DeLaneau brings the art of enamelling to London

Last night DeLaneau, the Swiss watch brand that specialises in high-end women’s watches, brought an exhibition of enamel and gem-set watches to the Halcyon Gallery in London. From DeLaneau’s enamel atelier in Geneva came not only the watches but also the tools and the enamellers themselves. Sharing the floor space of the Bond Street art gallery was a series of displays that told the story of how DeLaneau’s enamel dials are made, with Beatrice and Florence, two senior enamel artists, on hand to explain their delicate art.

Brigitte Morina, Creative Director of the brand, was keen to bring the mysteries of enamelling to a wider audience and show just how much work and skill goes into making a DeLaneau watch. “All of our watches are unique and appeal to the woman who knows what she wants and is looking for something very special and different. Each one is a work of art – more like a jewel than just a watch,” explains Morina.

On show were a wide range of DeLaneau creations and, without doubt, the Grace jewellery cuff watches were the most spectacular jewellery watches of the night. The Grace Star is a dazzling display of 118 cabochon star rubies and sapphires with 276 diamonds – a rare sight to see such a number of precious stones with this unusual ‘star’ pattern, clustered around a dial. The Grace Diamonds is set with over 500 rose cuts of varying sizes, which appear to be frozen together, with no metal or settings visible in this sheer mesh of scintillating beauty.

Alongside the new Flower Field enamel dials, which reduce the Impressionist style of painting to the smallest dimensions possible, were a series of dials decorated with floral, animal and insect motifs. Entire butterflies, cherry blossoms in bloom and fleeting views of a bird’s wing have all been captured in Grand Feu enamelling, the vivid colours as bright as those found in nature. Birds are particularly apt subjects for enamel painting, and I was drawn to the Dome Green Parrot Wing watch.

Many different enamelling techniques were evident. The Rondo Anemone Plique à Jour is decorated with a flower made using this translucent enamel technique, which in effect is like a stained glass window. The delicate light grey grisaille flowers appear as if etched into the black and contrast with the glossy black background. Grisaille starts with a plain dark enamel base onto which Whites of Limoge are applied and fired, layer after layer, to create different shades of grey.

The Rondo Translucent dials are some of my favourites, with their glossy depths of rich colour through which the repeated engine-turned patterns, referred to as guilloché, are visible. A similar style of dial is achieved using hard stones, such as the Rondo Ruby Heart, which uses a slice of ruby for the dial. Other variants include a striated brown dial made from fossilised tree.

A few hours in the company of the women from DeLaneau left me more in awe of their work than ever. The problem is, I can’t decide which is my favourite, so I will just have to keep going back to find out more.

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    DeLaneau Atame Jade with white gold case, set with 30 baguette-cut emeralds, 255 diamonds, four onyx and four emerald cabochons. The jade dial is set with four baguette-cut diamonds.

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    Bond Street’s Halcyon Gallery was the venue for DeLaneau’s watch event in London on 30 October 2013.

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    DeLaneau XRD Butterfly Boloria with a Grand Feu enamel dial set with 59 diamonds and four rhombus pink sapphires. The red gold case is set with an additional 36 pink baguette-cut sapphires and 288 diamonds.

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    The spectacular DeLaneau Grace Diamonds jewellery watch, set with over 500 rose cuts of varying sizes, with no metal or settings visible in-between.

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    DeLaneau Rondo Fossilized Tree, with a striated brown dial made from fossilized tree.

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    DeLaneau Rondo Translucent Blue with a guilloché and translucent Grand Feu enamel dial set with a navette diamond. The white gold case is set with 197 diamonds.

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    DeLaneau Rondo Anemone Plique a Jour is decorated with a flower made using this translucent plique-a-jour enamel technique, which in effect is like a stained glass window.

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    DeLaneau Dome Green Parrot Wing with a Grand Feu enamel dial and white gold case set with diamonds.

  • DeLaneauHalcyonGallery001

    DeLaneau’s enamel atelier in Geneva brought not only its enamel and jewellery watches but also the tools and the enamellers themselves to an exclusive event at the Halcyon Gallery in London.

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    DeLaneau’s artistic watches shared space with the modern art on display at the Halcyon Gallery in Mayfair, London, including this painting titled ‘Sir Bob Geldof’ by Mitch Griffiths.

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    DeLaneau’s enamellers were on hand to explain the intricacies of enamelling to show just how much work and skill goes into making a DeLaneau watch.

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    Florence and Beatrice, two of DeLaneau’s enamel artists, took time to answer all my questions.

SOURCE:http://www.thejewelleryeditor.com/watches/article/delaneau-brings-the-art-of-enamelling-to-london/