Enamel jewellery is coloured glass or resin bonded to metal. The good version is powdered glass fired onto the piece in a kiln at over 760°C, where it melts and fuses into a hard, glossy surface. The cheaper version is pigmented epoxy resin poured in cold and left to cure. Both get called enamel. Only one of them is glass.
That difference decides almost everything else. How long the colour lasts, whether it yellows, what it costs, and how carefully you need to treat it.
What is enamel jewellery, exactly?
Enamel is glass, ground to a powder, laid onto metal and fired until it melts.
The technique is roughly three thousand years old. Greek goldsmiths did it, so did the Egyptians and the Byzantines, and later Fabergé.
The colours come from metal oxides mixed into the glass. Cobalt for blue, iron for reds, tin for opaque white. Because the colour lives in the glass rather than sitting on top of it, it cannot rub off. Chip it and the colour goes all the way down.
A few named techniques turn up on product pages. Cloisonné uses thin wires soldered onto the metal to make cells, each filled with a different colour. Champlevé fills recesses carved into the metal, then polishes them flat.
What is the difference between vitreous enamel and cold enamel?
One is fired glass. The other is resin that never sees a kiln.
| Vitreous (hot) enamel | Cold enamel | |
|---|---|---|
| Material | Powdered glass | Pigmented epoxy resin |
| How it is set | Fired above 760°C | Air cured or UV cured |
| Surface | Glass hard, cold to touch | Softer, slightly warm, plastic |
| Over time | Holds colour for decades | Can scratch, dull and yellow |
| Fails by | Chipping on impact | Scratching, lifting at the edges |
| Cost to make | High, skilled, slow | Low, fast, easy to scale |
Cold enamel is not a scam. It puts colour at a price fired enamel could never reach, and plenty of it looks lovely. The problem is that most listings will not say which one you are getting. The word on the tag is identical either way.
How can you tell which one you are buying?
Look at the surface, then read the wording, then ask.
Fired enamel sits flush with the metal or slightly below it, because it gets polished back after firing. It feels cold, the way glass and gemstones do.
Resin usually sits proud of the metal in a small domed bubble, because it pulls itself into a curve as it cures. Look at the piece side on. If the colour arcs above the metal edge like a droplet, that is resin. Tiny trapped air bubbles are another giveaway.
On wording, "vitreous", "fired" and "kiln fired" mean glass. "Enamel finish", "enamel effect" and "enamel coating" usually do not. If the page says nothing, email the brand and ask. Anyone firing enamel properly is happy to tell you, because it is the expensive part.
Does enamel jewellery chip?
Yes, if you hit it hard against something harder. In normal wear, rarely.
Enamel sits around 5 to 6 on the Mohs hardness scale, the same neighbourhood as window glass. Harder than a fingernail or a coin. Softer than quartz, sapphire, or the grit in beach sand. So the real risks are a solid knock against stone or tile, and sand.
Rings take the worst of this, because hands meet doorframes. Earrings and pendants almost never chip, because nothing hits them.
A specialist can sometimes re-fire a small chip, though the piece has to survive the heat and the colour has to be matched. It is not cheap. Prevention beats repair here.
Can you shower or swim in enamel jewellery?
The enamel will be fine. The metal underneath is what you are protecting.
Fired glass does not care about water. Soap film dulls the gloss though, chlorine and salt attack gold and silver, and sunscreen leaves a haze that builds up in the setting. On a vermeil piece the gold layer is the part with a lifespan, and pools and hot showers shorten it. We went through how far you can push that in can you wear gold vermeil in the shower.
Rule of thumb. Jewellery on last, after moisturiser, perfume and sunscreen. Jewellery off first, before the pool, the surf and the shower.
How do you clean enamel jewellery?
Warm water, a drop of plain dish soap, a soft toothbrush, then dry it properly.
Work gently around the seam where the enamel meets the metal, because that is where hand cream and sunscreen collect. Rinse, dry with a soft cloth, then leave it out for ten minutes before it goes back in the box. Trapped moisture is what dulls a piece over months.
Three things to skip.
- Ultrasonic cleaners. The vibration can work a hairline crack into a real one and loosen set stones. Jewellers keep enamel out of the tank for a reason.
- Silver dip and chemical solutions. Fine on a plain silver chain. Not on enamel, gemstones or vermeil, where they strip and stain.
- Abrasive polishing cloths. Impregnated cloths are made to take a microscopic layer off metal. On glossy enamel they leave a haze of fine scratches.
Store pieces so they are not knocking into each other. Enamel scratches enamel, and a hard gemstone scratches both. Separate pouches, or a lined box with compartments, will do more for a piece than any cleaning routine.
Does enamel jewellery fade in the sun?
Fired enamel does not fade. Resin can.
The colour in vitreous enamel is a metal oxide locked inside glass, which is why museum pieces from the twelfth century still look bright. There is nothing in there for sunlight to break down.
Epoxy resin is a different story. Ultraviolet light slowly yellows it, and pale colours show it first. Whites go cream. Soft pinks go beige. A pale piece that has warmed up over a couple of summers tells you what it was made of.
Is enamel jewellery worth it?
Fired enamel on a decent metal, yes. Resin over brass, treat it as a lovely season rather than an heirloom.
Ask two things before you buy. What the colour is made of, and what is underneath it. Beautiful enamel on plated brass fails at the base first, usually inside a year. We set out the difference between coatings in gold vermeil vs gold plated.
What we make
Every Good Goods piece is hand-painted enamel on 18k gold vermeil over sterling silver, with hand-set rose quartz or citrine, made in runs of twenty and never repeated.
To try colour without much commitment, The Icon Blush Enamel Band is the easiest way in at $199. It is 2.5mm wide and stacks with everything. For more presence, The Icon Lavender Enamel Pendant Necklace sets lavender enamel against a hand-set citrine, and a pendant is the piece least likely to ever meet a hard surface. The stones carry meanings of their own, which we covered in what rose quartz and citrine mean.
Frequently asked questions
What is enamel jewellery made of?
Traditional enamel is powdered glass, coloured with metal oxides, fused to metal in a kiln at over 760°C. Modern cold enamel is pigmented epoxy resin applied at room temperature and left to cure. Both are sold as enamel, but only the fired version is glass.
Does enamel jewellery chip easily?
Not in normal wear. Enamel sits around 5 to 6 on the Mohs scale, so it takes a hard knock against stone, tile or metal to chip it. Rings are the most exposed. Earrings and pendants rarely chip, because nothing strikes them.
Can you wear enamel jewellery in the shower?
The enamel itself is unaffected by water, but soap dulls the gloss and chlorine and salt damage the metal underneath. On a vermeil or plated piece, the coating is the part with a lifespan. Take it off before showering, swimming and the beach.
How do you clean enamel jewellery at home?
Use warm water, a drop of mild dish soap and a soft toothbrush, working gently around the seam where the enamel meets the metal. Rinse, dry with a soft cloth, then let it air. Avoid ultrasonic cleaners, chemical dips and abrasive polishing cloths.
Does enamel jewellery fade over time?
Fired vitreous enamel does not fade, because the colour is a metal oxide locked inside glass. Epoxy resin enamel yellows with ultraviolet exposure, and pale shades show it first. A white or pale pink piece that has warmed to cream was almost certainly resin.
How can you tell if enamel is real or resin?
Look at the piece side on. Fired enamel sits flush with the metal and feels cold and glass hard. Resin usually domes slightly above the metal edge and can hold tiny air bubbles. On the listing, "vitreous", "fired" and "kiln fired" mean glass, while "enamel finish" or "enamel effect" usually does not.
Colour is the whole point
Enamel exists because someone three thousand years ago wanted jewellery the colour of the sky, and worked out how to melt glass onto gold to get it. Look after it and it holds that colour longer than you will need it to.
Wear the joy.