Hi there,
I’m hoping someone out there has some knowledge of how to get the effect I need.
I need to create bracelets with a consistent look - fine enamel detailing on silver, please see the kind of thing I am talking about below…
I will need a manufacturer to be able to recreate the sample many times without looking ‘artisnal’ (no blemishes, no wonky lines, no enamel overflow)
Would it be best to find soneone who works with high-precision cold enamel technique - likely epoxy enamel ?
But is all enamelling has to be done by hand and not machine would it ever be possible to create duplicates of a sample?
There is a brand that I have seen that creates enamel detailed bracelets but I am not sure how they go about achieving that consistent precise look. Any ideas?
I don’t have much experience with working with manufacturers, but I do use enamels on silver.
In the designs you’re showing, I would guess the areas for enamel are initially recessed in the metal. The spaces are cut into the metal, then those recesses are filled with enamel, and the whole top surface is sanded smooth and polished. Creating the spaces in metal, either by casting or machine, would give you consistent smooth straight lines. The groves or spaces don’t have to be very deep.
For vitreous enamels, opaques are very trustworthy, but transparent colors can be cranky on silver. Many of them react to silver and change color. Resin enamels probably don’t have this issue.
Would the enamel always be inserted by hand (presumably) if so, do you think flaws are likely due to overflow/ mistakes of the lines on the design are intricate and thin?
Many years ago I worked in a business that mass produced class rings and die struck achievement pins that were enameled. They used both vitreous and liquid enamels. If you want transparent enamels, I would stick to vitreous. If you are working with silver you will need to depletion gild sterling or use fine silver if you are going to use vitreous enamel. . Continuum silver also plays well with vitreous enamels. Or you can use liquid enamels. They are much easier to work with but the liquid enamels are softer than vitreous. Thompson enamels sells both vitreous and liquid enamels.
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Kamala - How do you see your role in the process? Are you just creating a design, an idea, then turning all of the manufacturing over to a manufacturing jeweler, or are you creating a prototype, a master example and asking a manufacturer to create multiples ? That is, how “hands-on” are you intending to be in the process? And how adept are you at conveying your concept to a craftsman? There are many pitfalls in the process of turning an idea into a product.
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