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Nicole Barr Enamel Jewelry: Our Story

Since 1982, we’ve followed our passion for creating some of the most exciting pieces of enamel jewelry in the world. Starting as a small company located north of London in the U.K., we’ve committed ourselves to providing the highest quality enamel jewelry featuring vibrant hues in the most called for jewelry items in the industry. Following the high standards set by French master enamelers like René Lalique and Fabergé, Nicole Barr’s mission has been to deliver the time honored enamel work to a modern consumer.

Using true vitreous enamel (hard fired glass) painstakingly applied by hand to 18K gold and sterling silver, our jewelry is complemented with the finest diamonds, pearls, and gemstones. Each design is handmade to order.

With 4 decades of experience as Original Design Manufacturers (ODM) we produce your own exclusive high quality designs with complete confidentiality.  Our American-owned and managed factory operates using the highest ethical standards. 



 

About Enamel

The artful beauty and skill of enameling has captivated us for over 40 years and we look forward to sharing some of what goes into creating these colorful designs with you in the materials you find here.  While it’s an ancient artform, modern jewelry artists, like Nicole Barr, have kept these skills alive for the 21st century collector.  And as we've often been asked how we make the colorful, diverse collections we introduce each year,  we created these videos that show some of the exquisite detail in Nicole Barr jewelry, as well as help answer this question! 




"A thing of beauty is a joy forever." - J. Keats
 
Enameling is our passion, and as one among very few designers worldwide who work in this artform, we would like to introduce you to several of the difficult techniques used to create our exclusive designs.
 
enamel jewelry by Nicole Barr

What is Fired or Vitreous Enamel?

  Fired Enamel is created when liquid glass is fused to metal at temperatures of up to 1500 F.  Our enamel colors come from blends of rare metals like gold, cobalt and manganese, with each color requiring a different firing temperature. Designs with several colors, as in these Aurora pendants shown here, require multiple firings to create lustrous color that never fades.



 

Plique a Jour enamel jewelry by Nicole Barr

Plique-à-Jour

This is a French term meaning “glimpse of day.” In this difficult technique, liquid enamel is suspended between delicate strands of gold or silver and then fired at high temperatures -- creating a shimmering, translucent effect.
 


 

Basse Taille enamel jewelry by Nicole Barr
 

The Art of Basse Taille

Basse Taille (meaning “low-cut” in French) is an enameling technique whereby an intricate design is engraved into the gold or silver piece, creating texture and dimension before the enamel is applied. Once the enamel is applied and fired, these patterns are clearly visible through the transparent color as they reflect the play of light and shade over the design.