Enamelling

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Enamelling is an old and widely-adopted technology. The ancient Egyptians applied enamels to pottery and stone objects. Vitreous enamel has many excellent properties like it is smooth, hard, chemically resistant, durable, can take on long-lasting, brilliant colors, and cannot burn. Disadvantages are its tendency to crack or shatter when the substrate is stressed or bent.

Enamelling is often applied in a paste form and may be transparent or opaque when fired. Vitreous enamel can be applied to most metals. Some techniques of enameling are Basse-taille, Champleve, Cloisonne, Limoges etc.

Color in enamel is obtained by the addition of various minerals, often metal oxides cobalt, praseodymium, iron, or neodymium. Enamel can be either transparent, opaque or opalescent.