After attempting to fix a broken old watch, Chien Cheng-chen has become Taiwan’s first metal engraving artist.
In the small basement of a three-story house in Xindian, Taipei County, 43-year-old Chien Cheng-chen, who is the first and only metal engraving artist in Taiwan, has been engraving a steel fountain pen cap for nearly two hours. Working through a microscope, his sore eyes beg for a break, but Chien is not about to pull the plug until he has finished a section of the design.
It all started in 2004, Chien recalls, when he was still a graphic designer. In no mood to work on one of those wet days during the plum rain season in late spring, he was aimlessly doing a little of this and a little of that in his workshop. While putting things in one of the drawers in order, Chien saw a broken old Titoni wristwatch. “I thought I could take it apart, see what went wrong and maybe fix it,” he says. “It seemed like an idea to kill some time.” Lacking the proper tools, Chien logged onto the Internet, but instead of searching for watch tools, his attention was drawn to a watch repair class offered by a watch industry union.
In the class, some of the students brought in items from their watch collections. It was the first time Chien had seen the exquisite metal engraving that has long been used to decorate high-end timepieces. He was so fascinated by the art that he wanted to give it a try, despite not even knowing what it was called. He bought some tools from the local hardware store and within several months had engraved the inner structure of a wristwatch. The experimental work of a beginner did not compare to that done by master artists, but Chien was obsessed and made up his mind to give metal engraving a try as a career.
Wanting to improve his techniques, Chien tried to look for people to learn from, but soon found out that none of the art schools in Taiwan had such courses. In fact, he was unable to find any metal engraving artists in Taiwan. Chien explains that metal engraving is used in making coin designs and for the plates used to print banknotes, bonds and other security-sensitive paper, as the microscopic details engraved by master artisans make counterfeiting nearly impossible. Therefore, the only people who know sophisticated engraving techniques work for the Central Engraving and Printing Plant or the Central Mint of China.
Chien started engraving out of the simple desire to fix an old watch, but has gone on to become Taiwan’s first metal engraving artist. (Photo by Huang Chung-hsin)
For these craftspeople, however, engraving is more of a skill rather than an art. “I was told that they are not allowed to teach the techniques to ‘irrelevant’ people,” says Chien, recalling conversations with the craftsmen he contacted. “And they kindly warned me that making fake banknotes is a serious crime and told me not to even think about it.”
Slow Progress
Without anyone to learn from, Chien’s progress was slow, even though he devoted a lot of time to imitating pictures he found on the Internet. “I learned in the process that it’s much more complicated than just drilling, sawing and filing a piece of metal,” he says. “There are tricks that you might never figure out by trying to teach yourself.”
To learn these tricks, Chien decided to go abroad to study engraving. The decision, however, did not win much support from friends and family. This lack of support was natural, perhaps, considering Chien had been a graphic designer for more than a decade after he graduated from Fu-Hsin Trade and Arts School in Taipei County. Most of them thought Chien was out of his mind to give up a career with a decent income for something that most people had never heard of. “My father even asked me if I wanted to help in my uncle’s dumpling restaurant if I really didn’t want to go the design route,” Chien recalls. “He thought that there was more of a future even in selling dumplings than in metal engraving.”
The only support Chien received was from his wife, who was a college classmate and now works as a designer. “She told me life could be simple and making money wasn’t that important,” he says. “She said that everyone deserves a chance to go for their dreams.” So the couple reached an agreement that Chien would devote two years to metal engraving and then decide if he wanted to go on, while his wife took the responsibility of supporting the family.
Metal engraving is often seen on “art” knives in the West, but collectors of such knives, as well as engraved metal works in general, are rare in Taiwan. (Photo courtesy of Chien Cheng-chen)
With his wife’s strong—and sole—support, Chien headed for the GRS Training Center in Emporia, Kansas in 2005 for a basic metal engraving course. The center is a learning facility that provides different levels of courses specifically for engravers, stone setters, wood carvers and similar artists. Including the five-day course, transportation, accommodation and purchases of engraving machines, the trip cost Chien about NT$500,000 (US$15,500), but he says that it was money well spent as the courses and teaching approach were expertly designed so that students could see results in a few days. “The angle of a cut, the length of a line—they’ve put everything in numbers, and have even developed different tools to engrave different angles and curves,” Chien says. “My English is really poor, but language barriers were easily overcome by the numeric technique, specialized tools, demonstrations and practice in the class.”
Picking Up Techniques
Thinking back now, Chien believes that the US trip was a much more efficient way for him, as a beginner, to pick up the techniques than learning from a local craftsman. In fact, he recently found someone who had just retired from a government post and was willing to share his techniques. “I asked him ‘What’s the angle for the cut?’ and he replied ‘What’s what?’ with a look that told me he had no clue what I was talking about,” Chien says. “Local craftsmen know their stuff, but they don’t have it ‘scientifically analyzed,’ which makes it difficult for others to learn.”
Another folding knife Chien made for a local collector. Chien engraved the bolsters to compliment the gold lip mother of pearl inlay of the original knife. (Photo courtesy of Chien Cheng-chen)
What amazes Chien even more is that while he has invested considerably in tools for engraving different angles and widths, these local craftsmen manage to deal with everything with a single blade. “It reminds me of the difference between Western and Chinese chefs,” Chien says. “While a Western chef needs a whole set of kitchen knives, a Chinese chef only needs one to take care of everything.”
Returning to Taiwan equipped with the necessary techniques and the right tools, Chien enthusiastically started to work. In the process, however, he came to realize that he had taken the wrong program at the GRS Training Center. Chien explains that the course he took was on harder metals such as steel, but the projects he planned to do, such as engraving watch parts and jewelry, dealt with softer metals like brass or silver. The two differ in techniques and tools. Another trip for the right course, however, would have to wait due to financial considerations.
In the meantime, Chien also found that there were other techniques he needed to acquire. When trying to make a watchcase or pen barrel, for example, Chien realized he needed to learn how to operate a lathe and milling machine. To learn to use these machines, he took a six-month free course provided by the Council of Labor Affairs’ Bureau of Employment and Vocational Training.
Actually, Chien’s original plan after returning from the United States was to create enough pieces for a solo exhibition, but it turned out to be unworkable due to the art’s high investment of money and time. Importing a 50-centimeter bar of Damasteel (stainless Damascus steel) from Sweden, for example, costs around NT$7,000 (US$220). And it is time-consuming work, not only in the actual engraving itself, but also in the numerous “trials” on cheaper materials, as there is little margin for error on the real thing. Depending on the design, it can take months or even years to complete a work.
Some of Chien’s watches. Except for the glass and straps, he is now able to craft every other part of a watch. (Photo by Huang Chung-hsin)
Considering local collectors’ unfamiliarity with the art, Chien set a low price when he decided to start selling some of his works. His engraved Damasteel pens, for example, are still priced between NT$40,000 to $60,000 (US$1,250 to $1,875), depending on the design, while such a pen by foreign artists might sell for US$6,000 overseas. The low prices, however, did not initially bring in much business. “Function-wise, a NT$20 (US$0.60) ballpoint pen is just as good a writing instrument as its elegantly engraved counterparts,” he says. “Except for a very small group of top-of-the-pyramid collectors, it doesn’t make sense to spend the extra money on the look of a pen.” Chien did not have any connections to those high-end collectors, so he set up a blog where he shares his engraving experience and also began to post some of his works on watch discussion forums.
In 2007, or about two years after his US trip, Chien finally sold his first piece to a local collector, who learned about Chien through the Internet. “Knowing someone would actually pay for your art is a great encouragement,” he says. “I was literally in tears when I received the payment.” Through the recommendation of this first customer, Chien gradually established a few other regular clients. One of them, who is the CEO of an information technology manufacturer, visited Chien’s workshop several times and eventually offered to sponsor his art. With a steady income and the sponsorship, the engraver finally made a second trip to the GRS Training Center in 2009 for an engraving course on softer metals. He is also planning to take more advanced courses in the future.
“I guess [the CEO and customers] see me as a good investment since my works are way cheaper than those by foreign artists,” Chien says. “Seriously though, I really appreciate the support because I’d never have come this far without the financial backing.”
Chien’s background in graphic design distinguishes him from other artists in the field. (Photo courtesy of Chien Cheng-chen)
Judged purely on engraving skill, Chien’s works are probably not as sophisticated as those by master engravers, but his expertise in graphic design does distinguish him from other artists. Chien explains that foreign engravers do mostly animals and other traditional patterns, but he tries to work some Oriental or Chinese elements into his designs. He engraved a Chinese-style goldfish, for example, on a certain part of a wristwatch that had the same general shape. The design was highly praised when Chien posted it on a watch forum and a Canadian collector later bought the watch. And also because of his background in graphic design, Chien often tries to add a little extra touch—inlaying gold, mother of pearl, or precious stones, for example—to make his designs different.
Since his first “uneducated” watch, Chien has invested six years and around NT$2 million (US$62,500) in learning engraving techniques and buying machinery. He has not completed too many pieces yet—a few watches, pens, rings and collector’s knives—and his eyesight has deteriorated seriously as a result of working through a microscope, whereas he previously had perfect vision. But the artist considers all the time, money and effort a small tradeoff as he works toward that solo show he still envisions.
Write to Jim Hwang at jim@mail.gio.gov.tw