Champlevé is an enamelling method in which hollow cells are cut into a thick metal dial base and filled with enamel. The name means ‘raised fields’, after the coloured or patterned areas it creates. Engraving leaves the floor of each cell rough, so champlevé dials usually use opaque enamels rather than see-through ones.
How is a champlevé dial made?
In general, the hollows can be cut, etched, stamped or cast into a metal surface. On a watch, the usual route is to engrave hollow cells into a thick dial base. The enameller then fills these carved spaces with enamel. Next, the dial is fired until the enamel melts. Once it has cooled, the surface is polished. The result is a dial where areas of colour sit inside cells cut from the metal itself, rather than lying on top of it.
Not to be confused with
Cloisonné and champlevé both fill small cells with enamel. The difference lies in how the cells are made. In cloisonné, flat metal strips are soldered onto the surface to form the walls. In champlevé, the cells are cut into the metal. For watch dials, cloisonné is described as roughly the reverse of champlevé. One adds material to the dial. The other takes it away.
Where it comes from
Regular use of champlevé first appears in the La Tène style of early Celtic art. Its use grew considerably in several regions during the late 11th century. Between 1100 and 1250, specialist champlevé metalworkers worked in centres around Cologne, Liège and Limoges. These medieval enamellers dug the recesses out of copper plates, then filled them with powdered enamel.
How do watchmakers use champlevé?
On the Patek Philippe Ref. 6002 Sky Moon Tourbillon, even the railway-track chapter ring is milled out in relief. The Krayon Anywhere Arborea has 575 small carved cavities in its dial, each a different size and shape. Hublot takes another route for its Classic Fusion Enamel Britto. Rather than engraving the cells, it stamps the white gold dial base to form the raised walls between them.
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