Milgrain

Milgrain, also spelled millegrain, is decoration forming a close row of tiny bead-like metal details along an edge. On rings it may follow the shank or frame a stone setting. It is a treatment of the metal surface, rather than a row of actual pearls or necessarily small gemstones.

Manufacturer Stuller presents milgrain as a modern decorative edge and shows a production operation in which a tool is applied to a ring on a lathe. This documents one method, without demonstrating that every historical beaded border was made the same way. Milgrain should not automatically be described as granulation, in which small metal spheres form separate decorative elements.

The detail is associated with older jewellery styles and is also used on new rings with a historical appearance. It therefore cannot date a jewel by itself. Examine whether the beaded line is crisp, worn or uneven, and record known repairs or alterations to the edge. Describe stones, metal and fineness marks separately from the decorative term.

Sources: Stuller: Band Manufacturing; Stuller: The Magic of Little Details.