How it's made
Lace, but metal.
Crochet is usually done in thread. Here it is done in wire.
01
One wire, one hook
A piece starts as a spool of fine metal wire and a small crochet hook. The wire is silver-plated, 18K gold-plated or colored; each product page says which.
02
Loop through loop
The hook catches the wire, pulls up a loop, and pulls the next loop through it. That is one stitch. Stitches make a row; rows worked into rows make an open mesh, and the mesh is opened into a petal, gathered into a ruffle or fanned into a leaf.
It is the stitch used for lace in thread. Wire simply keeps the shape it is given.
03
Pearls and stones
Freshwater cultured pearls, glass pearls, crystals and stones are added by hand. Each product page says which a piece carries.
04
Pressed into shape
The mesh is eased flat and opened out by hand, until the petal or the leaf sits the way it should.
05
What is not crocheted
A few pieces are made another way: beaded hoops, strung pearl bracelets, a stone on knotted cord, earrings in shell and wood. They are put together by hand, and their pages do not mention a hook.
06
Finishing
Pin backs, posts and clasps are fitted, and each finished piece is packed in a paper drawer box.
See the materials glossary for what each material is, and care for how to keep it.