A fine art

Intricate enamel pieces used in top-quality watches are being produced in China, and the nation's watchmakers want consumers to know that their work is just as good as the top artisans in Europe. Wang Kaihao reports.

In a village in Huoxian town, a one-hour drive from downtown Beijing, there is an unremarkable looking warehouse. It seems incredible that this inconspicuous place is where delicate enamel creations of the highest craftsmanship are produced.

Xiong Songtao, 38, was born in a cabin adjacent to the workshop.

"Here, I breathe fresh air and grow organic vegetables," he says.

He wears a confident smile. "I don't want to go to town to market my product. People who know about my vitreous enamel will come to me," he says.

Among the numerous delicate pieces that sparkle throughout his workshop, the miniature watch dials are his greatest source of pride. He uses cloisonne, an ancient technique for decorating metalwork that involves applying 0.04-mm-thin golden wires to form raised lines on a silver body, which contain different areas of enamel.

Cloisonne enamel in China is generally believed to date back to the 15th century and was greatly beloved by royals, but traditionally, a copper body was used.

"I accidentally picked up a luxury magazine in 1998 and saw European enamel watches," Xiong says. "I said to myself: I was born making enamel. Why not give it a try?"

Xiong is the third generation in his family to work with enamel. Some artisans from the royal workshop in the Forbidden City scattered to the outskirts of Beijing in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Xiong's grandfather became an apprentice.

Having graduated from college with a business major in the mid-1990s, Xiong was at first reluctant to take over the workshop from his father.

"But struggling in society is not easy," he says. "When I made several articles by myself for the first time, I felt the responsibility of inheriting the family trade."

He waited for eight years before he made his first enamel dial, as he did not know the technique. Having experience making big enamel articles does not necessarily mean one is equally capable of making smaller objects. He has three boxes full of failed attempts from over the years.

"These are only a small percentage of my failures," he laughs.

"I should have kept them all and opened a museum one day. In dial making, one tiny inaccuracy in any step will result in a disaster in the end."

Ancient China's cloisonne enamels require 30 steps to make, but an enamel dial requires at least 53 steps over two weeks. A 1-mm-thick dial has to be burned in furnaces more than 10 times. More than 70 artisans work in his studio.

There are only five places, including Xiong's studio, that make enamel dials nationwide, according to Wang Mengjin, vice-

chairman of the council leading China Horologe Association. Enamel dials are an essential component of high-end watches, but they only reappeared in China in the past decade. Artisans in the Forbidden City made pocket watches with enamel dials in the Qing Dynasty.

Xiong proudly says several top Swiss luxury brands have ordered dials from him, but he refuses to name them due to confidentiality agreements.

"To make dials recognized by the Swiss, I need do better than my European counterparts. Being equal to them is not enough to attract attention," he explains.

"I cannot cut corners in costs. I have to use jade, turquoise and other kinds of fine materials as dyestuff."

Xiong says learning to make the dials has led to him experimenting with new styles of cloisonne enamel pieces with finer details, more rigid processes and better materials than traditional methods. He believes these items are just as good as the old treasures cherished by the royals. Several small incense burners he made, priced at over 100,000 yuan ($16,000), sold immediately.

Contact the writer at wangkaihao@chinadaily.com.cn

Xiong Songtao and his team achieve mastery of dial making by producing thousands of designs, including some failures along the way. Photos by Wang Kaihao / China Daily

Xiong Songtao's studio is one of the country's five only places to produce enamel dials. Photos provided to China Daily