Of all the colours of ancient art, those made of glass are among the best-preserved. Byzantine mosaics, cloisonné antiques, leadlight windows – all demonstrate the extraordinary colourfastness of glass, which retains its glowing brilliance where other colours fade.
The creation of glass-based (vitreous) enamel has allowed for the lustre and lightfast nature of glass to be applied as decoration to metals of all kinds. Vitreous is the Latin word meaning ‘glassy’ or ‘made of glass’, and as an enamel, it is fired at extremely high temperatures to fuse to the metal substrate it covers. This creates a phenomenally tough finish that is both hardwearing and forever bright and shiny.
But where did it all begin?
The history of vitreous enamel
Much of the early history of vitreous enamelling is uncertain, though it is thought that the earliest examples of an intermediary form of it date to the 13th century BCE. A set of six gold rings with coloured enamels were excavated from a Mycenaean tomb in Cyprus, which demonstrate the transition between inlay and powder enamelling.1
The spread of the technique is generally not well accounted for, but certainly by the 3rd century BCE, enamelling was in use by the Celts as well as craftsmen in the south of Russia. Come the Middle Ages, enamelling was proliferating through the Byzantine Empire, Italy, England, France and the Rhineland.2
Up to this point, enamelling had been predominantly done on gold, silver and bronze in a technique known as cloisonné, where fine metal strips are soldered to the surface underneath, forming cells into which the enamel is poured.3 During the 12th century, European enamellers shifted to another technique, champlevé, in which the cells are created in the surface itself, allowing for variation in depth as well as thickness of dividing lines between colours.4 This paved the way for basse-taille, another variation using translucent vitreous enamel over intricately-patterned or pictorial metal reliefs.5
During the Renaissance, yet more techniques were developed throughout Europe by goldsmiths under royal patronage, for large-scale artworks as well as jewellery. Ronde-bosse enamelling took the application of enamel to three-dimensional objects – and aren’t we glad it did!
While miniature-painting in enamels grew in Europe, it was in England that enamel transfer printing was pioneered during the 18th century. This was also the time that the use of enamel moved from purely artistic and religious applications into an industrial context. The Industrial Revolution saw the introduction of iron as a base metal, introduced in Germany and Sweden, and enamelled cast iron cookware was widespread by the mid-19th century.6
From here, vitreous enamel was employed for ovens, fridges, washing machines, bathtubs and signage, amongst a host of other things. Still used in these ways, including in jewellery-making, today it is also used for industrial storage as well as in an architectural context. Enamelled panels for wall and ceiling cladding are favoured for the enamel’s durability, lightfastness and resistance to fire, corrosion, abrasion and chemical degradation.7
Vitreous enamel’s proven practical application, combined with its origins in jewellery-making, mean it’s particularly suited to our use of it for door handles. Striking the perfect balance between aesthetics and function, it will adorn your doors with a jewel-like glow that will never fade.
How it’s done
Creating the enamel
The first step in making vitreous enamel is to make what is called frit. Frit is essentially powdered glass, made to a specific recipe depending on the desired outcome. The raw ingredients are smelted before being cooled and milled to a fine powder.
Colour is created by combining the frit with metal oxides, and then water is added to make the mixture sprayable. Once the metal substrate is coated, it’s fired at over 800°C, where it melts into its lustrous finish. Generally, a ground coat is applied first, after which one or more coloured coats are applied to achieve the desired depth of colour. The result is an exquisite, glossy surface that shines with vibrancy.8
Technical advantages
In addition to its beauty, vitreous enamel is unparalleled in its practicality. It’s fireproof, colourfast, resistant to corrosion, abrasion, and chemical and atmospheric agents. It has a score of 5-6 on the Mohs hardness scale, making it scratch-resistant and equal to the stainless steel underneath.
It’s also been shown to inhibit the growth of bacteria in comparison to other coatings, making it a hygienic option for high-touch surfaces such as door handles.9
Environment
Environmentally, vitreous enamel is composed of natural materials and contains no toxic substances. It’s a recyclable material itself, and does not prevent the steel structure underneath from also being recycled at the end of its life.10 Our stainless steel is sourced already recycled, and we have ensured that every component of our handles is recyclable at end of life.
That said, it is our intention to create handles that have long lives of service, as a counter to the rapid consumption and short lifespan of so many products produced today.
After all, if you buy well, you only need to buy once.
References
- Hugh Tait, “Enamelwork”, in Encyclopaedia Britannica, accessed 15 May, 2026, https://www.britannica.com/art/enamelwork. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎
- “Cloisonné”, in Encyclopaedia Britannica, accessed 15 May 2026, https://www.britannica.com/art/cloisonne. ↩︎
- “Champlevé”, in Encyclopaedia Britannica, accessed 15 May 2026, https://www.britannica.com/art/champleve. ↩︎
- Tait, “Enamelwork”. ↩︎
- IOM3 Surface Technologies Group, “A concise history of enamel”, Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, published 22 September 2022, https://www.iom3.org/resource/a-concise-history-of-enamel.html. ↩︎
- “Performance characteristics”, Ceratec, accessed 15 May 2026, https://www.ceratec.com.hk/ve-performance-characteristics/. ↩︎
- “Vitreous enamel”, AJ Wells, accessed 15 May 2026, https://www.ajwells.com/services/vitreous-enamel/. ↩︎
- “Introduction”, International Enamellers Institute, accessed 15 May 2026, https://iei-world.org/introduction/. ↩︎
- Ibid. ↩︎