EMAILLOR Sàrl

émaux d'arts grand feux

Clocks and watches in Jussy

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Contains automatically translated texts.

Enamel is a vitreous material composed of silica, feldspar, kaolin and metal oxides, all of which are found as crystals in the raw state. It is the various metal oxides, either naturally present or added by the hand of man, that give it its diverse and infinite colors. This mixture is then vitrified under the action of a very high temperature.
The application of enamel is preceded by a meticulous technical phase to delimit the cells that will be destined to receive the enamel.

Two main techniques stand out:

Cloisonné: gold wire work used to outline the motifs, creating the cavities destined to receive the enamel, which will be deposited with a brush or pen.
Le champlevé: engraving work in which the bas-reliefs are filled with enamel.

Once crushed and reduced to a fine powder, the enamel crystals can then be used to fill the previously delineated spaces.
Once these have been filled with the various colors carefully selected beforehand, then comes the firing phase.
A very delicate moment, since on these few final minutes depends the result of the long and painstaking work done upstream, often several days, most of the time several weeks.
In fact, only experience can judge the ideal firing time: a few seconds too long or the temperature too high, and long hours of work can be compromised...
All these operations have to be repeated several times, and 4 to 10 firings can be necessary to allow the colors to express their full intensity...
In addition to all these techniques, we must not forget miniature painting, a technique often used to reproduce the works of great painters. Enamel is over-ground and mixed with specific oils to obtain a paint-like material.
Applied with a brush in tiny strokes, this technique is certainly the longest and most difficult to master. It's through numerous layers and, consequently, numerous fires (as a fire is made between each layer) that the colors will reveal all their nuances and assert all their beauty...
This most demanding of skills demands a great deal of attention, and often the miniaturist devotes himself completely to this art... A profession in its own right in the world of enameling!
Once the piece is finished, it is inalterable...
Enamel retaining its beauty and brilliance for centuries...
resisting indefinitely the wear and tear of time!
The work consists in cutting out pebbles from gold or silver leaf, representing all sorts of motifs: from delicate flowers to twirling dragonflies, Arabic numerals or even a luminous star...
The task is a delicate one, as we're talking here about pebbles with relief and thinner than a sheet of paper...
A common technique in the last century, it's been several decades since the pebble factory disappeared. Indeed, the banning of certain materials from workshops (for health and safety reasons) had made their shaping impossible... And so the many secrets of ornamental straw manufacture disappeared, leaving enamellers and other artists to work solely with the stock accumulated during the years preceding these bans!
Not wishing to resign itself to the loss of this unique and precious art, Emaillor invested many hours in tests and trials, which sometimes proved disappointing...!
The delicacy and meticulousness required to produce perfect paillons make this art a real feat, and all modern techniques prove useless in the face of this artisanal knowledge which had its hour of glory in the last century.
But thanks to research and trial and error, but above all to passion and perseverance, we are now able to produce superb paillons that proudly adorn our various enamel creations...
Far beyond the simple reproduction of ancient motifs, we are now able to decline the variety of motifs ad infinitum thanks to the manufacture of new tools.
Only the imagination limits this creativity...
With its ability to listen and its unique expertise, Emaillor will be able to guide you and define with you the best approach to transform your dreams and ideas into concrete realizations.
Professional or private individual, whether it's a large-scale project or just a sketch, our experience, acquired over many years within the watchmaking and luxury industries, will enable us to best meet your needs. Together, we'll work out the various stages leading from idea to realization for a quality result that lives up to your expectations.
From sketch to painting, through technical details to the final enamel, the richness of our know-how as well as its diversity will reassure you in your choice to turn to true Grand Feu enamel professionals.