Enameling

An Art Preserved Through Generations

Ulysse Nardin is dedicated to preserving the intricate and historical art of enamelling. This delicate process, requiring exceptional skill and patience, produces stunningly detailed and vibrant watch dials that are truly works of art.

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Enamelling is a rare and intricate decorative technique, mastered only by a handful of craftsmen, demanding unique skills at every step from preparation to application.

Bought by ULYSSE NARDIN in 2011, the Donzé Cadrans workshop in Le Locle has preserved this exceptional expertise. Its craftspeople have mastered age-old techniques including traditional enamelling, translucent enamels, cloisonné and champlevé. Each of these methods requires meticulous craftsmanship, ensuring that the resulting timepieces are not only functional but also artistically profound.

The process for all four techniques is similar: enamel is applied and fired at around 800 °C, in alternating layers and oven cycles. Traditional enamel dials are made by sprinkling enamel, while other techniques use water to apply the enamel with a brush. Donzé Cadrans offers an impressive palette of over 700 colour references, allowing for an extraordinary range of artistic expression and customization.

Techniques and processes

Grand Feu or traditional

Grand Feu or traditional enamel was introduced to watchmaking in the 17th century. This method involves applying enamel powder to a copper dial, which is then fired at around 800 °C. The high temperature fuses the enamel to the surface, creating a durable, glossy finish. This process is repeated several times to achieve the desired depth and lustre. The transfers are also made from enamel. The dials produced in this way have a special shine and offer unrivalled resistance to tarnishing. Each Grand Feu enamel dial is unique: its finish cannot be polished or altered once it has been fired, guaranteeing its authenticity and timeless beauty.

Guilloché and flinqué

Guilloché involves creating intricate, repetitive patterns on the dial using a guilloché lathe. These patterns are then covered with translucent enamel, which highlights the engraving beneath. Flinqué is a technique used to create decorations such as engravings, guilloché or other motifs on a stamp, which is then used to replicate these decorations by striking the dial plates. The enamel used is translucent or opalescent, allowing the intricate patterns to shine through. After the enamel is applied, the dial undergoes polishing, drilling, and other finishing processes to add the final touches to these refined dials.

Cloisonné

Cloisonné is a technique that appeared in the 1st century BC and consists of creating compartments or partitions using gold wire. These compartments are then filled with enamel and fired multiple times to achieve the desired depth and colour. The base plate is made of 18 or 22 carat gold and hand-engraved to give it a unique sparkle. The enamel must be applied very carefully in even layers on both sides of the partitions to prevent them from moving during firing. It generally takes four layers of enamel and six to eight firings to produce the desired effects. The final surface is then smoothed with a diamond file, vitrified and polished to perfection.

Champlevé

The champlevé technique dates back to Byzantine times, and is the perfect blend of two ancient craft traditions: engraving and enamelling. The engraver creates complex cavities and patterns in precious metal plates. The enameller carefully applies the various enamels inside these cavities. Once the enamel has been applied and polished, the engraver will chisel away the metal partitions to give the illusion of depth and 3 dimensions, a true trompe-l'œil creation that requires perfect mastery of the pressure exerted by the chisel and smooth, precise gestures to turn each dial into a genuine work of art.