Enamelling a modern gold
earring in the workshops of De
Vroomen Design in London
(Credit: World Gold Council)
Enamelling
The technique of bonding
glass enamel with gold, which has been known for at least 3,500 years and remains
widely used today.
Among the earliest examples are Minoan and Mycenean jewellery from the late fifteenth century BC in which dark blue enamel was fused into depressions in gold sheet, a form of enamelling known as repoussé.
Enamelling a modern gold
earring in the workshops of De
Vroomen Design in London
(Credit: World Gold Council)
There are two other categories of gold/enamel work: cloisonné, in which the enamel is contained within strips of gold set perpendicular on a gold base; and a jour, in which the enamel is set in a framework of gold. Polymer-based enamels are increasingly used for mass produced jewellery.