The superb enamel pieces produced by companies like Moorcroft Enamels and Elliot Hall Enamels have a very modern feel, yet relate back to a centuries old tradition that is effectively "painting in glass".

Glass has been in use for over 4000 years, but it was the Romans and Egyptians who got to grips with the chemistry of adding colour to glass. We now know that complex chemical changes take place when metal oxides are added to molten glass, forming a wide variety of colours. When these coloured glasses were powdered and mixed with a medium, such as oil, they could be applied to metal surfaces and heated. Under the right conditions, the glass fused and adhered well to the metal. The technique of enamelling was born.

Enamelled pictures are all the more beautiful and exquisite when one considers the remarkable way in which they are produced. The artist must build up the artwork in stages, as all the colours cannot be applied at once and fired together. The colours that can withstand the highest temperatures (like browns, blues and greens) must be painted first and fired. The firing is by way of flash firing for two or three minutes. During this process the enamel melts and fuses with the coloured oxides. Some colour change takes place during firing. Upto five firings may be needed to apply all the colours, with great care being used to ensure that refiring does not damage or crack the colours already applied. So the artist must not only be able to paint in minute detail on a minature copper "canvas" but also understand the technology of firing and the changes that occur. If all goes well, the artist produces a finished article that matches the image of the painting he or she had in mind.

The use of enamel to decorate small ornamental items like snuffboxes and watch cases reached its peak in themid-18th century. Two centres, at Battersea and Bilston, were able to produce goods in quantity and quality by the method of transfer printing. An engraved metal plate is brushed with enamel colours, which are then transferred to paper before being applied to the surface to be decorated.

In the 1980's companies such as Kingsley Enamels (the company which became Moorcroft Enamels) revived the tradition of enamelled box production. Whilst using much hand painting, they relied largely on a transfer printed outline to speed production. Moorcroft Enamels, however, use a much greater degree of complete hand painting in their range and have introduced shapes never before found on enamels. In just five years they developed the technique of using a transfer printed outline that was so feint it could be masked at the painting stage, so that the finished article looked as though it had been entirely hand painted. This represented enormous strides from hand colouring the spaces between a black outline, which had been the hallmark of mostenamel production until that point.

The pinnacle of the craft was the artist painted limited editions that are created entirely freehand from start to finish. These represent some of the finest work in the medium available today and were the most sought after items to be produced by Moorcroft Enamels. The in-out technique used on some of these pieces was the inspiration of Stephen Smith, who then trained others in the art. Such pieces will continue to amaze all who see them for many years to come.

Sadly, Moorcorft Enamels ceased production in 2006, having perhaps been over-optimistic and innovative to the point where the public failed to appreciate the intrinsic workmanship and value of the pieces produced. Perhaps they did not promote these gems as seriously as they might or allowed prices to rise too steeply? Will these minature masterpieces become sought after items in the auction salerooms of the future?

In June 2006 Elliot Hall, son of the founder of Kingsley Enamels and former MD of Moorcroft Enamels, launched a new company Elliot Hall Enamels. Sensing a market for the premium hand-painted pieces he decided to make the entire production of this new company by the hand-painted process. Retaining many of the artists who had been so popular with Moorcroft Enamels he produced a catalogue for most pockets. While the familar quality and international reputation of the likes of Stephen Smith and Terry Halloran have again been available to the discerning collector, only time will tell whether this venture will prove popular with collectors and whether lessons can be learned from the mistakes that led to the demise of Moorcroft Enamels.