What Is Mokume-Gane?
The Unique Qualities of This Unusual Wood Grain Metal
Mokume gane (mow-koo-may gone-ay) is a laminated metal made out of non-ferrous (no iron) metal. It is believed to have been first created about 300 years ago in Japan. At the time, Japanese sword-making was the country's highest art form, and mokume-gane was developed to decorate the sword's hilt.
Read More About the History of Mokume→
How is Mokume Made?
True mokume gane is laminated together through high-heat, high-pressure processes, where the layers are fused. To start, sheets of precious metal in different colors are stacked together, like a stack of paper, in an extremely clean and laboratory-like environment.
Then, the "billet" is placed under extreme compression in a kiln at near-melt temperatures. The molecules have a grand time jumping around, and they intermingle between the layers. Between each layer, an extremely thin third layer forms, which is the eutectic bond between layers.
No solder is used. With a lot of skill, expertise, precision techniques, and a little prayer to the mokume god, a perfectly bonded billet is formed.
How is the wood-grain look created?
The resulting billet is then rolled out and forged, formed, twisted, or ground down. Imagine taking that stack of paper, pushing it up from the bottom, then cutting off the top point; you would start to see concentric circles. That's what happens in a mokume billet.
With Krikawa's labor-intensive trademark patterning, the metal's gorgeous grain is revealed in intricate lines, waves, and eddies. It truly is a wood-grain metal.
If you were to take a Krikawa mokume ring and start filing away at the mokume (do not try this at home!), you would continue to see the wood grain pattern, and it would change slightly as you go, just as if you were filing away at a piece of wood.
What are the different colors in the mokume?
Each billet we make at Krikawa is our unique formula of colored golds and sterling to create the very best color combinations.
The colors of gold are like a painter's palette to Lisa Krikawa, and she has formulated each particular "Flavor" to achieve the very best color contrast and working properties for a ring that you will adore for a lifetime.
The Art of the Krikawa Mokume Band
There is nothing like a Krikawa mokume ring. Built from years of research and development, the mokume itself is a tribute to some of the finest metalsmiths in the industry. The wedding bands are designed to be stretched and compressed to adjust their size (with some limitations).
The pattern changes as the band turns, making these mokume rings alluring and captivating from all angles.
World Class Unique Mokume Engagement Rings
Krikawa is truly set apart as the world leader in mokume engagement rings. With an experienced eye for capturing colors and an incredibly talented team of designers, modelers, and master jewelers, all with years of experience in engineering and sculpting these miniature sculptures to last a lifetime, this company has taken the art of mokume to a new level.
You are one of a kind, and your relationship is burnished by the test of time. There is no better symbol on this planet of a beautiful love blended together to last a lifetime than an unbelievably stunning mokume engagement ring, made just for you in the forge of the Krikawa metalsmiths.
