quarzsprung restaurierung offers genuine kintsugi restoration treatments (gold lacquer repair).
Kintsugi is an ancient Eastern Asian ceramic restoration technique, using the sap of an Asian tree of the family Anacardiaceae. This sap, 'urushi' resin according to the Japanese name of the varnish tree, shows extraordinary resilience against chemical and physical degradation. Kintsugi restorations easily withstand hot liquids, rendering restored objects such as tea cups or soup bowls perfectly useable. This is a unique feature; even the most stable modern synthetic resins soon age and fail, if frequently exposed to raised temperatures.
Genuine Kintsugi restoration is cumbersome; it takes time and patience. Several layers of different urushi grades and -mixtures have to be applied, each of which has to harden under controlled environmental conditions, including smoothening and polishing in between. The final layer is covered with powdered gold.
Kintsugi restoration is somewhat different compared to usual, modern ceramic restoration techniques, where the intention is to achieve invisible restorations and make it look, as if the object is undamaged. In addition to the actual repair, kintsugi-restored objects gain another, new aesthetic aspect by means of emphasizing the damage and rendering it into something beautiful and desirable.