What Is Enamel or Enamelling?

The word enamel comes from the High German word "smelzan" and later from the Old French "esmail".The Collins English Dictionary defines enamel as " a coloured glassy substance, transparent or opaque, fused to the surface of articles made of metal, glass etc. for ornament or protection". According to  wikepeida," enamel or vitreous enamel or porcelain enamel in U.S. English is the colorful result of fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 degrees Celsius". The technique of enamelling started 3500 years ago in Cyprus. Since 1500BC enamelling has been a wonderful, durable, attractive and reliable material.

For jewelry industry, we can define enamelling as a technique of adding colour to a piece of jewelry. Enamel basically is a finely grounded glass. When these tiny coloured glass particles are heated in a furnace at about in 800 degrees Celsius on a red hot metal, the result is a beautiful coloured glass coating on the metal. This is called as enamel.They are, however, very brittle and can be easily damaged with rough treatment.

The different colours of enamel available are due to the presence of metallic salts in the glass. Iron oxide produces a green enamel, cobalt results in a blue enamel etc; but the colours will not mix like paint, where yellow and blue will produce green. With enamel the result would be blue with yellow specks or yellow with blue specks, depending on the quantity of each colour.

There are three types of enamel that is used in jewelry; opaque, transparent and translucent. Different effects are produced by using these enamels singly or in combinations of two or more. Thus an opaque yellow, overfired with a transparent blue enamel would produce a green effect. Designers often mix and match various techniques and bring out lovely colours in their designer jewelry.

Quality of enameling depands on the material used and the use of correct heat technique. Its an art by itself and a trained artisan can make wonders out of what would other wise be an odinary piece of jewel.

Taking care of your enamelled Jewelry

The enamel in jewelry can be easily chipped or broken if treated roughly, thus one should be careful  using this type of jewelry while palying any sports or doing any outdoor activities. The enamel on rings need to be taken special care of as it may easly chip off with a blow and may not be repairable. Once a enamel is damaged it cannot be repaired .This is because reheating an enamel jewelry will only damage it even further.