An enamel dial is a clock or watch dial made from a thin copper plate coated with vitreous enamel, usually white, that is fired in a kiln to produce a hard, glossy and permanent surface. The numerals and minute track are painted or printed in black enamel and fired again, so that they remain crisp and resist fading.
Enamel dials were used on watches from the late seventeenth century and became standard on French clocks, English watches and many bracket and wall clocks during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. French carriage clocks, marble mantel clocks and porcelain-cased clocks commonly have enamel dials, sometimes with decorative painted borders or visible escapement apertures. They were also widely used on English dial clocks and fusee bracket clocks, although many English clocks used painted or silvered dials instead. Enamel is brittle and easily chipped around the winding holes and edges, and hairline cracks are common, especially on convex dials. Collectors value dials free from damage and with original signatures, since restoration of enamel is difficult and often visible. A clean, undamaged white enamel dial with crisp numerals adds significantly to the appeal and value of a clock.
