verre Églomisé the art of miniature painting on the reverse of a sapphire crystal the art of miniature painting consists of mastering minute details to give the work a presence beyond its size miniature painting on the reverse of a glass dial is a rare art and calls for exceptionally good eyes and trained hands today angular momentum applies the rare decorative skills that create watches as individual works of art to complete a painting the artisan spends many hours peering attentively through the microscope.
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the contours of the design is sketched on a soft transparent plastic foil after the original water color painting
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the first important step is to clean the sapphire crystal from any organic and metallic remains if the sapphire is not totally clean the paint will not stick to the material then the plastic foil with the drawing is sticked on the front of the sapphire crystal
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the white high lights and contours are painted on the sapphire crystal with a small brush then the plastic foil can be removed and before drying the dark black parts are applied and finally the colors of the petals.
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in a next step after the paint is fully dry a thin needle is used to scratch away the dry paint in the center of the petals where the stamen shall appear then the scratched away parts are again filled with paint
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in a next step the leafs are added to the picture.
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then in a next step the white background is painted over the entire painting to complete the picture.
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after the painting has been finished and properly dried the crystal is dropped into an oven where the paint fuses with the sapphire crystal during sintering process in a next step the time display window is cut out with a sharp knife in a last step a special fabric is glued on the back to protect the miniature painting from being damaged during the assembly and when in the far future a watch maker is over working the time piece.
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