Milgrain

mil·grain | ˈmilˌgrān

noun

Tiny beads of metal used to decorate jewelry, often adding a vintage aesthetic

Milgrain is a process of adding small beads of metal to a piece of jewelry as additional decoration. It is most often associated with vintage or antique jewelry and was most popular in the Art Deco period. Milgrain derives from the French “mille-grain” which means a thousand grains, but there are records of the process being used centuries earlier, dating back to Southeast Asia. It grew in popularity in the Edwardian Era and was popular among the wealthy as a way to add precious metals to a piece, often with Platinum as the metal of choice. The types of jewelry most popular in the Art Deco period - geometric with clean lines - worked well with the milgrain process.

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