Hi MTF, and thanks for the memories.

Sep 10, 2009,01:01 AM
 


Hi MTF,

Congratulations on a most comprehensive and enjoyable read.

An excellent report on email and obviously very thoroughly researched.

I was particularly pleased to see you make public the little known comparison between email and E-mail.

Your article brought back memories for me, and as I have often wondered if your Koala indicates a tie with Australia...... you or other Australians might remember a company that I worked for, in Orange, New South Wales some 35 years ago.

It was called Email Pty Ltd.... and basically did exactly that.

My job was in the email department.... no not 'communication' as you already and rightly have pointed out... but in the enamel department.

My principal job was in applying the powder and later firing the work, although I also worked in the milling and filtering sections.

Milling was the crushing of the glass to form the powder.

Here we ground the glass in large tumblers with massive balls and then went through the process of cleaning the resultant powder.

It was heat dried and as you mention stored in distilled water and when used, needed constant stirring during any spray application as the powder had a tendency to sink.

After application it was seriously heat dried, as moisture during firing could give disastrous results, as could oil or grease on the principal base.

I sometimes used to think that there were as many 'Foreigners' done at Email P/L as company jobs. ( 'A Foreigner' was the name given by staff to work being done by staff, for staff.... without Company Management knowledge, and these jobs ranged through everything imaginable from jewelry to belt-buckles to whatever.

These foreigners mostly needed the cooperation of other staff and there was always a flurry when management approached to put the foreigners out of sight.

It is worth noting, that while email / enamel is considered a rare item today, back in the 1950s to 1970s it was a household item, used on every imaginable commodity.

Souvenirs, school and sporting badges, cigarette lighters, ashtrays, car badges,kitchen and household item from pots and pans to dinner plates, and everything imaginable.

Sure it was not as good as some expectations in todays watches..... but it was right up there if the product demanded it. .... Mercedes Benz badges of the 1950 -1960s were still filled with a beautiful cobalt blue email, and if you buy one for a vintage Benz today... you will get a brand new badge, still done in email... and of extremely good quality.... but not of the quality of yesteryear for I have replaced exactly one and compared both.

Regarding failures, the successful firing rate was very high at almost 100%.... and while I think the standard of the email in the watches you have presented in this report are constructed to the demands of utmost scrutiny,..... I do know it is also in the watch makers interest to talk up the failure rate of email.

But in general the only failures we endured were oil or grease contamination which left a hole exposing the principal base where the email did not stick.... or a power failure which allowed an oven temperature drop.

A common trick was to put a sweaty fingerprint on a principal base and apply powder and then fire it.

Many times it would result in a perfect reproduction of ones fingerprint... with little minute globules of glass beads forming the print lines.

We kept the firing ovens at 1,300 Deg. F, or about 705 Deg. C.

These were very beneficial on some nights as Orange is relatively above mean sea level and gets cold at night.

One memory your article brought back was of many of us huddling around an oven one night that I worked the Midnight shift.

It was Snowing.... and while that was not entirely unusual for Orange... the date was December 23rd ... 2 days before Christmas... and the middle of our summer.... and probably in 1974.

I have a passion for email and so thank you for a great article and it is good to see Paiget's beautiful work.

I would love to see a return to more email in many watch brands.... and I think it will come.

kindest regards,

Jack

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PIAGET Enamel Watches – a Fusion of Art and Science: Part 1

 
 By: MTF : September 8th, 2009-11:55
Ref. G0A31164 'Venice' When I first saw 'enamel' Piaget Polo Tourbillon Relatif watches, I was rather surprised that they called it enamelling. I expected enamel work for watches to be pure white dial faces or miniature paintings on case backs. I could no...  

The Piaget 'Venice' is stunning!

 
 By: DRMW : September 8th, 2009-21:29
Thanks MTF, looking forward to Part II -MW

Strictly speaking it should be 'Tribute to Piazza San Marco'

 
 By: MTF : September 9th, 2009-04:24
PIAGET has some connection with the Piazza San Marco clocktower in Venice. The city name is more recognisable than the name - 'Piazza San Marco Clocktower'; I used some poetic licence. The wonderful clocktower in Piazza San Marco, commissioned by the Doge... 

I feel like I'm back in my college Art History classes!

 
 By: dxboon : September 8th, 2009-22:22
Thanks, MTF! I love your article. It's been a long time since I read many of the terms you kindly explain in your post. I agree with your sentiment that enameling is more art than science. It takes knowledge, experience, and that sixth-sense almost to kno... 

The value proposition is difficult

 
 By: MTF : September 9th, 2009-04:29
to explain without some background. An enamelled piece is many times pricier than a 'simple' Tourbillon Relatif, which, in itself is already a princely sum. The search for perfection in an imperfect world gives up many failures and the spoilage rate is hi... 

Stunning ....

 
 By: Ares501 - Mr Green : September 9th, 2009-01:24
my favorite being NY but all are gorgeous! Most innovative and charming case sides I ever saw Thank you for sharing Best Damian

I'm a bit partial to...

 
 By: MTF : September 9th, 2009-04:26
'Pekin' being of chinese genotype but the New York seems quietly elegant in a dark monotone. Regards, MTF

WOW!!! I was stunned as I clicked on this story! [nt]

 
 By: big daddy : September 9th, 2009-16:34
No message body

Stunned....good or stunned... bad?

 
 By: MTF : September 10th, 2009-07:17
I hope the former. Are you stunned because you did not expect Piaget to be doing this? Or did you see them as purveyours of diamond set watches? Regards, MTF

Hi MTF, and thanks for the memories.

 
 By: justpen : September 10th, 2009-01:01
Hi MTF, Congratulations on a most comprehensive and enjoyable read. An excellent report on email and obviously very thoroughly researched. I was particularly pleased to see you make public the little known comparison between email and E-mail. Your article... 

Wow back at ya! Thanks for an insider's view...

 
 By: MTF : September 10th, 2009-07:24
Jack, Thanks for an insider's re-collections. My Koala avatar does not denote my geographical origins but an empathy for the littel marsupial (not so little in Tasmania). If I could be assured of a safe life , free from vicious dogs and forest fires, I ma... 

Wow,...just amazing

 
 By: Dino944 : September 11th, 2009-08:39
Great report on all the work that went into those watches. I love the Paris dial watch, very cool...although the blue from the Venice piece is so rich and vibrant! I'm almost embarassed to say this if the first time I noticed that there was a Piaget forum... 

Hang your head in shame!

 
 By: MTF : September 11th, 2009-19:19
dino dino dino, You only found our Piaget forum now? Do I have to commit seppuku (hari-kiri) now? Seriously, we are pleased to help tell the Piaget story and as Piaget CEO said, "Together, we will write the next pages of our history book". Welcome home! M... 

My head is hanging in shame...

 
 By: Dino944 : September 12th, 2009-02:04
Maybe I will have to wear a "Scarelet Letter P" on my clothing as atonement for my not noticing this forum was here. I was astonished when I checked some back pages to see how long the Piaget forum has been going! I don't know how I missed seeing it previ... 

LOL ! ......And torture my night....

 
 By: MTF : September 12th, 2009-03:09
You are forgiven, my son! "Close every door to me, Hide all the world from me Bar all the windows And shut out the light Do what you want with me, Hate me and laugh at me Darken my daytime And torture my night....." This message has been edited by MTF on ...