Those of you familiar with Hawaiian Heirloom Jewelry have most likely seen it before – a cousin or friend who has just received their new piece of Hawaiian Heirloom, and the colored enamel is already coming out. Yes, it came with a lifetime warranty, but how many times are you going to go back to replace it? Sound familiar?
Well, there’s a reason why the letters keep coming out – it is not glass enamel. The truth is, epoxy or plastic enamel, can be affected in a lot of ways (chlorine in the swimming pool is just a common one of the many). The edges start to harden, then curl up, and eventually the whole letter falls out.
Now, how many of you have a favorite Auntie who has an old Hawaiian bracelet or family heirloom, and not only are the names still there, but it is the original enamel? The explanation is that these are hand-cut letters that contain glass enamel.
More and more common today are ultra-light bracelets at unbelievable prices, many with unlimited letters. These pieces, more likely than not, contain machine-cut letters. They are cut into the bracelet with a spinning spindle leaving a deep smooth ‘V’ shape cut into the bracelet. Because the operator exerts no energy in cutting the name, little if any attention is paid to the depth of the cut, meaning the capital or taller lower-case letters going from one side of the bracelet’s edge to the other, leaves a weakened spot with two-thirds of the metal removed. Unfortunately, as the bracelet is worn and bumped, it is at this spot that the first enamel will come out.
The hand-engraver, on the other hand, has to rely on touch, vision, and controlled pressure to cut the letter and as such, no unnecessary metal is removed. The hand-engraver removes the letter surface following the contours of the bracelet, leaving equal depth throughout. The sides are straight up and down, not tapered, leaving a nice straight wall to hold the enamel in place. When the hand-engraver has got the depth required to hold the enamel in place, he then walks (wriggles) his engraving tool through the recessed areas, creating a textured finish for the molten glass enamel to adhere to. It takes four times longer to cut a name by hand than it does to cut it on a machine.
Take another look at Auntie’s Hawaiian heirloom jewelry. You will see that the surface is indeed cracked and scuffed from years of quality wear, but it hasn’t come out, thanks to the effort and craftsmanship of the hand-engraver who kept the enamel where it belongs – in the bracelet and not on the floor.