Vibrant Orange Flower Drop Vitreous Enamel Earrings - Cloisonné and Champlevé Enamel on Fine Silver w Sterling Ear Wires - Sandra McEwen

Materials: Champlevé & cloisonné Enamels on Fine silver.

Earrings

Size: 18 x 38 mm

Did you know that enamels are melted glass?

Yes! It's true... To create this lovely pair of earrings, I first fabricated the silver base out of sheets of fine silver. The lines of the design are actually fine silver wires that I meticulously bent by hand (and tweezers) into the shapes you see. Then I placed granules of ground up glass (enamels) in between the wires and melted them in the kiln. There are as many as 20 layers of glass in each individual piece! After I've added all the layers of glass, I carefully grind and polish it until it sparkles!

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Champlevé: pronounced Shamp-lee-VAY

is the process of inlaying the colored glass enamels directly into a solid piece of silver, so there’s no need for a separate setting.

Cloisonné: pronounced Cloy-ZEE-nay! (always best when said with a flourish!)

is the process of using delicate silver or gold wires to create drawing lines that separate the different bits of colored enamel.