Eucalyptus lancholy, which has recently been confused by enamel watches, is due to the sight of a modified Audemars Piguet.

It combines two of Van Gogh's masterpieces on an Audemars Piguet enamel watch, which fascinates people.

Enamel, also known as "Franc" or "Fa Lan", first appeared in the Buddha area of the Eastern Roman Empire, is the transliteration of the word enamel, also known as "Franc" and "Fa Lan", first appeared in the Buddha area of the Eastern Roman Empire, is the transliteration of foreign words, enamel is to mix the raw materials of minerals such as silicon, lead, borax, feldspar, quartz and other raw materials in accordance with the appropriate proportions, respectively, add a variety of colored metal oxids, after being roasted and ground into powdered color materials, in accordance with the different practices of its enamel process, fill or draw on the body of the metal as a tire, After being baked to become an enamel product, an enamel watch is simply a clock that is inlaid on the outer cover and back of a dial or pocket watch.

The well-known enamel is also a kind of enamel, mainly firing a layer of thin glaze on the iron carcass made of living utensils, pots and pans, which can be roughly classified as painting enamel. When I was young, there were a lot of such things in my home, but now with the changes in people's aesthetics, it is relatively rare.

It should be said that there is no fixed pattern for enamel making, and this is where its artistic charm lies. Enamel artists can create thousands of colors by adding different proportions of metal oxides, similar to oil painting, where the colors that make you stunning are often the "private recipes" of a particular artist.

Of course, the most testing of the enamel artist's skills is the process of painting and firing the enamel: due to the extremely unstable chemical properties of the enamel, bubbles, cracks, small holes, and spills during the firing process are commonplace, and sometimes even if there is no damage during the firing process, the final color of the finished product is often far from what the artist expected.

Therefore, the time cost of a truly exquisite, palace-level enamel artwork that can be called a work of art is immeasurable.

"Grand Feu" is literally translated from the French "GrandFeu" (meaning fire). From the picture below, the furnace fire seems to be very strong, but in fact, it is not an open flame, in fact, it is just a furnace that can produce high temperature in the cavity, and the enamel plate itself will not come into contact with the open flame when firing.

We see that the phenomenon of ignition is due to the fact that the enamel powder contains flammable metalloids, which produce flames at high temperatures, and this process lasts for 1-2 seconds, and this burning phenomenon can only be seen when a large area of monochrome enamel is fired, and the flames of other enamel firing are generally too small to be detected.

The enamel craftsman paints the same carcass according to the principle of light to dark, from warm to cold, only one color at a time, and each color is sent to the kiln between 820 degrees Celsius and 850 degrees Celsius to melt the enamel, and then it is naturally cooled after being taken out, and the color continues to be applied after cooling, so that it can be repeated at least three times before the color can be perfect.

Truly pure black enamel is fired at a high temperature of 900 to 1200 degrees Celsius over a large open flame, so making flawless black enamel is the top of the art of enamel firing.

Since the melting point and color expression of the combination of enamel and minerals are difficult to control, and there is a risk of destruction every time it is fired, only the world's top watch brands can afford to produce such expensive dials.

The artist bent gold and silver wires with a width of only 0.07 mm by hand into design patterns to outline the outlines, divide the areas, and hold the gold threads to the surface with vegetable glue. The enamel is then filled with enamel and calcined in a kiln at a high temperature of more than 800°C, which makes the enamel and the metal base melt together, making it strong and stable. The number of firings depends on the type of enamel, the glaze color and the desired effect; Each firing increases the transparency and texture of the enamel glaze.

Unlike other enamel techniques, cloisonné enamel needs to be calcined in layers, and the effect it brings is also more three-dimensional and layered. The most basic way to judge whether a cloisonné enamel artwork (not just a watch) is to see if the enamel glaze in the compartment divided by metal wires is filled and has not overflowed.

Our traditional Chinese cloisonne is actually the cloisonné enamel mentioned here, cloisonne products generally use copper as the bottom of the tire, apply enamel color, and finally carry out gold plating. Cloisonné is mostly container-shaped, mostly in blue tones.

As the name suggests, it is the use of engraving, knocking or corrosion techniques to carve into a "yinwen" pattern on the carcass, and then fill in various colors of enamel for calcination. The slight difference between plevlevin and chisel enamel is that the latter requires a transparent glaze to be applied to the entire surface of the object, while the former does not have to do so.

Filling enamel is very similar to the cloisonné enamel making process we talked about earlier, but the former is a decreasing process, while the latter is an increasing process.

Miniature enamel is the most difficult of the enamel techniques, in which the enamel artist first coats the metal dial or case with a layer of white enamel glaze to produce a dial without a single blemish, and then paints with a special needle pen and high-powered microscope magnification as an aid, repeating high-temperature firing to increase the color until the desired color is achieved, and finally applying a colorless transparent glaze.

A miniature enameller must first be a painter and then an enameller. Painting and calcining an enamel material on a square case or dial to create a delicate picture and even changes in brightness and hue requires not only deep painting skills and mastery of the enamel texture, but also great patience.

If you can feel this, I believe that you will no longer think that master-level enamel watches are unreasonable. From the point of view of the subject matter of miniature enamel, it is mainly divided into flowers, birds, insects and fish, natural scenery, portraits, world famous paintings, antique watch market, in the similar enamel production level, the price is also gradually increasing according to the above four categories.

Miniature enamel pocket watches were made in the 17th century in the south of France, where enamel art was all the rage at the time, and it is difficult to trace the identity of their enamel painters due to their long history.

Four hundred years later, the art of enamel has not disappeared from clocks, but more people have been "fascinated" by it; However, the number of artists in the world today who can truly create masterful enamel work is probably in the single digits.

For example, Miklos Merczel, a national treasure of the Jaeger-LeCoultre brand, was originally a master watchmaker of complications, and out of interest, he added to the title of master enamel artist through self-study, and his miniature enamel dials are the pinnacle of enamel art, and the price is self-evident.

Some people compare enamel making to a spiritual practice, and the process of making it is tirelessly repeated, and every time it must be done to the extreme, which is also the value of enamel watches. However, the value of enamel watches cannot be accurately measured by numbers, and the artistic accomplishment and appreciation of playing with watches determine that their encounter with enamel watches may lie in the moment's heartbeat.

The reason why enamel watches are highly collectible is that on the one hand, there are very few masters who can make collectible enamel watches, and on the other hand, the number of enamel watches produced each year is very small.

The art of enamel has survived to this day, and although it remains very popular in the collector's market, the craftsmanship behind it is a different story. Because the preparation and process of enamel process materials are very complex and have extremely high difficulty; Because of the low success rate of this process, it requires craftsmen to maintain a high degree of concentration and patience for a long time; The enamel on the dial also requires a certain level of vision.

Throughout the world, there are only a handful of true master enamel watchmakers. The vivid expressiveness of each piece is linked to the skill of the craftsman who made it, a craft that cannot be replaced by mechanized production and therefore cannot be mass-produced.

The production time of an enamel watch is measured in months and years, and it is difficult to predict the launch time of new products.

Enamel watches are watches made of enamelEnamel watches have always been a noble and mysterious existence, they are the love of collectors, they are amazing masterpieces at auction. Enamel has the warmth of jade, the brilliance of jewelry, the delicacy of bone china, and most importantly, the material is timeless and does not oxidize and fade.

Even after hundreds of years, the bright colors of the enamel do not fade, they seem to have escaped the laws of time and become forever young. There are fewer and fewer descendants of this ancient skill, and it is said that there are only about 10 people in the world who have mastered the art of enamel.

Whenever a top watch brand launches an enamel watch, it always leads to the topic, which is hand-painted, exquisite craftsmanship, and there are many unpredictable factors in the production process, such as different heating during firing, etc., even if the same glaze is used, the same color may not be fired.

This beauty of the enamel watch makes each enamel watch unique, and almost every enamel watch is a reason for collectors to collect. Some people say that an ancient clock is not only a nostalgic complex, but also a historical work of art. The passage of time, the changes of the world, all the beautiful and painful memories are reproduced again and again on the clock.

From the 18th century onwards, painted enamel was fully represented on enamel watches. At that time, most of the enamel watches were hanging watches, which were exquisite, elegant and noble.

According to the division of the color part, there are three kinds of single-sided, double-sided and inner painting; According to the themes depicted, there are beautiful women, people, animals, landscapes, biblical stories, war scenes and customs, especially beautiful women.

In order to decorate the opulence of enamel watches, watchmakers often use pearl-inlaid borders or apply gold to the outer frame to highlight the appreciation of enamel. The fetal bones of enamel watches are mostly gilded in copper, and there are also some silver products, but gold ones are extremely rare.

At that time, enamel watches were usually accompanied by silver chains, and the precious ones were also enamelled. Some of the Western enamel watches we can see are authentic imports, but there are also many embryos that were drawn and fired after being imported into China, and most of these are old antiques from the Qianlong period.

As another process of enamelware, cloisonné enamel also has applications on dials. This process is similar to the cloisonné of our country, such as Vacheron Constantin's work - Audubon "American Water Bird" uses this process. This is a limited edition of 12 enamel watches, all with cloisonné enamel dials.

This set of works is processed in a process of up to 400 hours, and the whole set has more than 30 colors, and more than 30 kinds of glazes are prepared, and then baked from the glaze with a high melting point, and repeated more than 30 times. If a glaze cracks in the process, the entire dial is scrapped. With less than 50% success in making cloisonné enamel dials, they are highly prized and rarely found on the market.

Enamel watches were introduced to China from the late Ming Dynasty and were deeply loved by the Yongzheng and Qianlong Emperors of the Qing Dynasty. During the Qing Dynasty, China was the largest buyer of the world's watch market.

At that time, Western watch manufacturers designed clocks to cater to the tastes of the Chinese, and the craftsmen of the Qing Dynasty began to develop clocks, so the Qing Dynasty left a wealth of European clocks in China, and also left behind the culture and artistic styles of different periods in various countries.

These clocks are mainly from the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, etc., and have become the mainstream of China's enamel watch collection market. Most of the Swiss pocket watches are specially made to cater to Chinese consumers, with exquisite appearance and various shapes, in addition to the commonly used round, there are also fan-shaped, lock-shaped, fruit, insect and other shapes.

The case is generally made of gold, silver, copper and other materials, and some are painted with enamel paintings of people, flowers, birds and beasts on the case, and inlaid with pearls and diamonds. Bovet, Switzerland's top watch brand, has an indissoluble relationship with China.

As early as 1822 (during the reign of Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty), Bovet's founder, Edouard Bovet, began selling expensive high-end Western clocks to the princes and nobles of the Qing court, and soon became the favorite watch brand of the wealthy in China.

In 1824, Bovet began to produce enamel and semi-round pearl decorative watches for the Chinese market at that time, catering to the Chinese habit of "gift-giving in pairs". The shape of British clocks is eclectic, most of the decoration is gold-plated copper, and the gold-plated shell is inlaid with red, green, blue, yellow, white and other pigment stones, and the themes of enamel patterns include various buildings and natural landscapes.

They embody the high level of British craftsmanship in machine-making, metal, enamel, glassmaking, as well as the artistic level of music, painting, engraving, etc.

France is one of the first countries in the world to manufacture clocks and watches, and French watchmakers have not only made outstanding achievements in the invention and innovation of watch machinery, but also reflected the unique romantic mood of the French nation in the decoration of clocks.

King Louis XIV of France advocated artistic creation, which was also reflected in the creation of clocks and watches. During this period, French clocks were mostly made of expensive and luxurious materials and gilded technology, and the enamel watches were also highly artistic, forming a distinctive and gorgeous style.

Each enamel watch embodies the wisdom of the watchmaker and the artistic essence of the times, which fascinates collectors.

Cloisonné enamel, cloisonné enamel is the most complex of all enamel processes, but it is also the most familiar to Chinese, "cloisonné" is a kind of cloisonné enamel. Cloisonné enamel is made by outlining the pattern with a metal thread on a metal sole, fixing it with a natural adhesive and then welding it to a metal tire.

The outlines are then filled with different colours of enamel glazes, which consist of finely ground minerals and metal oxides. The sheet metal is roasted in a special furnace at a temperature of 850 to 900 degrees Celsius, and the glaze changes color due to the high temperature, producing a vivid color.

The difficulty of cloisonné enamel is in the fineness of the metal wire, and the smaller the area of the pattern, the higher the difficulty of making the metal thread. Finally, a rather delicate polishing process is required, in which the raised gold threads must be smoothed out so that the surface becomes smoother and the gold threads are more shiny, giving the enamel surface a fascinating sparkle.

Due to the complexity of the cloisonné enamel production process, only a handful of top watchmakers have been able to produce it since the 1950s. Among them, it is impossible not to mention the combination of the elegant taste and artistic temperament of Patek Philippe and Berliget's top watches, which has created many fine products. In 2008, Patek Philippe unveiled an enamel watch with the theme of a tiger, a bird of paradise and a Venetian mask.

In addition to the meticulous craftsmanship, the elegance and spirituality of the patterns and colors demonstrate the artistic value of these watches. In the 5077 Bird of Paradise series, the bird of paradise is lifelike with delicate gold wire, and the sky-like blue highlights the bright feathers of the bird of paradise.

The rich and delicate color variations reproduce the brilliant colors of the bird of paradise's feathers. The background color chosen for the 5076 Venetian mask series is still noble blue, which is the flowing water of Venice, and the carnival mask outlined by gold wire is gorgeous and vivid.

Also working on the revival of enamel was Ulysse Nardin, whose hunting minute repeater made the best use of cloisonné enamel. The watch is equipped with a double-layered enamel dial with a small fish hidden in the middle, showing the moment when the crocodile opens its mouth to devour the fish.

When the minute repeater is activated, an exciting safari in Africa begins: fierce lions pounce on the little monkeys with their claws outstretched, the little monkeys swing in the trees, elephants and giraffes deep in the forest, lotus flowers and water birds in the water. Take a look at the latest chapters of "Dream Claw Book House in the Great Era" and read it for free for the first time.