Horological Meandering

Donz Cadrans: Visiting the famous enamel dial maker Report by Marcus Hanke Just a year ago, Ulysse Nardin announced that it had acquired the enamel dial manufacturer Donz Cadrans: ulyssenardin.watchprosite.com Not only was this small company, run by Fra...  

Thank you so much for this treat for eyes and soul. As big enamel fan this post really made my day Surely the post to save and come back to. Sincerely Damjan

I'm exposed, on a much smaller and dissimilar scale, to this art form by my wife that do porcelain painting. It requires, in all cases, extreme eye for detail and an absurd level of patience because one never really knows the exact outcome from the furnac... 

... focussing on old Meissen designs. Unfortunately, she had an accident shattering her shoulder twenty years ago, which stopped her activity. I very much honour the pieces sche made, since I witnessed the work invested into them. You might like a small p...  

Marcus, I go, for sure, share those pictures with my wife. Cheers, Nilo

Making posts or beautiful dials. Thank you.

nt

However I would never enter those premises without wearing a facial mask protecting against fine or enamel dust. Certainly anyone working there should be aware of the potential health hazards. I don't think that I would want to breathe it in, day after da... 

my return from DC. Cheers, Magnus

....and your wonderful post makes me finally understand how much work and skill is behind each a enamel dial! Thank you Marcus, for this most interesting post! Best, Stefan

One of the most interesting points to underline is the large range of clients they have, from very small independant watchmakers to brands belonging to large groups. I hope to visit Les Cadraniers de Genève in 2013. Thanks a lot! Fx

... that create wonderful art put on our wrists! Thank you for the wonderful report. Fascinating! Ken

and educational to boot. many thanks! best, Horo

Dear Markus, Many sincere thanks for taking us on this trip! This definitely increases my appreciation for my Richard Lange Pour le Merite, which if i am not mistaken had it's dial made by Donze. About the printing process of the numerals and so, didnt yo... 

... the colour from the template on the dial, but says nothing about the material of the print. It can be printing colour and left to dry, or it can be enamel paint and fired thereafter, as in the case of the UN chronometer dials. Regards, Marcus

Fantastic post Marcus! I really enjoyed this post about enamel dials and learning about the process. Thanks, great job on this writeup. Regards, ED-209

I wished I had this post a few months ago when I was explaining the difficulty of manufacturing enamel dials to some attendees to a PuristSPro/Montblanc event in San Francisco. Love this post, as I've got a weakness for enamel dials. I've bookmarked this ... 

I love this phrase: “And how often does she do this?” - “Until the dial is perfect.” cheers PAt

Thanks Marcus for this most comprehensive report! I had forgotten about enamel dials :-) because i have been extremely busy the last months, enjoyed reading but mostly viewing :-) . Filip

... I am glad you liked this article. I think that while we like watches as a whole, it is nevertheless worth to know about how its individual components are made. Best regards, Marcus

Thanks for the superb report Marcus. Best G

smoky mirrors alternate with real quality,its very difficult to discern the good from the not so good. A post like this make us all realize the amount of work that lies behind a good eye opener,one of those post that increase anyones experience and wisd... 

NT

Thank you!! It's very interesting to see the art of enamel applied to such delicacy!

Marcus, Thank you for your fantastic article: very informative content, superb photos of beautiful dials. The manual work on dials deserves posts like yours. As these suppliers that contribute for a large part in our passion for watches and that are too o... 

Here are my favorites amongst those dials, love wearing these sublime gems. Now after reading this great post and looking at those pics, I have even more appreciation of the work and skill needed to get them to what we see in our watches. Again a wonderfu...  

Thank you Marcus. Now I will look for enamel dials where the printing is not a separate layer.

I always find enamel dial fascinating and irresistable. The process of making even a simple enamel dial is pain staking. However, I discover that the quality of every enamel dial varies quite significantly when compared one brand to another. I am wonderin... 

Enameling is an art that really amazes me, love to see how they do it from first step, to the final resut. I've enjoyed your post a lot. Thanks for sharing. Vte :)