Enameling on gold plated items

Jewelry Discussion
1

I was wondering how enameling is done on gold plated items. Is the
item first gold plated and then placed in the kiln with the enamel?
Or, vice versa?

2

Jeannie,

You would enamel the piece then gold plate it.

Patsy Croft

3

There can be problems with some of the softer enamels. Some of them
will go cloudy (the surface is damaged) when they are placed in the
electroplating solution, so it’s important to test them before you
complete a piece.

4

Tony,

I find this very interesting. Have you noticed a difference in
leaded vs unleaded when plated?

5 
Have you noticed a difference in leaded vs unleaded when plated?

Some lead enamels seem to “bloom” with a white surface.

6

I don’t know anything about enameling, but I do have a fair amount
of knowledge on leaded/ full leaded crystal ware(Waterford, Lalique,
Fostoria etc). Crystal termed as leaded has a lead content of no more
than 23%. Full leaded has 32%. Full leaded is the most sparkly kind,
hence the higher grade and much more expensive. 32% is the max
content or else the glass turns grey.

Ed