Each color is fired separately so as not to bleed into another. since each glaze has its own peculiarities and different melting points, a firing order must be established. Some of the pins in this catalog have as many as 13 separate glazes and require an astounding amount of careful work for their completion. The enamels are supported by copper, which is chosen for its ability to take platings a well as its malleability, stability and non-corrosive qualities. However, in order to give it shape it is first necessary to create an engraved die in hardened tool steel. Although a rough shape can be achieved with the careful use of a high speed drill, the spontaneous feel, magnificent detail and relief engraving seen here can be achieved only by a master engraver and by hand carving.
Mistakes are of course irretrievable.
Unusual shapes and holes require supplemental dies. The die is placed in a drop press in which pieces of copper are individually loaded and shaped, one at a time, by bringing to bear pressures of up to 300 tons which can crack or break a die. Dies can lose their crispness with use a can pitting from disuse. Collectors are able to easily detect enamels made from a counterfeit die since no two hand fashioned items will ever look the same. After completion of the enameling process the enamels are ground down to the level of the underlying copper and carefully polished.