basket Your basket >
>
Your wishlist >

Nous offrons des facilités de paiement pour le bijou de vos rêves. Demandez nous les détails. Expédition assuré gratuite !

jewelry glossary

Antique jewelry glossary

Welcome to our extensive antique jewelry glossary with around 1,500 jewelry related entries.If you feel you are missing an explanation, feel free to let us know and we will add it.

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z     all

Champlevé

Champlevé (French), literally, a raised field. The technique of decoration by enamelling in which the design was made by lines or cells cut into the metal base (by carving, engraving, etching or stamping) and filled with powdered enamel of various colours and then fired to fuse the enamels.

In early examples, only lines of the design were incised and filled, but later more of the metal was cut away, leaving only walls of thin metal that formed the design and separated colours, thus simulating earlier cloisonné work except that the partitions were part of the base rather than affixed to it. After firing, the surface was smoothed with pumice and polished, so that the entire surface was level.

Decorating in champlevé enamelling was done mainly on bronze and copper, but ocasionally on gold. For such pieces counter-enamelling was not needed as the metal was used of a thick gauge.

From: An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry, autor: Harold Newman, publishers: Thames and Hudson

Jewelry Glossary

Missing an explanation?
click here to request one

Jewelry Theme Search
Bijoux Anciens Lecture
Adin Fonds Ecrans       Aide       Expéditions       Termes de Vente       Mailing       Demandes Spéciales       Suivez nous sur:   Twitter   Facebook   Google+   Instagram  Liens