Cloisonné Lapel Pins

Cloisonné lapel pins are deemed to be an expensive process in making lapel pins. It's intricacy of design, and the handcrafted technique entails a nominal value in the lapel trading the industry.

History of Cloisonné
Cloisonné is currently ranked as one of China's major contributions to the world's fine arts; here are some brief historical facts about cloisonné.

Cloisonné is also sometimes referred to as cloisonné enamel; it is the decorative art of applying enamel of varying colors onto the surface of a bronze or copper object which is then fired at a kiln to become a colorful and bright work of art. This artistic technique was learned at China from the West and reached its pinnacle of perfection as a result of many years of the concerted efforts of highly skilled Chinese artisans. Chinese cloisonné eventually became the standard by which the beauty and quality of cloisonné is appraised worldwide.

The basic technique for cloisonné enameling was brought onto China by missionaries originating from central Asia, which dates sometime from early to middle of the 14th century. After the artisans mastered the skill of manufacturing products using enamel, the Chinese continually enhanced and improved this special technique, gradually making it a distinctly Chinese art. Around the middle of the 15th century reign of the Ming Emperor Ching T'ai, cloisonné production became extremely prosperous, and many cloisonné works of the most exquisite quality were produced. The artistic works were mostly fused with a type of special blue enamel as their base color, hence resulting in the Chinese term for cloisonné-- ching-t'ai-lan, which translates as``Ching-t'ai Blue''.

The method generally applied for making cloisonné is done by first soldering brass wires onto the surface of a copper surface to form an delicate illustration or pattern, and then, while working within the required context of each pattern, enamel colors were filled in.

The enamels back then was made by melting various materials such as, boric acid borate, red lead, and glass powder together, resulting in an opaque or semi-translucent glistening substance. Different oxidized metals are also added, and the substance is then altered into enamels of different colors, or enamel coloring. After the melted enamel is cooled and has become solid, it was ground into a powdery form and mixed with water before pertaining to the process of filling in.

After the spaces left open by brass wires on the copper/brass object were painstakingly filled in with the enamel paste, the object is placed in a kiln, and fired at high temperatures for a few minutes. After every firing, the enamel would slowly contract due to the heat, producing a slightly uneven surface. It was necessary then to fill in the uneven areas with an enamel paste of similar color many times over, until the surface is thoroughly smooth, without any depressions. It is only at that time that the firing process is complete.

Enamelware that had been fired is then sent away for its surface to be polished smooth, so the soldered brass wire pattern which was initially the first step in the process, and the enamel substances were merged into one. At the end of the artistic endeavor, the exposed brass wires between the parts of the design patterns, as well as the rim and the bottom of the object, or any part which the enamels had not been applied, were plated with gold. This culminates the making of a beautifully crafted traditional cloisonné.