From Rolex and Cartier to Van Cleef & Arpels, luxury watchmakers and jewellers are redefining the decorative craft of enamelling to create dynamic timepieces
One of the most expressive decorative arts, enamelling’s history stretches back as far as the 13th century BC. Over the centuries, the craft has been used in various forms around the world to adorn everything from jewellery and decorative boxes, to objets d’art.
The process of enamelling involves melting powdered glass onto metal and requires expertise across various crafts, including miniature painting, firing and goldsmithing, as well as an intimate understanding of colour. It’s meticulous work, but the result is so captivating that enamelling continues to decorate fine jewellery, watches, and art to this day.
Timepieces in La Panthère de Cartier collection have a black lacquered dial
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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.
