Oct 14th Beijing Enamel Factory

Oct 14th 2024: Beijing Enamel Factory and Museum

Below are some photos taken at the Beijing Enamel Factory and Museum (link goes to a good tourist overview of the Factory). The Factory is the largest enamel factory in Beijing, with a technological history that dates to the Emperors.

The first photo is me with my now quite long-time friend David Chang of Watchina (grey sweater), Mr. Shen, manager of the wristwatch section of the factory (in white), and Jiaxi Du (grey and black sweater), an acknowledged skilled watchmaker and Douyin social media personality. Jiaxi Du joined me on the tour.

Can't say enough about the friendship and support from Mr. David Chang. He's smart, kind, tolerant and generous, a true gentleman, and I enjoy every minute of his company. His knowledge (and face to face experience) of Chinese and European horological history and high horology is immense.

So: thank you, David, for arranging this tour of the Factory for me, and thank you, Mr. Shen and Mr. Jiaxi Du for your hospitality and teaching.

On with the photos which are--with the exception of the first photo, above--presented chronologically as I explored/was guided. They show numerous things I don't know how to describe, but here's a link that explains the underlying technology of cloisonne enamel.

But it's not just the tech, that impresses me--it's the creativity and huge patience required to complete an item. As described to me, or at least as I understood, the process is difficult enough that successful results with skilled craftspeople are under 5% of production. But the successes are jaw-dropping. and many are hugely expensive.

Watch content: The Beijing Enamel Factory hand produces both cloisonne and guilloche dials.

The entrance for the Factory, followed by photos taken in the production areas, and then onward...

...and onward to finished pieces. At this point in the tour Jiaxi Du and I were joined by Grace/Wu Yan who, along with Mr. Chen, served as a guide explaining the history of the factory and providing expert information on all the individual pieces.

I'll let the craft speak for itself.