Thank you so much for the explanation.bijoux.expert wrote:In regards to the question as to HOW these insects were engraved on the die, the French mint, which supplied hallmarks and the engraved BIGORNE anvils, used a reducing mill, which is based on a pantograph. In order words, a large model would be engraved in a softer material, even plaster, as the then point would run all over its surface and transmit its position to an engraving tool which was geared to exactly reproduce what was sensed but in a much smaller scale.
This technique was used to make coin and medal dies and was even used by Lalique to engrave the ivor y figures he would set in his jewellery.
That is so cool...thanks againbijoux.expert wrote:[img][IMG]https://www.hebergeur-image.com/upload/78.196.157.144-6298d8a2666d1.jpg[/img][/img]
The anvil engraved with insects, the bigorne, was an integral part of the hallmarking process and the jeweller or silversmith was required to leave the bigorne imprint visible after polishing. Because of the large variety of insects and the habit of the hallmarkers to move the objects being marked to different positions on the bigorne, the mark tended to be virtually unique for each object hallmarked.
I don't recall seeing an EDIT feature ( they must have taken their cues from Twitter).bijoux.expert wrote:Yes, I know the image is not showing! I am busily trying to find the EDIT button that FAQ claims is somewhere.......