Chasing is a metalworking technique in which small, hardened steel punches — collectively called chase tools or chasers — are driven by a light hammer against the front surface of a metal sheet or object, displacing rather than removing material to create relief, texture, fine line work, and surface modelling. Unlike engraving, which cuts away metal, chasing pushes it aside, preserving the mass of the piece while imparting extraordinary detail. The work is almost invariably supported on a resilient bed of jeweller's pitch — a compound of pitch, tallow, and plaster or brick dust — which holds the metal firmly yet yields under the punch, allowing controlled deformation without cracking.

Relationship to Repoussé

Chasing is inseparable in practice from repoussé (from the French repousser, to push back), the companion process by which broad forms are raised from the reverse of the metal sheet using rounded punches. The two techniques are almost always used in sequence: repoussé establishes the primary three-dimensional volumes from the back; chasing then refines, sharpens, and enriches those volumes from the front. The distinction is directional — repoussé works from behind, chasing from the front — but a skilled goldsmith moves the piece repeatedly between the two orientations, alternating between the two processes until the desired resolution of form and surface is achieved. Chasing may also be applied independently to flat or cast surfaces purely for decorative texture, a practice sometimes called surface chasing or matting when the intent is to produce a matte or granular ground against which polished elements stand in contrast.

Tools and Process

Chase tools are forged from high-carbon tool steel and ground to a wide variety of tip profiles: flat-faced planishers for smoothing, narrow liners for incised lines, rounded bosses for broad curves, and variously shaped matting tools whose textured faces impress repeating patterns into the ground. A typical chasing hammer is lightweight — often 100 to 200 grams — with a broad, slightly domed face and a characteristically bulbous handle designed to be rolled between the fingers for rapid, rhythmic striking. The goldsmith works with the piece embedded in a pitch bowl or pitch block, rotating the support freely to present any area of the work at the optimal angle. Heat is periodically applied to anneal the metal, restoring ductility lost through work-hardening, and the pitch is softened with a flame to release the piece for turning or for repoussé work on the reverse.

Historical Context

Chasing is among the oldest decorative metalworking techniques known. Mesopotamian goldwork of the third millennium BCE, including objects recovered from the Royal Cemetery at Ur, displays chased surface detail of considerable sophistication. Ancient Egyptian jewellery and ceremonial vessels show comparable mastery, and the technique appears throughout the Aegean Bronze Age — most famously in the repoussé-and-chased gold vessels from the Shaft Graves at Mycenae, now in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens. Greek, Etruscan, and Roman goldsmiths all employed chasing extensively, and the tradition passed without significant interruption into Byzantine, medieval, and Renaissance metalwork. The great goldsmiths of the sixteenth century — among them Benvenuto Cellini, whose Trattato dell'Oreficeria (1568) describes the technique in practical detail — elevated chased hollowware and jewellery to the status of fine art.

Chasing in High Jewellery

In contemporary high jewellery and haute horlogerie, chasing remains a benchmark of hand craftsmanship. The major Parisian and Geneva maisons employ specialist ciseleurs — artisans whose sole discipline is chasing — to work the gold mounts, case backs, and decorative panels that distinguish hand-finished pieces from machine-produced work. The technique is particularly valued for its ability to produce surfaces that are subtly alive: because each hammer blow is individually placed, no two chased surfaces are identical, and the slight irregularities that result give the metal a warmth and depth that mechanical texturing cannot replicate. Chasing is also central to the production of en plein enamel jewellery, where a precisely chased gold ground provides the fine partitions and surface topography that control the flow and depth of enamel.

Further Reading

• GIA Gems & Gemology — Metalsmithing Techniques