The workbench
Two benches in a lane off Johari Bazaar, a gas torch, a rolling mill and a drawer of files. Nothing here is cast from a mould.
How a jhumka is made
Draw the wire
Silver pulled through smaller and smaller holes until it's thin enough for filigree.
Bend the dome
Wire curled into scrolls and laid inside a dome shape, then soldered.
Hang the bells
Eleven bells, each one with a tiny ball inside, linked to the rim.
Oxidise
Dipped so the whole piece goes black, then polished back so only the grooves stay dark.
Stamp and weigh
Stamped 925 inside, weighed, and the weight written on the card.
The stamp inside
925 means 92.5 per cent silver, the rest copper for strength. Pure silver is too soft to hold a filigree shape or a bell for long.
See the pieces