(pronounced FIH-leh-gree)

Filigree has come to mean several things. First, it can describe very detailed, elaborate decorative openwork. Second, filigree can mean any design resembling that type of openwork. Lastly, it can be used to describe intricate metal – i.e., copper, silver or gold – embellishments applied either to a metal surface or to another material. This versatile word can even be used as a verb, as in “to apply something with (or as if with) filigree.”