Treasure hunt begins in England

Chapter 665 Competition
Jewelry using enamel technology is not common, mainly because this kind of jewelry making technology is too cumbersome, but it does not look like inlaid gemstones, so the value can be seen at a glance, so it is not much in the ordinary jewelry market.

So now this kind of craft rarely appears on all kinds of jewelry except top-level jewelry. After all, for those jewelry manufacturers, they make jewelry to make money, so naturally they must meet the needs of customers.

The process of making enamel jewelry requires multiple firings, because each time the glaze is filled and fired, it will shrink, and then the glaze needs to be replenished and fired.

This feature makes further artistic creation possible, for example, by adding different additives and using different temperatures for two firings, more complex and changeable colors can be presented.

And this is why Liang En will use enamel technology to integrate into the jewelry he designed, because it can more perfectly reflect his original design.

"Thank you." After one firing, Liang En took the warm salt water from Joan and said, "Two more firings are required to complete the most complicated part of this brooch."

Because Liang En fully demonstrated his jewelry making skills a few days ago, the former staff member has left, and now only Liang En and Joan of Arc as an assistant are left in the house.

"Why do you have to burn it so many times?" Joan of Arc took out a handkerchief, wiped Liang En's sweat and asked. "The cloisonné production process I found is generally enough to burn it twice. It is very rare to burn it more than three times, but you burned it five times."

"This is mainly to allow the brooch to show a gradual color, otherwise the overall color will be relatively thin, and it will not be able to achieve the beautiful color drawn from nature in the design." Liang En said as he put down the empty bottle.

"After all, the core of my brooch is the imitation of the natural world. Although we humans can't catch up with the uncanny craftsmanship of nature no matter how much we imitate, it is not a bad thing to get as close as possible."

"You are right. The most beautiful jewelry in my mind is not those gold and silver jewelry at all, but the wild flowers from my hometown." Joan of Arc nodded in approval.

She herself was born in a relatively wealthy civilian family. Naturally, she could not have any jewelry when she was a child, but the love of beauty is also human nature, so she would naturally pick some flowers and plants to carry with her, so she naturally understood the beauty of nature.

The practice of repeated firing of enamel brings brilliant and colorful colors and distinctive textures, but it also brings great risks, because every firing in the furnace will bring uncontrollable factors, such as glaze Broken or something.

If these problems are relatively minor, they can be repaired during post-firing, but if the problems are serious, it is estimated that the only option is to start from scratch.

Fortunately, Liang En's skills in alchemy gave him sufficient confidence in this aspect, and the electric furnace also allowed him to bypass the most difficult problem of temperature control in enamel firing in the past.

In fact, this kind of craft itself is very difficult. From the beginning of the design, it is like a dance in shackles. It is very difficult to express beauty under the constraints of cumbersome craftsmanship.

For example, due to the restriction of the enamel glaze, it cannot have a large area of ​​the block surface, otherwise it is easy to crack, and the pattern needs to be cut with many edges, and the enamel glaze will be stable with the protection of the metal line edges.

But all these efforts are worthwhile, especially when the final product appears, the golden veins and the enamel with a gradient color mainly red caught everyone's attention in an instant.

"It's so beautiful." Looking at the orchid brooch that had just been polished and placed on the table, Miss Abigail, the head of the London branch, clasped her hands together and placed it on her chest while sighing. .

At the end of the last firing, Liang En specially invited the person in charge here and those jewelry makers who were willing to come and see, and everyone showed surprised expressions after seeing the final product.

Because this brooch perfectly integrates the beauty of nature represented by an orchid into a piece of jewelry, and the main colors of gold and red can catch people's attention in an instant.

"Next, I will embed rubies and diamonds." Liang En pointed to the space left on the brooch and said, "Diamonds will be used for the stamens, and rubies will be used for the veins of the flowers."

"The gem warehouse here will be open to you. You can choose the gems you need at will. If there are no gems here, I will report to the main store to transfer from there."

As a professional manager, Miss Abigail's eyesight can naturally see the value of this brooch, so she immediately provided Liang En with the most valuable help for him now.

"And after this thing is finished, if you want, you can take this thing to participate in Goldsmiths' Craftmanship & Design Competition. I believe this brooch will definitely win the award."

Goldsmiths' Craftmanship & Design Competition, also known as the Goldsmiths Craftmanship & Design Competition, is a competition established by the Goldsmiths Craftmanship & Design Association to promote the highest standards of design and craftsmanship in the jewelry industry.

Although this competition sounds like a jewelry industry competition, in fact, the competition does not only include high-end jewelry making, but also goldsmithing, silverware manufacturing and precious metal handicrafts.

The competition is recognized as helping to advance the careers of outstanding craftsmen in the industry and is the only industry-recognized award in the UK.

At the same time, this award is known as the "Oscar of the industry". It is awarded to craftsmen with excellent craftsmanship and designers with innovative design capabilities.

"If I remember correctly, this award should only be awarded to the British, right?" Liang En inquired a lot about the jewelry industry after getting the jewelry-related cards.This match was included, so naturally there were doubts.

"You are right, Mr. Liang, but now the rules of the competition have been changed to take into account internationalization." Miss Abigail said, "Now the award is open to students who have studied jewelry in the UK or are professionals. personnel."

Although Liang En is neither British nor a student studying jewelry making in the UK, he can be regarded as a practitioner engaged in the jewelry making industry in the UK.

This is mainly because Liang En did not make jewelry in public before, but now he is making jewelry in a shop that has a contract with him in the UK, so he can naturally be counted as a British practitioner.

"If that's the case, I'm willing to participate in this competition." Liang En was very happy about participating in the competition. Anyway, a series of trivial matters can be entrusted to the jewelry company here without his trouble.

Although as a non-professional jewelry maker, Liang En won't be of much use even if he really wins the award, but it's better to participate more in this type of competition. After all, it won't cause him any loss. The benefits are many.

So in the next few days, Liang En devoted himself to finishing the final inlay and trimming of the jewelry, and then signed up for this year's goldsmith handicraft and design competition with the help of the company.

(End of this chapter)