DIAL

bereve timepieces enamel luxury dial 20 colors

Bereve starts from a handmade draft to create the dials. The colours are then chosen in an particularly accurate manner, after which the process goes into the next step of optimising the symmetries.
Adjusting the draft enables our watchmakers to turn the original idea into a dial that perfectly fits the timepiece.
The base for each dials is made of a precious metal slab, made of 999 silver and 24k gold (the only two materials used by Bereve for its projects). The slab is handmade and engraved by the skilful hands of a Master goldsmith. A Master in enamelling handles the next steps. The fired enamel is a fundamental trait of our timepieces. Experts in enamelling at Bereve handle this ancient art so as to provide modern horology with a unique technique. The complex procedure of working with enamels involves a delicate heating process and a complicated use of powders, thus contributing to broadening horizons of the possible in the timepiece industry. Bereve uses only fired enamel, which melts at a temperature between 730 and 900 degrees Celsius. This technique has been handed down through centuries and is currently used by only a few artisans in the whole world. The pigment powders are pulverized following the lines of each project’s blueprint. Afterwards, a long cleaning process takes place, aimed at removing all the impurities and all the elements that could possible alter the colour. A single mistake could mean days of hard work going lost!
Before pouring out the enamel, our artisan proceeds to purify the precious metal slab from every contamination that could ruin his work. After this meticulous procedure, the decoration can take place. Enamel, temperature, and timing, the three core elements of this art, play now a fundamental role.
Only those who are able to strike the right balance between these elements can carry out this kind of work. The more the colours being used, the harder the task. Once this difficult phase is over, the optimisation of the dial can begin. The enamelling expert uses abrasives substances to adjust the product down to the smallest details, all by hand. These techniques make the dial surface perfect and suitable to capture the passing of time! Bereve is specialised in the Champlevé, Cloisonné and Plique-à-jour techniques.
The Champlevé technique consists in mechanically engraving the surface of the precious metal slab through the use of a burin. The engravings are then filled with the enamel. The result is an alternation of enamel and metal.

The Cloisonné technique is the most difficult enamelwork. Thin rectangular wires of precious metal are bent to create different shaped cells. The wire’s thickness gauges up to 0.05 mm. The cells are attached to the surface of the metal to form the spaces where the enamel is laid layer after layer. The Plique-à-jour technique recalls the ancient stained-glass windows. The enamel is laid to partially cover the surface of a metal base. In this case, the base is removed afterwards, leaving only the network of metal wires filled with enamel. This technique uses translucent enamels to create a special effect, which gleams and reflects the light.