WyreWorks Jewelry Designs was originally formed in 1988 as "The Celtic Heart" by Deanna Dudney.  In her Florida studio, she has created many different styles of jewelry and other works of art.  All of the original designs are individually handcrafted with 14kgf or sterling silver wire, and each piece is given careful attention to workmanship and detail.

In addition to pendants, neckpieces and other items, WyreWorks Jewelry also features designs in Precious Metal Lace.

The earliest lace was not made of the filmy white fabric we think of today, but was hard and made of precious metals, such as silver and gold.  Many sixteenth and seventeenth century portraits of European nobility show garments trimmed with silver and gold lace.  The tops of men’s shoes were also decorated, and other items such as leather gauntlets, draperies and bed coverings, were edged in fine metallic lace.  Both the shiny appearance and obvious expense of the lace were intended to impress viewers with its owner’s status.  The production, sale and use of gold and silver thread and lace was highly regulated in England, and only high-ranking nobles were allowed to wear it.

The most common method of producing metallic thread in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was to wind narrow bands of beaten metal around a core of twisted silk.  However, machines developed in the mid-sixteenth century that were capable of making gold and silver wire spelled the eventual end of the handmade thread.

As gold from the Spanish conquest of the New World flooded Europe in the sixteenth century, the demand for precious metal embellishments spread even to the commoners.  Excess became the norm in England as well as France.  Unfortunately, little of the beautiful, extravagant lace remains today.  The royal laces were used and reused as the garments to which they were originally attached went out of fashion.  Much of the gold and silver lace in England and France was melted down and turned into coinage, or used to finance military campaigns.

In the 1630s, the ruff embellished with metallic lace fell out of favor, to be replaced by large collars better suited to the softer lace made from linen.  Lace began to be admired more for the intricacy of its design and workmanship, and less as a sparkling advertisement of great wealth.
 

All designs and images on this website are (c) 2003 by WyreWorks. All rights  reserved. Any unauthorized use, reproduction, or transfer of the site or its content, in any medium, is strictly prohibited.