A technique three centuries in the making
From the sword fittings of Edo Japan to the workshops of Birmingham — the story of Mokume-gane.
Origins in the sword forge
Denbei Shoami develops Mokume-gane to decorate sword fittings (tsuba, menuki, kozuka). The technique produces wood-grain patterns from laminated and worked metals. It is a material expression of the Japanese aesthetic concept of wabi — finding beauty in imperfection and impermanence.
From sword to adornment
As the samurai class declines through the Meiji Restoration, Mokume-gane masters adapt the technique to decorative arts, small objects, and jewellery. The craft is passed through lineages of metal workers.
A craft reaches new eyes
Japanese decorative metalwork reaches European and American collectors and exhibitions. Mokume-gane pieces appear in museum collections, admired for their extraordinary surface.
Hiroko Sato Pijanowski and the revival
Metalsmith Hiroko Sato Pijanowski and her husband Eugene Pijanowski study the technique in Japan and introduce it to Western art jewellery, sparking a global wave of interest among studio jewellers.
A craft for the few
Only a handful of jewellers worldwide adopt Mokume-gane seriously. Working with precious metals (rather than traditional copper alloys) is exceptionally demanding — requiring specialised equipment, deep metallurgical knowledge, and years of practice.
Wabi Mokume
Working from the historic Birmingham Jewellery Quarter — home to British fine jewellery craft for over two centuries — Wabi Mokume carries this centuries-old discipline into contemporary bespoke jewellery. Every piece is made entirely by hand, using 18ct golds, platinum and palladium, hallmarked at the Birmingham Assay Office.
Why Wabi?
Wabi — from the Japanese aesthetic wabi-sabi — describes a beauty found in imperfection, impermanence, and the unrepeatable moment. The grain pattern in every Mokume-gane ring is exactly that: an unrepeatable event, captured in precious metal. We chose this name because it says everything about how we work and what we make.