Mokume Gane, is a Japanese phrase that means wood grain metal. Mokume was developed during the 17th century among Japanese master metalsmiths to add adornments to the samurai swords of the elite warrior class. Artists forge together different precious metal layers, then twist and hand-work the metal into stunning patterns resulting in one-of-a-kind rings.

First made in 17th-century Japan, mokume-gane was used only for swords. As the traditional samurai sword stopped serving as a weapon and became largely a status symbol, a demand arose for elaborate decorative handles and sheaths.

Over time, the practice of making mokume-gane faded. The katana industry dried up in the late 1800s when the traditional caste system dissolved and people were no longer able to carry their swords in public. The few metalsmiths who practiced in mokume transferred their skills to create other objects.

By the twentieth century, mokume-gane was almost entirely unknown. Japan’s movement away from traditional craftwork, paired with the great difficulty of mastering the mokume-gane art had brought mokume artisans to the brink of extinction. It reached a point where only scholars and collectors of metalwork were aware of the technique. It was not until the 1970s, when Eugene Michael Pijanowski and Hiroko Sato Pijanowski brought mokume works to the United States that the art form re-emerged in the public eye. Today, jewelry, flatware, hollowware, spinning tops and other artistic objects are made using this material.