Soft enamel refers to the coloring of a pin. It is a modern-day approach to the ancient art of cloisonne, which involves melting colored glass to create jewelry. It is much cheaper than cloisonne, and many more colors are available.

It can be used on photo etched or die-struck pins, as each of these methods makes small “wells” or “pools” in the base metal. Hypodermic needles are used to shoot the liquid enamel into these depressed areas, one color at a time. The pin is then baked until the enamel hardens.

These pins can have an epoxy coating over them, but most often do not, so you can feel the edges of the metal walls between colors. Soft enamel coloring can be PMS color matched, making it great for companies wishing to faithfully reproduce their corporate logo.

A step up from soft enamel is hard enamel, which is more glass-like (shinier). It is not as popular as soft enamel, so please contact us for details about this type of coloring.

Soft Enamel