Enamel Enameling is a technique used for centuries and has been found on jewelry as early as 1200 B.C. There are many different types and it's helpful to be able to differentiate one from another. Some are more durable than others, more rare, more colorful - but all are beautiful. Enamel is the technique of applying a powdered color to metal and affixing it with heat. Rather than being absorbed, the color adheres and coats the top of the metal. Descriptions of the various techniques are below, listed alphabetically. **Store your enamel pieces individually wrapped or in their own box. Don't store them unprotected with other items that can scratch and damage the enamel. Basse Taille - An old technique used to create jewelry as early as the 1300s. It's created by hand engraving a pattern into metal. (Guilloche is engraved by machine.) These patterns are then filled with layers of enamel. Pronounced "bahs TIE yuh". Champleve - French word meaning, "raised field" and is pronounced "chaw le VAY". This technique was first found in jewelry from 200 A.D. The design is made cutting out areas from the metal base, filling them with powdered colors of enamel and firing. Early examples show lines filled with the color, but later ones let more metal show. A piece is cut to leave just thin walls of metal, enough to separate colors. After firing, the piece is polished and leveled. Cloisonne - Pronounced "klwah son NAY", this is the oldest method of enameling and was used by the ancient Egyptians, Byzantinians, Chinese, and Japanese. The word is French for "cell". This technique attaches metal strips (set on edge) to a background. The enamel colors are put into the outlined areas, fired and polished. Ginbari Foil - A technique, developed in Japan, using a foil design made with an embossing plate. This is an excellent technique for reproducing a design, as the embossing plate is reusable. It somewhat has the look of cloisonne, however, the "lines" are not wire, they are embossed foil. Grisaille - Pronounced "gri-zA". French for "greyness." A form of "Painting" with enamel in a monochrome that uses mostly colors of white with gray and/or black. Guilloche - French word for "engine turning", pronounced "gee oh SHAY". With this type of jewelry, a pattern is first engraved by machine onto the metal. The engraving is cut with precision with very controlled lines. The translucent enamel color is applied on top of this. When you turn the finished piece from side to side, you'll be able to see the engraved design through the color. The enamel creates an illusion of depth. Fabergé used this technique extensively. Limoges - In the late 1400's, this was a new process of enameling that didn't require colors to be separated by metal. It made more realistic painted scenes possible. Most jewelry pieces of Limoge show a portrait in translucent colors with a dark background. Pronounced "lee MOZH". Niello - Usually an inlay decoration of black enamel in silver, pronounced "nE-el-o". The process involves engraving or indenting areas of a design in metal. Next the indented portions are filled in with a powder black matte alloy and heated to fuse them. Examples have been found as early as the Bronze Age. Plique a jour - French for "light of day", it's pronounced "pleek-uh-joor". A piece using this technique resembles stained glass with the translucent enamel letting light through. It's made in a way similar to cloisonne, but there is no metal backing. The style was most popular during the Art Nouveau era. It's some of the most beautiful, if delicate type of enamel jewelry. Taille D'epargne - A type of enamel similar to Champleve, it uses engraved lines in the metal filled in with opaque enamel. There is no variation in the depth of lines. The phrase is pronounced, "tie yuh day PARN". Additional photos courtesy of:Nouveau Art & Antiques & Red Robin Antiques Georgian Retro Early Victorian Animal & Insects Mid-Victorian Cameos Late Victorian Enamel Edwardian Mourning & Hair Jewelry Arts & Crafts Revival Art Deco Era ---I'd welcome your comments, suggestions, and any knowledge you'd care to share, as well. Is there a subject you'd like to have added to these pages? Please feel free to email me at: jthomas@jantiques.com