Enamel is called "enamel" in English, commonly known as "burning green" in the south and "burning blue" in the north. Mainly divided into painted enamel, filled enamel and cloisonne enamel. Cloisonne is also called "Cloisonne" in China. Among these three kinds of enamel colors, painting enamel colors is the most difficult and the highest level, and the enamel colors in the enamel color table are basically painted enamel colors.

Enamel products are made of gold, silver, copper and other metals, and the enamel glaze made of timely, feldspar, borax and other minerals is finely ground into powder pigments. The painted part (commonly known as the opening part) on the metal tire is carefully hand-painted with a pre-designed picture, and then repeatedly sintered in a high-temperature furnace at 800 degrees, and finally a beautiful enamel art is made. Enamel is very rich in color, with jewel-like luster and texture. Corrosion resistance, wear resistance, high temperature resistance, waterproof and moisture-proof, hard and solid, non-aging, non-deterioration, enamel color does not change color after thousands of years. It can be said that enamel has the strongest expressive force in jewelry, with excellent shape, color and light, which will never fade and last forever! Both practical and value-preserving. It is a wonderful work in jewelry! The enamelware of Ming and Qing dynasties and the enameled watches imported from Europe at that time have gone through hundreds of years, and now they still look as bright as new and magnificent!

Enamel painting originated in western Europe and France. It was introduced to China by European businessmen and missionaries through Guangdong during the reign of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty. It was first born in Guangdong, commonly known as "burning green" or "spreading enamel". As soon as this exquisite craft entered China, it was loved and valued by emperors and ministers. Emperor Kangxi, Emperor Yong Zhengdi and Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty all set up enamel workshops in Beijing Palace and Guangdong, and many excellent enamel painters were sent from Guangdong to work in Beijing.

Guangdong mainly paints enamel, Beijing mainly uses cloisonne, and the north and south have their own characteristics. Enamel products reached their peak in the Qing Dynasty, but gradually became scarce after the decline of the country in the late Qing Dynasty, the war in the Republic of China and the Cultural Revolution.

At present, there is a product similar to enamel in the market, which is called "soft enamel" or "dripping oil ornament", "dripping glue ornament" and "baking varnish ornament" in some places. The surface looks like enamel, but whether it is "soft enamel", "dripping jewelry" or "baking jewelry", it is an organic compound of plastic resin, which is not durable or resistant to high temperature. This plastic resin product does not need to be sintered in a high-temperature furnace, but only needs to be coated with liquid color glue and dried naturally or in an oven, so it is simple to make and does not preserve value.

There are several ways to distinguish enamel from imitation enamel:

First, look; Because enamel is an inorganic substance, its surface is as cold and hard as crystal glass, while imitation enamel is an organic substance, which is soft, shiny and plastic, and easy to scratch.

Second, knife scraping; Scraping the surface with a small blade, the enamel is hard and not easy to scratch, while the imitation enamel of resin and plastic is easy to scratch.

Third, hot acupuncture; After the needle tip is hot or red-hot, the imitation enamel is easy to be stabbed and drilled, but the enamel is intact.

Fourth, it is very hot; Light a cigarette and iron the cigarette end on the enamel surface. Imitation enamel is not fire-resistant, and the surface will leave hot marks, but the enamel is not damaged at all.

In a word, there are many ways to distinguish enamel from resin imitation enamel, which is not difficult, because there are essential differences between the two materials, one is organic and the other is inorganic mineral.

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