Artisans tend to favour the grand feu – or “great fire” – enamelling technique in both jewellery and watchmaking. The method involves painting powdered silica directly onto a surface and then firing it in a kiln at high temperature. The time-consuming process is repeated multiple times and requires painstaking attention to control the firing temperature and create a rich, glossy look.
While known primarily for its diamonds, De Beers recently used grand feu enamelling for the autumn pieces in its Metamorphosis collection. Long strokes of fiery red and orange enamelling complemented the rose gold foundation of the pieces, and served to bask the maison’s diamonds in a striking autumnal glow.
The Lady Arpels Jour Enchanté watch, featuring Van Cleef & Arpels’ new façonné enamel technique
Buccellati also used enamel, alongside agate and mother-of-pearl, to bring life to new additions to its Opera Tulle collection last autumn. Here as well, enamel was used to create vibrant and deep shades of red – in this case, complementing the maison’s exceptional tulle technique, which laces gold across its intricate pieces in the shape of the house’s signature flower motif.
Depending on the look they want to achieve, artisans have several other enamelling techniques to choose from, though each requires patience and careful work. Champlevé offers high contrast by combining engraved patterns rendered using goldsmithing techniques with colourful enamel work; while cloisonné is a technically challenging art where gold wires are bent and shaped to form little cells that are filled with enamel liquid. In watchmaking, flinqué involves layering translucent enamel over a guilloché plate to sharpen the colours underneath.
Buccellati Opera Tulle ring
Cartier taps into its mastery of both jewellery and watchmaking for the Panthère de Cartier collection. Bracelets include alloy exemplars with black enamel spots reminiscent of the pattern on a panther. In 2023, the maison’s Panthère de Cartier watches featured a black lacquered dial alongside the feline muse.
Watch dials particularly make use of enamel through miniature painting. One of the most celebrated artists of enamel miniature painting in watches is Anita Porchet, a Swiss artist who is frequently asked to create one-of-a-kind and limited edition timepieces. Her works have been commissioned by luxury Swiss watchmakers including Piaget, Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin.
Metamorphosis by De Beers Autumn bangle
Rolex might be known for creating iconic sports watches, but the Geneva-based watchmaker doesn’t shy away from getting creative with the materials for its dials. The brand has used mother-of-pearl and meteorite in its watch faces in the past, but in 2023, it turned to the art of enamel for its Oyster Perpetual Jigsaw Day-Date 36. Champlevé enamelling was used to define a precise puzzle dial in a rainbow of colours, in a playful design that featured a Rolodex of emojis in place of the date.
Some maisons take things even a step further, refining the craft of enamelling by developing new approaches that serve to enhance the imagery and emotion in their designs.
Panthère de Cartier bracelet
At this year’s Watches and Wonders, Van Cleef & Arpels debuted a new timepiece from its Poetic Complications series, featuring a dial rendered with a new enamelling technique.
Building on these crafts is one way for designers to expand their creative reach. Nicholas Bos, Van Cleef & Arpels’ president and CEO, believes in the value of preserving and building on the industry’s time-honoured skills.
Buccellati Opera Tulle earrings
“By improving on traditional techniques such as guilloché and plique-à-jour enamel, we have succeeded in creating level surfaces akin to a painter’s canvas, while also instituting sculptural forms in spaces as small as a watch case,” he said.
It’s also a step forward in staying on top of emerging standards in the industry. “Our new formulas no longer use lead, a heretofore standard ingredient in enamel,” Bos added.
The maison revealed its new façonné enamel technique in this year’s Lady Arpels Jour Enchanté watch, part of the Extraordinary Dials collection. To create the dial, enamel is poured into a stainless-steel medium and shaped into a three-dimensional form, before being glazed at low temperature to prevent breakage. The artistry is enhanced with the setting of diamonds on tiny transparent enamel pieces.
