Tag archives: enamelling

RSS feed of enamelling

Making a watch case (part 14), cutting the back watch section

Making a watch case (part 14), cutting the back watch section

Now the ring is made it needs to be fit into the middle section.

In this case I'm cutting the inside of the ring first, to get this fully concentric, and clamping the outside. There is no particular preference or benefit of doing the inside or outside first since both should be near circular from the hammering.

Continue reading

Making a watch case, the inspiration

Making a watch case, the inspiration

I've been interested in doing some watch dials for a while now. I've been inspired by some of these beautiful and amazing dials shown here. I'd like to explore making the watch case as well, as this will allow me to put some interest into the overall look and feel.

Continue reading

Cloisonné Amazon Frog (Part 1)

Cloisonné Amazon Frog (Part 1)

This is an experimental project to see if adding a border ring to a domed silver disc improves the overall result of the finished enamel. When I created the set of enamel doorknobs I didn't add a border ring, so the cloisonné wires had to be ground back to be quite thin near the perimeter of the piece where the enamel became thinner, or in some cases, left with a slightly non-smooth surface. This doorknob (above) shows the problem, albeit minor, but to the perfectionist something to improve!

 

Continue reading

Fabergé-Style Egg

Fabergé-Style Egg

I had an interesting enquiry a few weeks ago to make a Fabergé-style egg. Initially the enquiry was about painting some miniatures on the base that would support the egg but expanded to include the whole piece.

Continue reading

Entwining Patterns

Entwining Patterns

I've been experimenting with some champlevé and basse-taille enamelling. This entwining pattern is taken from a medieval enamel religious design. The samples, moving from left to right, respectively, are: a champlevé piece on standard brass, a basse-taille piece on fine silver, a cloissoné piece with fine silver wires on fine silver and, lastly, a champlevé piece on copper.

Continue reading

Cloisonné Enamel Doorknobs

Cloisonné Enamel Doorknobs

I've not had time to update this blog for a while. Here's a picture of a project I completed recently for some cloisonné doorknobs for a handmade kitchen cabinet. The designs incorporate the first initials for the members of the family, with the large doorknobs for the children and the smaller ones for the parents. The rest of the doorknobs are all based on a wine theme.

This was a really nice commission to get, and I got the chance to learn how to do cloisonné!

See the gallery here for close-ups.

Photographing Enamel Boxes

Photographing enamels has always been difficult. The shiny surface makes the light reflections awkward. However I came across some useful tips on Saachti online for photographing artwork in general, here's a summary adapted for photographing enamel paintings:

Continue reading

Guild of Enamellers and the British Society of Enamellers joint exhibition at the Birmingham School of Jewellery

Guild of Enamellers and the British Society of Enamellers joint exhibition at the Birmingham School of Jewellery

I have enterred three pieces into the Guild of Enamellers and the British Society of Enamellers joint exhibition at the Birmingham School of Jewellery. The exhibition is called the Heart of the Heat and it's purpose is to showcase enamelling from the two societies' members. Of the three pieces that I entered this one has got through to the final selection!