry comes from the Indian state of
Rajasthan. It takes the work of many specialists and around 16
hours to produce a single piece, the manufacture of lakh jewelry
is a real "cottage industry" involving families and friends.
As each piece goes through the various stages of
production, it moves from house to house to the various
specialists along the ancient streets of Rajasthan.
Begins with a Beetle.
Lac is a natural resin secreted by an insect
onto branches. The Lac is harvested by villagers and melted,
cleaned and stretched into thin straw-like strands (the
thinning of the lac is explained later).
The Lac isnt visible on the piece as it is used
to fill the segments, making the pieces strong and solid in
feel.
The exterior surfaces of enameled silver or
foil cover the hardened lac.
And a great old design . . a metal die which
may be used for years is used to make each piece segment.
Silver or foil is stamped against the die and the pieces are
formed together to form a hollow shell, ready for filling with
lakh.
In the series of photo's below you can see;
Craftsmen is putting a thin silver sheet over
a brass die (which has the design engraved in it.
Craftsmen is softly molding the design onto
the silver sheet by the use of cloth hammer untill the
design comes on the silver sheet (both for front and back of
the mould)
Craftsmen is showing the completed design on
the silver sheet. The frame is now ready for further work
In this photo you can see the craftsmen applying
Meena work to the pieces.
At this stage the pieces are very fragile as they
are a simple silver shell and therefore must be handled with great
care
In this next stage lac is filled into the silver
frame. Notice the thin lac straw's on the right of this picture.
These are created by heating lac in a simple
cauldron, then stretching and rolling the lac into tiny straws.
These straws are then slowly put inside the tiny holes in the
(heated) frame, which melts the lac to fill the inside of each
piece and make it solid and give it strength (very much like
strong wood in feel)
Each piece is washed and then a layer of polish is
applied several times for the shine. Depending on the type of
piece in development, the piece may be heated in order for stones
or beads to be applied into the silver foil and Lakh. When heated
slightly, the Lakh softens allowing stones or other objects to be
fastened and secured.
Additional colours may be applied as well as
detailed meena handiwork. Paints and dyes are chipped from solid
blocks of enamel and mixed with water to create deep and lively
natural colours.
Pieces can come in many colours such as Turquoise,
Blue, Maroon, Red, Gold and many other bright and contrasting sets
In the final stages each piece is cleaned, polished
and then the remaining work is performed. Usually by this stage
each piece has passed through a number of villagers who specialise
is each certain part of the work or sub projects to each piece.
Lakh manufacture, beading, design, paint and other projects all
contribute to the finished piece from other parts of the village.
In this final
stage, these sub projects come together as the piece is tied and
with beads or rope ties. Beads and stones are also introduced and
the rest of the design is completed. In this photo you can see
small wire works that are introduced to the piece and then
subsequently tied off with chandeliers, beading or other ties.
The final
pieces, once assembled are then measured, cleaned and dried.
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