What gold can champlevé enamel be fired onto?

18K solid gold, in yellow, rose or white. Enamel needs a solid gold base and cannot be fired onto plated or gold-filled metal.

Champlevé Enamel Jewellery

Q: How is champlevé different from most enamel jewellery?

Most enamel sold today is cold enamel, a coloured epoxy resin cured at room temperature. Champlevé is real glass fired at 800°C, so the colour is in the material rather than on top of it. It will not fade or peel the way resin does.

Hand painted · Kiln fired · 18K solid gold

Champlevé enamel, made the old way

Ground glass painted by hand into engraved gold, fired at 800°C. Send a photograph and we paint from it.

The pieces

Both made to order in 18K solid gold. Your own photograph or an existing design — same price either way.

Champlevé Enamel Signet Ring

From $4,125 · 18K solid gold

Fired enamel with lab grown diamonds and hand-engraved shoulders. Three face sizes. Yellow, rose or white gold. Sizes 3–8.

Choose size & order

Champlevé Enamel Pendant

From $3,755 · 18K solid gold

Painted on the front, the reverse hand engraved to your brief — a name, a date, a paw print. Three sizes. Yellow, rose or white gold.

Choose size & order

How a piece is made

The technique behind Georgian and Victorian keepsake jewellery, unchanged in two hundred years because it cannot be rushed.

Step one

Carved

The design is cut into the gold, leaving recessed cells with walls of metal between them — the champ levé, or raised field.

Step two

Painted

Glass ground to a powder, mixed to a paste and laid into the cells with a fine brush. One colour at a time, under magnification.

Step three

Fired

Into the kiln at 800°C. The glass melts and bonds to the gold, is ground flush, and goes back in — each colour needs its own firing.

Step four

Finished

Polished until the enamel sits level with the metal, then the engraving is cut and the diamonds are set.

It doesn't have to be a pet

Most people start with their dog or their cat. But if you can photograph it, it can usually be painted.

Dogs & cats
Horses
Birds
Flowers
People
Houses
Monograms
Coats of arms
Childhood drawings
Tattoos
Food
Star signs

Hand painted champlevé enamel in solid gold

Champlevé enamel, hand painted and kiln fired

Champlevé enamel signet ring in solid gold

Commission your own

Nothing goes into the kiln until you have seen the design and told us it's right.

One

Send your references

Order first, then send your photographs. Tell us what matters — the tilt of the ears, the white patch on the chest.

Two

We design it

We paint up a design and send it to you before anything is engraved or fired.

Three

You change what you want

This is the point to be fussy. It costs nothing to change a drawing.

Four

Then we make it

Carving, enamelling, firing, polishing, setting. Ready in 3–5 weeks.

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Questions

What is champlevé enamel?

Recesses are engraved into the metal and filled with finely ground glass, then fired until it melts and fuses to the gold. The name is French for "raised field" — the walls of metal left standing between the filled cells. It was used throughout Georgian and Victorian jewellery.

How is it different from most "enamel" jewellery?

Most enamel sold today is cold enamel — coloured epoxy resin, cured at room temperature. Champlevé is real glass fired at 800°C, so the colour is in the material rather than sitting on top of it. It will not fade in sunlight or peel at the edges the way resin does.

Will the enamel chip?

It is glass, so treat it as you would a gemstone. It sits flush with the gold, which protects it, but a hard knock can chip it. We can repair chipped enamel — send us a photograph.

Can you paint from a photograph?

Yes, and that is how most commissions work. Clear daylight pictures where the subject is in focus give the best result. We send you the design for approval before any work begins.

What gold can I have it in?

18K solid gold, in yellow, rose or white. Enamel needs a solid gold base — it cannot be fired onto plated or gold-filled metal.

How do I look after it?

Take it off for gardening, the gym and washing up. Clean with warm water, washing-up liquid and a soft brush. Never an ultrasonic cleaner — the vibration can crack it.