In this episode Matthew and Alyce dive into the dying art of enamelling. Although it’s something we might all be able to find on items in our own homes, finding a skilled enameller who can create art to the standard of the past is next to impossible. 

Enamelling can be found in many forms and today we look back on the 2500 years of the art, hear about some of the finest crafts people and their incredibly impressive colour palettes and, of course, some direction on where you can look to add your very own piece of enamelling to your collection. 

THINGS WE SPOKE ABOUT

01:33 What is enamelling? 

03:22 Varieties of enamelling 

10:24 Why enamelling is a dead art 

13:04 The colour palettes of enamelling 

14:53 How fashions change through history 

23:32 Where you can find good examples of enamelling 

28:59 The Dragonfly Woman corsage

35:44 The Colonnade Fabergé egg

HOST DETAILS

Matthew Weldon took over Courtville in 2018 and continues today the rich legacy left behind by Kitten and Gráinne. The Weldon family tree boasts a rich history of Irish jewellers going back over 135 years. Learning from a young age about the industry from his father, Matthew quickly gained a skilled eye and an appreciation for quality.

Seeking to further his knowledge and expertise Matthew gained a degree in marketing and French which led to a short career as a chartered accountant. But with such a draw to antique and vintage jewellery it was inevitable that Matthew would continue the family tradition and build a business of his own. Like generations before, Matthew looks for the exceptional, rare and intriguing pieces and always ensures beauty, quality and fair prices.

Alyce Ketcher has been working with jewels for over 15 years. During her time within the jewellery industry she has worked in Australia, New Zealand, United States, United Kingdom and Ireland and gained qualifications through the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) and the Gemmological Association of Great Britain (GEM-A). As a qualified gemmologist Alyce is able to use her extensive knowledge of diamonds and gemstones to identify and value jewellery from all periods. Working with antique and vintage jewels is her passion, and you can often find her researching hallmarks, inspecting gemstones or writing about our latest find.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information on Gem Pursuit or to browse the Courtville collection visit www.courtville.ie. 

To see some of the pieces discussed in this episode check out our Instagram @CourtvilleAntiques 

Gem Pursuit is produced for Courtville by Dustpod.io.

Social Media

• IG - @CourtvilleAntiques
• FB - @Courtvilleantiques
• Tik Tok - @matthew.weldon    
• YouTube - @courtvilleantique
• Pinterest - @courtville

QUOTES

"Enamelling is a form of glass work, which has additives introduced to it to increase its stability, and to reduce a melting range that allows it to set on top of a metal surface." - Alyce Ketcher

"There literally are so many types of enamelling, because it really is like an experimental art, especially when you think about glass work." - Alyce Ketcher 

"This was considered one of the most important art forms (and jewellery is art that you wear) up until really the 20th century. And then the question begs to be asked is why is this a dead art?" - Matthew Weldon 

"One thing to really think about when we're talking about these art forms is that they may have gone out of fashion, and then they come back into fashion, but we can't find them anywhere. So we have to look at antique jewellery." - Alyce Ketcher 

"Carl Fabergé's workshops had 130 colours of enamel. So you could choose from 130 different colour palettes that they had created. That is a huge feat." - Alyce Ketcher 

KEYWORDS

#enamelling #enamel #jewellery #metal #faberge #artform #antiquejewellery