In the fourth secret, the niello is fused into the silver — as a solid line. But the piece has not yet come into the world. The final step is missing: refinement. At SevChern, this consists of two distinct operations that look very different — and together result in what we ultimately recognize as the "SevChern luster."
First: selective gilding
Not every SevChern piece features gold. But when a piece is meant to have gold — when a monogram, a crest, or a single line is to be highlighted — it is not done by gluing or painting. It is done through electroplating.
Before the piece enters the gold bath, it must be naked. After the previous operations — grinding the niello layer, sulfuric acid bath — wax residue or traces of mastic may still be stuck to the surface. The piece goes into a vat of distilled water and caustic soda. As it boils, the wax dissolves until the silver is truly pure.
Pieces that are not to feature gold do not go into the gold bath now — instead, they are rinsed, dried, and forwarded to final polishing.
Pieces with gold sections are prepared: A master by hand paints a special lacquer over all silver areas that are not to be gilded. It is intricate, patient work. The lacquer must precisely cover only the right spots — otherwise, gold ends up where it shouldn't.
When the lacquer is dry, the piece is hung on a special hanger in the galvanic gilding tub. In the electric bath, a thin layer of 24k (990) gold deposits onto the exposed silver areas. Layer thickness: 0.5 to 1 micrometer.
This gold layer has two tasks. It embellishes. But it also protects — gold does not tarnish. Where there is gold, the surface remains bright permanently.
Andrey Smolnikov — 38 years as a plater
One man at SevChern has been doing this work for decades: Andrey Smolnikov. He came to the factory after the army — first as an assembler, then as an insulator. "Then electroplating. I have been working here for 38 years now."
What keeps him going in his work after 38 years: "I like the work. Every day something new, something interesting." That is the sober way a man puts it, through whose hands countless SevChern pieces have passed during this time.
Second: Opilovka — the grinding that must not be arbitrary
After the gold bath — or directly after the acid bath if no gold is desired — the piece goes to the last workshop: finishing. It consists of two steps: Opilovka (grinding) and final polishing.
During Opilovka, the masters remove excess niello residue around the V-grooves. But here comes a special feature that does not exist in any industrial grinding process: The movements must not be chaotic. They must proceed in a circle, in a specific direction.
Why? Because niello forms a crust that is harder than the surrounding silver. If the grinding movements were random, the chipped-off hard niello fragments would scratch the softer silver like sandpaper. Circular movement prevents exactly that: the fragments are removed evenly without damaging the silver.
It is a rule that is written down nowhere. It is passed on orally — from experienced masters to the next generation.
Daria Popova — polisher since 2014
Daria Popova came to the factory in 2014 with a friend. She initially worked on niello grinding, today she is the final polisher for the art pieces. "I like the variety of the products. We really make everything — from small items like earrings and rings to large pieces like a samovar." She achieves the shine with a special polishing tool that smooths the silver to a mirror finish.
Third: the triple contrast
Final polishing happens selectively. The masters polish the silver to a mirror finish — but not the niello interior of the ornament. There, they deliberately leave the matte depth. This does not make the niello stroke fade, but rather makes it higher in contrast: Where there is a mirror finish all around, the matte black stroke acts like a real line, drawn with ink on high-gloss paper.
If you add a gold surface to this, you have the triple SevChern contrast:
- Golden yellow — where the piece is selectively gilded
- Silver mirror — where the silver around it has been polished
- Matte black — where the niello lies in the V-groove
Three surfaces, three perceptions. That is the signature of Veliky Ustyug niello art — and SevChern makes it the rule.
What you can verify by looking
Hold a SevChern piece with niello under a desk lamp and tilt it slightly. You will see the silver flash brightly all around — that is the mirror polish. But the black in the center of the ornament does not flash. It remains matte and deep, another world within the same piece.
That is no coincidence. That is the polishing that Daria Popova and her colleagues deliberately do not do — the matte niello fields are preserved depth.
In the next secret
Six operations are finished — smelting, design, transfer, engraving, niello firing, gilding, and polishing. But we have taken a big leap: back into history. Who saved the workshop from extinction? Why did this folk art survive precisely here in Veliky Ustyug — and why are the family dynasties so important? Secret No. 7 — Heritage and Dynasties.
This series of articles shows in 8 episodes how a SevChern piece is created. Sources: official documentation of ZAO Severnaya Chern (Veliky Ustyug, Vologda) as well as factory videos. Texts by premiumgeschenk.de | SilberKosmos.