Hello. Does anyone know what kind of enamel or paint is used on the
Dior flower rings.
See below link to Dior site for details.
Go to Dior site. click on Country then click on “Collections” then
click on “Milly Carnivora” a video should start showing called “The
Four Months to Make a Dior Ring In Three Minutes” including the
enameling process. I don’t think they are vitreous enamels but I’m
not sure.
Any help much appreciated.
Thanks
Phil W
Phil,
In the section called categories, it states the different materials
used. It says laquer for the color. I do not know specifically what
kind, but could be like similar to autobody or model paints. It is
not enamel to my understanding- when I have worked with enamel, it
required firing with a kiln or torch, and the Dior pieces did not
appear to be fired. Maybe someone will know more about the laquer
used. Thanks for sharing the site;
I had fun watching all the little vignettes.
Melissa
Hi,
It looks like what is commonly referred to as “cold enamel”. It’s
really a colored epoxy.
Donna
Hello Phil,
Your guess is correct, Dior’s enamel is indeed some kind of epoxy
and not vitreous enamel. They actually paint it on with a brush after
the jewelry is finished.
At some point they had a video showing how some pieces were made and
how they painted the "enamel"on but I am not sure if it is still on
their website.
The construction of jewelry they use is not designed to receive
vitreous enamel and besides a lot of the colors they use don’t exist
in vitreous enamel to my knowledge. Vitreous enamel does not offer
such a range of vivid and bright colors although a few can be.
In my opinion the texture, feel and aspect of vitreous enamel looks
more substantial and richer.
I hate to be so judgmental but as attractive as it may be, I don’t
understand the use of epoxy on high end jewelry that sell for such
significant prices.
As a bench jeweler and enameler my view is probably very
concervative though.
Cyrille
Phil,
It is lacquer not a “true” enamel. Think high quality car paint. I
suspected this but poked around on the website for a description of
earrings similar to the style of the ring just to make sure. I have
not worked with any “cold” enamel products but they are likely
lacquers, although I am not certain.
Kay Cummins
Out And About Girls
Not an answer to the question as to what kind of enamel is being used
in the Dior video noted in this question, but a link to another
video, from the Ganoksin vaults:
inspiring!
Melissa, I wrote to Harold Nelson, who is the co-founder of The
Enamel Arts Foundation, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to
"promote awareness, understanding, and appreciation of modern
enameling as a vibrant art form".
The Enamel Arts Foundation is a resource that jewelers and others
may find interesting and useful. This Foundation is focused on
collecting, preserving, researching, documenting, and interpreting
its collection of modern and contemporary enamels. They develop
touring exhibitions throughout the country, serve as a lending
library, and sponsor educational programs. In addition, the
Foundation tells the story of enameling in this country through
publishing books and catalogues tracing the field’s history and by
maintaining an archive of artists, papers, letters, and more, and
making that available to the public.
Harold Nelson found similar to yours, and invites those
on Orchid to visit the Enamel Arts Foundation website. He responded
to Phil’s question saying
"in looking at the Dior website, I noticed that most of the
color used in the jewelry -- apart from the beautiful stones --
is described in their labels as "lacquer," not enamel. I hope
that helps answer your question.
We'd be happy for people to be aware of our non-profit
foundation and its website enamelarts.org .* As curators and art
historians, we're attempting to trace the history of this
under-recognized field and we're particularly interested in
enameling in the 20th century."
Harold B. Nelson
The Enamel Arts Foundation
Hope this helps,
Marcie
Marcia Rae Design
Hi Phil,
It looks to be just paint, although why it was used to cover up the
metal is beyond me. Sorry, don’t like that at all. I enamel some,
took my BFA in Craft, in Enameling. It is much more involved than
what was shown and worth all the work. Vitreous enamels don’t look
like the Dior video when applied, and are fired to bring up the
qualities.
Terry
After speaking to hidalgo whose jewelry is all enameled he told me
that he switched from vitreous enamel to epoxy because he had too
many repairs. A lot of the expensive jewelry is “enameled” with
epoxy. As an enamelist I can certainly tell the difference when I
look at it. Looks line plastic to me but most people don’t know the
difference.
Donna B