Color Up Your Life with Gaudy Jewels

Even the poet and philosopher Goethe knew that color affects emotions and therefore directly influences the sould and the unity of body and spirit. As early as the Stone Age, people started to paint their bodies with color, and later on used it to decorate their houses. The oldest cave paintings from Spain and the South of France date back over 50,000 years.

Bracelet with colored gemstones, diamonds and freshwater cultured pearls in 18 karat white gold by Ruth Grieco

'Rosario' rosary with genuine gemstones and Tibetan talisman by Ruth Sellack

'Trendy Teatime' hat and accessories by Lee Jacob

'Iosis' brooch in silver, silk and polyester by Ruudt Peters

'Wiesn' by Frieda Julia Mertins

'Aufreisser' bracelet with zip fastener, felt and glass stones by Tina Echterhoelter

'Shocking Pink' flower chain in printed wool felt with silver by Petra Moras-Thiel

 Enamel is a word that describes a flow of glass burned onto metal. Various metals can be used as a base in this, for instance gold, silver, copper or a copper-zinc alloy. This extremely demanding technique, in which a finely powdered, dampened glass mass with a low melting point is melted on to a metal base at a high temperature (in Antiquity around 680°C, now around 800°C), was already used on gold plates in Mycenaean Greece (around 1,800 BC) and on Cyprus (1,200 BC) The enamel technique experienced its first golden age among the Celts, who used it in their arts and crafts for over 1,200 years (until 800 AD). The description of the Celtic enamel technique by the Greek Philostratos (170-249 AD) sounds exciting. "The barbarians by the ocean pour colors on to the glowing ore. The colors then congeal and become as hard as stone." Around the 4th century BC, Greek masters created the most beautiful items of jewelry with enamel colors for Scythian customers. In the following era, filigree enamel on diadems, necklaces, earrings and medallions became increasingly popular. Byzantine enamel entered the occident as gifts in order to impress the barbarians or as diplomatic presents, as souvenirs or later on as booty from the crusades. In the 12th century, Limoges and the Rhine-Maas regions became the hubs of enamel. In this, the artists used endless effort in the production of sacral artifacts such as trophies, shrines, portable altars, ceremonial crosses or book covers.

Necklaces by Ulrike Weyrich. Top: Sapphire, topaz, amethyst, freshwater pearls, 18 karat white gold. Bottom: Rutilated quartz, amethyst, pink opal, freshwater pearls, 18 karat red gold

'Rondo' bracelet in printed aluminum by Anne Mersmann

Earrings in varnished and gold-plated stainless steel by Katharina Schreck

Silver rings with Vigorit artificial horn from the twenties by Suzanne Thiel

The tradition of the enamel craft continued through the golden age of the Ottonic era and through to the Florentine Medicis, who, during the Renaissance, commissioned important European goldsmiths with enamel work, and on to August the Strong, whose court master jeweler in Dresden fashioned exquisite pieces in enamel technique that satisfied the desire among aristocrats at the time for luxury. The situation changed dramatically at the end of the 19th century: enamel became a run of the mill product, industrial enamel. Household appliances were then coated with enamel: ovens, crockery, washing receptacles. Enameled iron conquered households and factories, technology and advertising. During the Art Nouveau age, enamel technique experienced its last significant golden age for jewelry purposes.

New materials and methods emerged in the 20th century in order to design jewelry in a colorful manner. Plastics, textile fibers, felt and much more led to a form of pop art revolution of jewelry during the seventies. Since then, everything that is pleasing is permitted. There were also new dying techniques such as printing, adhesive special colors for painting, targeted oxidation using chemicals or thermal influencing of the metal components and the application of foils.