Jill Leventon

Nobody howled me down for the comments I made in my last article, so I can only presume either that I didn't make any outrageous claims or that no-one read it. Heartened by this, I have succumbed to Kath's gentle, if persistent, reminders, and offer here a few tips, in no particular order, that I have found useful.

I still don't really know how thick the metal should be. The best advice I can find is that the thickness depends on the dimensions of the piece. There is a chart in the Strosahl book 'A Manual of Cloisonné & Champlevé Enamelling', page 32, which gives the gauges for copper, and states that you should use slightly thinner gauges for silver. Unfortunately, all the measurements are in inches, and suppliers do tend to work in millimetres nowadays! (I have a venerable, but invaluable, conversion calculator which I would hate to be without..... Ed). Personally, I have decided that I can get away without counter-enamelling anything 1mm or thicker, unless I'm etching, in which case I'd use 1.3mm. If it's domed, you could possibly go slightly thinner. I have the advantage of having a stock of silver of varying thicknesses which was passed on to me for a nominal sum by a retired jeweller, and so I can experiment more readily than someone who has to buy their silver specially. Hopefully, those of you who might be 'having a go' might well have small pieces left over from any silver classes you have attended.

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