Cloisonne – Imitation vs. Genuine?
A few days ago – Marv at Pure Marketing Group gave me a good idea for a post. During the course of our discussion – Marv asked me “What’s the difference between genuine and imitation cloisonne?”
The difference boils down to the material used in the color filling step. The products are manufactured the same way up to the point that the colors are added. The piece is diestruck (traditionally in guilding metal – but as copper and brass have gotten more expensive – steel has become an option) creating the details of the design in raised metal. Each piece is trimmed to shape, deburred and the nail is fused on. This is where the two production processes diverge.
Click Image to see at Full Size
In Genuine Cloisonne the color fill material is created from ground glass mixed with metals. The various metals used create the color in the metal (iron mixed in creates red – for example). There are a couple competing color systems (Aoki and Flower Vase are the most popular) and each have their strengths – but no cloisonne colors are able to match PMS colors exactly. The cloisonne material goes in as a powder, then the piece is fired until the material melts. The cavities are purposefully over-filled so that the color goes over the metal lines. Once it cools – the piece is then polished on a wet stone wheel – which grinds down the color fill until the surface is flat and the metal lines exposed. Finally the piece is plated (gold or silver – traditionally).
In imitation cloisonne – the metal emblem is formed the same way – but at the point where the colors are added - things get a little different. The material used to color fill is a two-part polymer that hardens chemically (much like epoxy) instead of the ground glass used in genuine cloisinne. The polymers may be colored to match any PMS color and this os where imitation cloisonne has its benefits. The colors are over filled as in genuine cloisonne – then ground down the same way.
On paper, the big difference between the two is immitation cloisonne’s ability to match PMS colors. In practice - there is a subtle additional depth to the genuine cloisonne colors that is attributable to the glass. It’s tough to describe, and the untrained eye may miss it completely, but if you examine the picture above at full size you can start to see it. Compare the red color on the left vs. the right. The genuine cloisonne has a slightly translucent quality to it – while the red on the right is completely opaque. You can also see a bit of granularity in the genuine colors that’s not present in the imitation. When all is said and done – it a bit like a fine wine. Most of the world will appreciate a good bottle of wine – a smaller group (and Im not one of them) will crave a particular variety and vintage.