Color explorer - enamel dial

Since the ancient Egyptian civilization, has been seen as noble enamel decorations. Because it has the nature of raw materials like glass, has a special beauty, not only makes the appearance of a glossy painted objects, but also with the mixing of gorgeous colors.

Also called enamel glaze, made by a variety of mineral smelting (silica, lime, lead oxide, sodium carbonate, etc.), texture similar to the glass, firing process, the ratio of the various mineral elements required professional skills, burning the kiln enamel layer is completely free of water, and solid density of enamel powder was higher than the state must reduce the volume. Therefore, the process of firing on the color need to be repeated until the enamel surface after polishing and other metal parts in the same plane, to achieve the perfect unity of the overall effect.

Key formation of color

Not all brands have the ability to produce enamel, especially miniature painting enamel. Painter sufficient sunlight a day when only relying on the work of 12 hours (to be precise how to squeeze the enamel plate in the sun's dazzling brilliance shows must work under the sun). Enamel teachers to understand material properties, to be on the firing Huohou master, which is the most difficult to control the color because the color rendering is not visible, we see the color of all rendered by firing, the original The black pigment may be converted into red, blue to green, high and low firing temperature and duration are the determinants of the color change. Rely on years of accumulated experience, the numerous failures to obtain the most valuable skill, which is the reason why Master enamel few reasons in the world. Its very difficult, many brands are reluctant to make time-consuming efforts spent on watches, on enamel paint.

Patek Philippe 5131 watch cloisonne enamel using technology presents the ancient European plate (top), Piaget Protocole XXL watch New York theme, depicting vivid New York Virtual (middle) , Jaeger-LeCoultre to use against the background sound of melodious of the newspaper, "The Birth of Venus."

The fabrication of three enamel

Watch enamel plate assembly cost is high, is not material to the cost of production. Enamel tray into the production of enamel within the fill (Champleve), cloisonne enamel (Cloisonne) and painted enamel (Miniature Painting).

Rare and complex is the filigree enamel. Enamel wire welded to the first division, or with adhesive fixed disk, this outlines the pattern lines. Can accurately be established wire fixed in place is the greatest difficulty, if the location is improperly handled, can not downwards. Second, fill in the glaze, use dozens of complex patterns glaze. Fortunately, a variety of pigments separated between the wire, even when the glaze firing heat flow do not have to worry about color mixing. Dozens of fired glaze must be in strict accordance with the order from high to low melting point, after several repeated to molding. If one of these links in unexpected state disk will lead to crack and break, only to scrap the whole.

Similar in the production of enamel filled filigree enamel. It first started carving, knocking pressure and other processes in the disk on the idea of some grooves (each produced one by one, like the overall color blocks). After further firing were filled. The difficulty of this production method will produce the first pattern forming, some complex shapes often have several large module combination, and the other requiring more and more small parts. Although time-consuming within the enamel fill, but finished a strong sense of delicate and overall. Since each module independent of each other, accidental firing process scrap losses are much lower than filigree enamel.

Totally dependent on the creation of painted enamel pen master, you can enjoy the disk to play the creativity of artisans. Painted enamel difficulty is "small." Watch the disk is generally only a few centimeters in diameter, which requires the artist to paint only the help of microscopes, and for drawing the pen tip is often made only a trunk and a few hair. One can imagine that in addition to reasonable considering the fluidity of glaze and firing process of water evaporation, the achievements of a perfectly gorgeous painted enamel dish needs a very high talent and excellent skills.

Although the United States and enamel, making the risk. It has to go through many complicated procedures to render the correct color, need to join in the initial melting of different metal oxides after combustion combined into enamel of different colors (for example, can be transformed with cobalt blue, and manganese they will become purple), but the key is the enamel mineral combined with the melting point and difficult to control the color performance, according to firing temperature and the extension of enamel heated situation (affect the concentration of color) were divided into high, middle and low level . Such as low ductility of the enamel with cobalt to the temperature (732-788 degrees Celsius) can produce peacock blue firing this particular color, when coupled with transparent and opaque color distinction, there is the same color enamel in different materials utensils after firing a chromatic aberration problems, manufacturers have to consider each change brought about different results because of the color of the deployment really easy.

Color enamel is the God given the earth to learn of the colorful cast of seeds in the universe ... ... is a remarkable artist paint paintings.