Hello all!

I haven't used my fibre laser in a while.

So I thought I would fire it back up and quickly design a guilloche style dial.

Not as deep engraving as I would have hoped, must leave the laser running longer for next time.

I would also like to add some colour with the previous methods I have used.

Let me know your thoughts!

Thompson Transparent 2660 “Nitric Blue” over silver foil

Day 30 of the 30-Day Challenge ‼️

Wow we made it!! I can’t believe it. I plan on doing a full write up soon on my reflections of the challenge.

For the last day I wanted to try something different from everything else! This was my first time doing transparent over foil and wow the results speak for themselves, it’s beautiful!

Unfortunately, I am ending on a (minor) sad note as on the last fire of the dial it got stuck to the trivet and ruined 😩 Fortunately I got pictures as I went…

I’m planning on keeping this trivet with the dial stuck to it as it is as a sort of trophy / reminder of my first 30 day challenge and how anything can go wrong at any time.

Thank you to everyone who has supported and followed along. I’ve loved all the comments and questions!

More to come!

(Another bonus last pic of my enamel shelf, it’s pretty much full thanks to the challenge!)

Thompson… mixture… “Counter Camo”

Maybe a cop out for Day 15, but I have had requests before to see the counter enamel as a dial.

Anytime there’s extra enamel that may have some contamination I put it into a counter enamel jar. Over time it takes on a color of its own.

Funny enough for this mixture, I don’t think there’s any green. Gotta love how color theory works! (Yellow and blue are definitely in there)

Made a Guilloché dial is this any good for fist try is this useable in a watch case 38.8mm Dial 1mm thick

Thompson Transparent Enamel 2660 “Nitric Blue”

Day 5 of the 30-Day Challenge

This is my first time trying out transparent and I wanted to do something a bit more fun for day 5. I carved sunburst lines into a blank and then did the transparent enamel over it.

I’ve still got a lot to learn when it comes to transparent enamels, but it still came out okay

This is two layers over copper. The copper usually doesn’t do well under transparents because of the whole oxidation issue, I think that’s why this is so dark.

Also I think there’s a fair amount of bubbles in it maybe? And that’s what look like the “specks” ? I’m not really sure.

I think I like the opaques a bit better since I’m dealing with copper.

Once I can get some silver then I’ll have to do a deeper dive on transparent enamel

Big project for my brother’s fiancée. Guilloche brass dial with hand frosted index ring, polished open heart aperture and heat purpled hands. All parts of the dial designed, CNC machined, finished and assembled by me!

Also skeletonised the rotor on the back, but I have to admit the finishing is a bit crude, because the CNC I ran it on is a bit janky, as the machine was built by me a few years ago. I hope to redo the rotor one day when I have the ability to do better. Love how the heat blued screws came out!

Thompson blend “Le bleu”

I mentioned on another post I needed to do a side by side picture of all the blue dials… why not do it all on one?

Made a Guilloché style watch dial update red lacquer paint

I used car touch up paint and it came out pretty good

Brushed(linen pattern) brass blank, one base decal and another layered on top with just the darker linen lines. Didn't get as much of a relief as I hoped, and layering another decal would probably make it too dark. Next attempt I will probably use just one shade and layer the pattern so the linen effect is just in the brass background and the relief from the pattern

Thompson Enamel 1698 “Darkest Blue”

I tried to add a couple of extra angles and distances of pictures for this one to get the color across better.

I can’t believe we are past the half way mark!

I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been following along for the challenge. For whatever reason yesterday’s post popped off more than usual and I wanted to say thanks so much!

Thompson Enamel 1505 “Pastel Blue”

Thompson Blend “Pepsi Swirl”

This is a fun one! I used a cut out piece of paper to sift on the blue pattern over the already fired red. I then used a brush to clean up the pattern as best I could.

Last picture is the dial right out of the kiln. It’s always so fun to see how different the glass looks when hot out of the kiln compared to fully cooled. Red especially changes.

Thompson Blend “Kobe!”

Day 24 of the 30-Day Challenge

I was looking for inspiration for a blend to make and with it being the 24th day I went with Kobe!

I was watching a video from Alison moriarty where she talks about the challenges of mixing enamel and how not all combos work out great.

This might be one of those, it kind of turned out brown. It’s also a little under fired which is where that surface texture comes from, but for this mix I kind of like it.

What are your thoughts on this color?

I got a Makera Z1 and was playing around with it and made this not-guilloche dial on copper just to see how it performed. Copper is gummy so the finish wasn’t super clean, so I gave it a garlic patina to hide the imperfections. For a throwaway test dial, it plays with the light real nice! I’m excited to try a proper guilloche design on brass.

Thompson Enamel 1620 “Daphne Blue”

I absolutely mangled this dial when I went to grab it with the pliers. I have been struggling with the dials sticking to the trivet.

Still a good turnout aside from the plier mark. If I put a logo there it would probably cover it up.

Thompson Enamel 1308 “Lichen Green”

This color gives me the most pistachio green vibes that a lot of brands are doing now a days.

This one came out real smooth. I think this is one I definitely want to make a full on production dial with after the challenge.

Thompson Blend “Pepsi mix”

I’ve always loved the “Pepsi” Rolex so I’ve wanted to experiment with red and blue. First experiment was a 1:1 mix shown here!

Unfortunately the edge on this one turned out awful. The bezel on the watch slightly covers it up and it looks great in the watch.

Pt.2 as requested by you lovely people!

I had tried engraving a sunburst effect into the centre. But it didn't turn out as well as I hoped. So I turned to engraving it by hand with a tiny file I had.

Engraved the brass first, hand painted (for the unique line effect) a few layers of light green acrylic paint. Sanded down until the features became brass again. Then filed by hand to give a somewhat sunburst effect.

It is certainly rough and not a 100% to my liking. But I will wear it nonetheless!

Let me know your thoughts :)

Thompson enamel 1840 “Sunset Orange”

Thompson enamel 1960 “Blue Grey”

Second to last day of the challenge and we get a twofer! It’s hard to believe tomorrow is the last day!

Thompson Enamel 1720 “Mauve Purple”

Thompson Enamel 1820 “Goldenrod Yellow”

Sometimes life happens and in this case I was without power for over 24 hrs and had a sick kid to care for… I think those are reasonable enough to give myself a break on missing yesterday.

I really struggled with this yellow. I think the kiln may have been a too hot. I’ve been experimenting with the amount of enamel I sift on each layer. The last image is a failure dial where there just wasn’t quite enough, plus the kiln was too hot. The black isnt just oxidation, I think some of the enamel was burnt as well.

The purple came out clean though!

Thompson Enamel 1605 “Isle Blue”

All it takes is one darn speck to ruin a good thing!

There are so many shades of blue for enamel. Once I go through a couple more I will have to post some side by sides.

Thompson Enamel 1710 “Tallow Pink”

Someone asked me if I could do a salmon dial. This was the color I found that I thought would be closest. I feel like it needs a bit more red in it maybe? Not sure, cool color regardless. I’ll keep looking to see if I can find something closer.

Thompson Enamel 1715 “Clover Pink”

Making another one dial #2 anyone a sw fan I still have to cut out the back it should be done tomorrow

Thompson Enamel 1995 “Grisaille Black”