The silver and gold jewellery of Ke Mon
About 40km northeast of Hue is the Ke Mon Commune in Phong Dien District, home to the esteemed silversmiths and goldsmiths of Vietnam.
The delicately designed silver and gold jewelry of Ke Mon is noted for utilizing the Dau technique. This technique uses strands of the precious metals as thin as thread to decorate their famous jewelry.
Since the nineteenth century, silver and gold jewelry from Ke Mon has been in popular demand by generations of Vietnamese royalty, the aristocracy and affluent citizens of Hue. It is said that the original jewelers came from the north of Vietnam. Of particular notoriety is Mr Cao Dinh Do who was born in Thanh Hoa Province. He originally settled in Ke Mon village and steadily developed his trade to the point of establishing a training school from where the trade was maintained and passed on.
In Ke Mon, the Phong Dien silver and gold jewelry have been designing products for a couple hundreds of years, always living up to the demands of the imperial mandarins while setting the stylish pace of the royal city. Their designs are best known for their intricate detail and high quality. Their most famous jewelry are necklaces, rings, chains and earrings which have been treasured nationwide for centuries.
Photo: baomoi.com