Can you paint champlevé enamel from a photograph?

Yes. Send as many photographs as you have, from any angle. Clear daylight pictures where the subject is in focus give the best result. A design is painted from them and sent to you for approval before any work begins.

Does the design have to be a pet?

No. Flowers, food, people, buildings, toys, star signs and childhood drawings have all been painted. Anything you can photograph or describe clearly can usually be painted.

Champlevé Enamel Jewellery

Q: How is champlevé different from the enamel on most jewellery?

Most jewellery sold as enamel today uses cold enamel, a coloured epoxy resin poured in and cured at room temperature. Champlevé uses actual glass fired at around 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 eventually does.

Q: How should I care for champlevé enamel jewellery?

Take it off for gardening, the gym and washing up. Clean with warm water, a drop of washing-up liquid and a soft brush. Do not put enamel in an ultrasonic cleaner, as the vibration can crack it.

Hand painted · Kiln fired · Solid gold

Champlevé enamel, made the old way

Finely ground glass, painted by hand into recesses engraved in solid gold, then fired in a kiln at around 800°C until it melts and fuses to the metal.

It is the technique behind Georgian and Victorian keepsake jewellery. It has not been improved on in two hundred years, because it cannot be rushed. Every piece is painted one at a time, and nothing goes into the kiln until you have approved the design.

The pieces

Two made-to-order designs, both in 9K or 18K solid gold. Choose an existing painted design or send us your own photograph — the price is the same either way.

Champlevé Enamel Signet Ring

From $1,637 · 9K · 18K

A 12 × 12 mm signet face, hand painted in fired enamel, under a crescent of moissanites with hand-engraved shoulders. Yellow, rose or white gold. Sizes 3–8.

Choose size & order

Champlevé Enamel Pendant

From $1,278 · 9K · 18K

A solid gold disc painted on the front, with the reverse hand engraved and enamelled to your brief — a name, a date, a paw print, a few words.

Choose gold & order

How a piece is made

Four stages. The middle two are the ones almost nobody sees.

Step one

Carved

The design is cut into the gold, leaving recessed cells with walls of metal standing between them. This is the champ levé — the raised field the technique is named for.

Step two

Painted

Glass is 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 around 800°C. The glass melts and bonds to the gold. It comes out, is ground flush, and goes back in — usually several times, because each colour and layer needs its own firing.

Step four

Finished

Polished back until the enamel sits level with the metal, then the engraved detailing is cut and the stones are set.

It doesn't have to be a pet

Most people start with their dog or their cat, and those are lovely. But the technique doesn't care what it's painting. If you can photograph it or describe it, it can usually be painted.

Dogs & cats
Horses
Birds & rabbits
Flowers & botanicals
People
Houses & places
Monograms
Coats of arms
Childhood drawings
Tattoos
Favourite paintings
Food
Star signs
Anything you can send a picture of

Hand painted champlevé enamel design in solid gold

Champlevé enamel jewellery, hand painted and kiln fired

Fired vitreous enamel design on solid gold

Champlevé enamel piece in solid gold, hand painted detail

Hand painted enamel design fired into engraved gold

Champlevé enamel jewellery design in solid gold

Champlevé enamel signet ring in solid gold

See more designs

Hand engraved reverse of a champlevé enamel pendant

Champlevé enamel design, hand painted in solid gold

Fired enamel detail on a solid gold piece

Champlevé enamel signet ring, detail of the enamelled design

Champlevé enamel ring with hand engraved detailing

Kiln fired vitreous enamel signet ring in solid gold

Solid gold champlevé enamel signet ring with moissanite detailing

Champlevé enamel signet ring in solid gold, alternative view

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 — as many as you like, from any angle. Tell us what matters: the tilt of the ears, the exact colour of the coat, 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

Tell us what's off and we revise it. 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 to ship in 3–5 weeks.

Start a commission See everything

Not sure whether your idea will work in enamel? Click the Chat button at the bottom of the page and send us the picture — we'll tell you honestly before you order.

Questions

What is champlevé enamel?

Champlevé is an enamelling technique in which recesses are engraved into the metal and filled with finely ground glass, which is then fired in a kiln until it melts and fuses to the metal. The name is French for "raised field", describing the walls of metal left standing between the filled cells. It dates back to Roman and Celtic metalwork and was used extensively in Georgian and Victorian jewellery.

How is it different from the enamel on most jewellery?

Most jewellery sold as "enamel" today uses cold enamel — a coloured epoxy resin that is poured in and left to cure at room temperature. It looks similar at first and costs a fraction as much. Champlevé uses actual glass fired at around 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 eventually does.

Will the enamel chip?

It is glass, so treat it the way you would a gemstone. It is bonded to the gold and sits flush with the metal, which protects it, but a hard knock against a stone worktop or a door frame can chip it. We can repair chipped enamel — get in touch and send a photograph.

Can you paint from a photograph?

Yes, and that is how most commissions work. Send as many photographs as you have, from any angle. Clear daylight pictures where the face or subject is in focus give the best result. We paint a design from them and send it to you for approval before any work begins.

Does it have to be a pet?

No. We have painted flowers, food, people, buildings, toys, star signs and childhood drawings. Anything you can photograph or describe clearly can usually be painted.

What gold can I have it in?

9K or 18K solid gold, in yellow, rose or white. Enamel needs a solid gold base — it cannot be fired onto plated or gold-filled metal, because the base would not survive the kiln.

How long does it take?

Three to five weeks from the point you approve the design. Complex multi-colour work with many firings can take longer, and we will tell you if that is the case before you commit.

How do I look after it?

Take it off for gardening, the gym and washing up. Clean it with warm water, a drop of washing-up liquid and a soft brush. Do not put enamel in an ultrasonic cleaner — the vibration can crack it.