An exquisite plique à jour enamel and champlevé enamel “DragonFly” brooch, in 18 carat yellow
gold with platinum set diamond brilliants. Signed T.W for Tony Williams
Plique à Jour – literal translates as “Braid letting in day light”. Tony Williams Master jeweller
(Dunedin, New Zealand) as quoted from Tony Williams book “all enameling is difficult and time
consuming, and plique à jour especially so”. The material is fragile, and the failure rate is high.
Sometimes compared to stained glass in appearance, it comprises areas of translucent enamel
suspended within a framework of precious metal, the enamel is built up slowly, over multiple firings,
usually done with a backing but Tony Williams prefers to do without this, relying entirely on surface
tension and carefully judged application.
Tony Williams honed his techniques in the UK where he trained at the Birmingham school of
jewellery, graduating with honours. Consequently, he worked for several leading London Jewellers
including two years with Andrew Grima.
We are very lucky and proud to say that we have several pieces by Tony Williams in the collection.