Such belts were mostly made to order and were worn by the Peranakan Chinese ‘nyonyas’. Time-consuming and laborious, earlier belts were made of one to two thousand pieces of interlinking rings and links of various shapes which are painstakingly arranged and linked together to form different designs. In order to save time and labour, another method was used where the belt is constructed out of a series (30-40) of relatively large rectangular, octagonal or oval shaped panels, decorated with appliqué, repousse and/or pierced designs, which are joined together by links. The belts are finished with hooks or catches and a large rectangular or ogival-shaped buckle.
