Jewelry Ideas – Adding Color by Making Jewelry Using Enamels

Jewelry jewelry ideas and Inspirations are plenty when you begin to explore the incredible world of enameling. This article will introduce you to the concept of enameling and will cover places to get all the jewelry supplies you will need to get started.

Jewelry Making- The History of Enameling

During the 5th century the Byzantine world introduce heavily ornate jewelry. Jewelry ideas and designs incorporated the use of enameling. With pearls and color gemstones. Enameling was liberally used in the designs, along with peals and precious stones. Beauty was the center of this thriving time period. Making jewelry with enamels was coveted by the wealthy of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine empire, until it fell during the Crusades. Many of the jewelry and other objects of art were melted down for their worth in gold and silver alone.

During the 7th century the Anglo-Saxons created different jewelry ideas with intricate cloisonné enamel work. The designs were polychromatic and had detailed designs that must have require special jewelry making tools.

During the Renaissance, enameled jewelry with beautiful color gemstones continued to be the favorite technique of many artisans. Many of the designs of the time included portraits of nature or of the people that paid for their portrait to be created using the enameling process.

The Arts and Crafts movement brought enameling out of the hobby area and into a well respected and recognized art. Kenneth F Bates an educator is credited with giving enameling higher notoriety. He influenced a multitude of modern jewelry artist.

Today there are are many craft schools and colleges that teach the art of enameling. There is also a well known organization called the “Enamellist Society”, which sponsors conferences and workshops.Throughout history the art of the enameling evolved. Depending on the availability jewelry supplies and jewelry tools. and technologies, the art became more accessible to artisans and jewelry artist alike. Today these artists are reviving many of the historical techniques.

Enameling is timeless and will continue to give artisans many jewelry ideas and inspirations. . Enamel has long been a way to integrate color into designs without having to supply the expensive and limited variations of precious and semiprecious color gemstones.

Jewelry Making with Enamels – An open Canvas to Create Jewelry Ideas

Throughout the years many enameling techniques have been developed. Some of the techniques require the preparation of the metal before enameling and others focus on the application of the enamel. This is the first part of a list of enameling techniques.

• Cloisonné: French for Cloison or cell. This is a technique that uses bent wire to form a design. The enamel is then inlaid into the close cells. Today’s Cloisonné work is mostly done using silver or gold. Cloisonné has been used in the Byzantine Empire to represent religious motives. During the same time frame the Japanese were using Cloisonné to represent nature scenes. In China Cloisonné dates back to th 13th century A.D.
  

• Champlevé: the champlevé process consists of cutting away troughs or cells in a metal plate and filling the depressions with pulverized vitreous enamel. The raised metal lines between the cutout areas form the design outline. The word Champlevé means “raised field” in French. The through or depressions on the metal are usually created with etching or by (Link texture) the metal. Champlevé has its origins in the 3rd century A.D. when the Celts used this technique to decorate their swords and shields.
  

• Basse Taille: French for “low cut” , this is a technique in which the metal has a design or a texture partially cut into its surface before being completely covered with transparent enamels, which allows the design or texture to be seen.
  

• Sgraffito: This is a technique in which lines are drawn on the first layer of enamel before it is fired. This exposes the fused enamel or the metal underneath. The term comes from the Italian word sgraffire meaning (literally) "to scratch".

• Other Forms of Enameling Techniques.


• Enameling Jewelry Supplies.
  

• Enameling Resources.
  

• Jewelry Ideas - Ways to use enamels to add color.
  

From Jewelry Ideas to how to make wire jewelry


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