New England Colors EST. 1992 Request a quote
Johnston, Rhode Island · Made in the USA

Color forged
to last a lifetime.

For more than thirty years, New England Colors has driven decorative epoxy and hard-fired enamel into badges, insignia, emblems, and fine metalwork — ground dead flush, polished to a mirror, and finished start-to-finish in the United States.

EST. 1992 · decorative epoxy & metal finishing Enameling craft in Rhode Island since 1953
See our capabilities Request a quote
Cobb County Police 75th Anniversary commemorative badge in blue acrylic
What we do
U.S. Postal Inspection Service badge with epoxy color

Buffed & Inlay Epoxy

Two methods of decorative epoxy application, in hundreds of opaque, transparent, and pearl colors.

Explore the process
Crushed enamel glass powder with tweezers

Hard-Fired Enamel

Crushed glass fired into metal at 1400°F — the original method for coloring insignia, known to last a lifetime.

Explore the process
Polished and unpolished coins side by side

Sandblasting & Polishing

Precision hand finishing — clean matte textures and mirror-bright surfaces, with no marks or residue.

Explore the process
Decades of finished work — badges, insignia, and emblems from the shop
Built for demanding buyers

Trusted by agencies & departments

Badges, emblems, pins, and insignia for law-enforcement, municipal, military, and commercial clients who need durability and dead-on consistency, piece after piece, run after run.

Made in the USA, start to finish

Every process — application, firing, grinding, and polishing — is performed in our own shop in Rhode Island, now backed by expanded in-house manufacturing and tooling.

About

Three generations of color in metal.

We sit just outside Providence, in the heart of what was long called the jewelry capital of the world — and we've been part of that tradition from the start.

From enamel to epoxy

The craft runs back to Prince Enameling, opened in 1953, where Ken Marcotte was the second-generation owner. When demand shifted in the early 1990s from hard-fired cloisonné enamel toward decorative epoxy resin, Ken and his wife, Linda, learned to flow epoxy into the very same pieces they had been enameling for decades.

After refining the process, they founded New England Colors in 1992. The shop has carried that combination of old-world enamel knowledge and modern epoxy technique ever since, run by a skilled team experienced in epoxy application, enamel work, grinding, and precision polishing.

The next chapter

Today, New England Colors is part of Robert Corio Designs, a Johnston-based manufacturer that has acquired the company and carried its craft forward. Operations have moved to Robert Corio Designs' state-of-the-art factory at 1263 Hartford Ave — about five minutes from the original New England Colors building — and the entire New England Colors team made the move with it.

The same people, the same processes, and the same standard the family built the name on continue here: every job treated as unique, and every piece finished for a lifetime of wear. With the added capacity and resources of the new facility, New England Colors is positioned to improve turnaround and output while keeping the craftsmanship its customers have counted on for decades. We look forward to meeting and working with everyone.

Hand polishing a piece at the wheel
Capabilities

One shop, the full finishing line.

Decorative color, durable finishes, and the metalwork behind them — combined under one roof, finished in the USA.

Decorative color

  • Buffed epoxy — overfilled, ground flush, mirror-polished
  • Inlay epoxy — flowed into the cavity for a clean, domed finish
  • Hard-fired cloisonné enamel — fired at 1400°F, three passes
  • Hundreds of colors: opaque, transparent, and pearl

Surface finishing

  • Bead sandblasting — clean matte texture, two abrasive grades
  • Precision hand polishing to a mirror surface
  • Selective highlighting of raised detail
  • Pieces left ready for electroplating

Metals & findings

  • Gold, gold-filled, silver, white metal, brass
  • Gilding metal for high-temperature enamel work
  • Flat or curved findings

Design & manufacturing

Backed by the in-house design and manufacturing capacity of Robert Corio Designs — CAD modeling, prototyping, and production support under the same roof, so a piece can go from drawing to finished insignia without leaving the building.

Commemorative & presentation work

Alongside duty badges and insignia, the shop produces commemorative and anniversary pieces — badges mounted in acrylic and presentation blocks for departments marking a milestone. The same epoxy and enamel work, finished for the display shelf instead of the uniform.

Cobb County P.D. 75th Anniversary commemorative
Applications
Police & fire badges Military insignia Municipal seals Lapel & service pins Car & grille emblems Medallions & awards Commemorative coins Fine jewelry
Commercial medallions and emblems including automotive marques
Aviation and motorsport insignia in hard-fired enamel
Process · Decorative epoxy

Buffed & Inlay Epoxy

Two distinct methods of driving epoxy resin into a cavity. The right one depends on the look you're after, the depth of the cavity, and the metal you're working in — and we stock hundreds of colors across opaque, transparent, and pearl.

Buffed epoxy

A cavity is over-filled with epoxy, ground flush with the surrounding metal, and polished to a mirror-like finish. It's the modern replacement for hard-fired cloisonné enamel: the same depth and brilliance, without the imperfections firing can introduce. Once buffed, a piece is ready for electroplating to lock in and protect that smooth, glass-like surface.

It works across gold, gold-filled, silver, white metal, and brass — brass being the most common — on findings that are flat or curved.

  • 01Fill. The engraved cavity is over-filled with tinted epoxy so it stands slightly proud of the metal.
  • 02Cure. The resin sets hard and clear, bonded to the cavity walls.
  • 03Grind flush. The proud epoxy is stoned and ground level with the surrounding metal.
  • 04Polish. The surface is buffed to a flat, glass-like mirror, then sent on for electroplating.
Border Patrol and Hartford Police badges with buffed epoxy color

Inlay epoxy

Here the epoxy is gently flowed into the cavity and left to settle with a soft, slightly domed surface, rather than ground back. The result is a clean, complete piece with depth and dimension — a different character from the dead-flat buffed surface, and often the right call for deeper or more intricate cavities where grinding would be a fight.

Tip for the side-by-side: shoot the same design once buffed and once inlaid so a buyer can read the difference at a glance.
Detroit Police Millennium and U.S. Marshal Retired badges
Three finishes, one process

Opaque · Transparent · Pearl

Every color we mix lands in one of three families. The family you pick changes how the piece reads in the hand and under light.

Opaque

Solid, saturated, fully covering color — the metal underneath does not show through. The workhorse for department colors, flat fields, and high-contrast insignia where the color has to read the same in any light. The widest part of our range.

Transparent

Color you can see into. Light passes through the resin and bounces off the polished metal floor of the cavity, so the color glows and shifts as the piece moves — jewel-like reds, blues, and greens over a bright finding. Best over polished or textured metal that's meant to be seen.

Pearl

A soft, luminous sheen with a subtle shift across the surface, like the inside of a shell. Reads as premium and catches a highlight from any angle — strong for commemoratives, awards, and dress insignia.

Quick guide

Buffed or inlay?

Choose buffed when…

Surface
You want a dead-flat, mirror face
Cavity
Shallow to medium depth
Look
Crisp, modern, enamel-like
Next step
Electroplated for protection
VS

Choose inlay when…

Surface
You want depth and dimension
Cavity
Deeper or intricate detail
Look
Soft, domed, hand-finished
Next step
Finished as-is
Color range
Display case of badges, pins, and insignia finished by New England Colors
Process · Hard-fired enamel

Hard-Fired Cloisonné Enamel

The oldest method we offer, and still the most durable. It's how color was originally set into badges, emblems, and pins — and it has been known to last a lifetime.

How it's made

Hard-fired enamel starts as crushed colored glass, ground to a powder slightly finer than granulated sugar. That powder is placed by hand, with tweezers, into each metal cavity. The piece is then fired in an oven at 1400°F — three separate times — to fuse the glass solid.

The ideal substrate is gilding metal, which withstands the heat of repeated firing. After the final pass, the piece is ground flat to a flush, mirror-like surface with exceptional durability.

  • 01Charge. Powdered glass is laid by hand into each cell of the cavity, color by color.
  • 02Fire ×3. The piece is fired at 1400°F, recharged, and fired again — three passes to build solid, level color.
  • 03Stone & grind. The fused glass is ground flat to the metal cloisons that separate each color.
  • 04Final polish. The surface is brought to a hard, glassy mirror that resists scratching and fading.
Hard-fired enamel military unit crests in full color
Why it endures

Glass, not coating

The color is fused glass locked into the metal — not a layer sitting on top. It won't peel, yellow, or fade, which is why century-old enamel insignia still look the way they did the day they were fired.

The cloisons

The thin metal walls between colors (the "cloisons" of cloisonné) keep each color crisp and separate, and become a bright metal line in the finished piece — part of why enamel reads as heirloom-grade.

Built for heat

Gilding metal is chosen because it survives three trips through a 1400°F kiln without distorting — the reason substrate selection matters as much as the glass itself.

When to specify it

Reach for hard-fired enamel on dress badges, presentation pieces, and anything meant to outlast its wearer. For broad color range, faster turnaround, and value, buffed epoxy is the modern alternative.

Crushed colored glass powder applied by tweezers
Easy to compare

Enamel vs. buffed epoxy

They can look nearly identical when finished. The difference is in how they're made, how they hold up, and what each is best suited for.

Hard-Fired Enamel

Material
Crushed glass, kiln-fired
Finished look
Glass-like mirror
Durability
Exceptional — lasts a lifetime
Process
Fired 3× at 1400°F, then ground
Best for
Heirloom & highest-durability work
VS

Buffed Epoxy

Material
Cured epoxy resin
Finished look
Mirror — mimics enamel
Durability
Very durable
Process
Filled, ground flush, polished
Best for
Broad color range, speed, value
Comparison

Enamel beside epoxy. The same (or near-identical) design done both ways, photographed together — the single most useful image for explaining the difference. A7R V · macro · identical lighting both pieces

Process · Surface finishing

Sandblasting & Polishing

For pieces that work in metal alone — no color — we shape the surface itself, from a clean matte texture to a mirror-bright shine.

Sandblasting

Glass beads are driven against the metal at low air pressure, cleaning the surface and leaving a smooth, matte, textured finish — with no marks in the finding and no residue left behind. We run two bead grades: a finer bead that leaves the piece smooth and clean, and a more abrasive bead for a defined matte finish.

Polishing

Polishing brings a metal object to a mirror surface. A piece can be polished in full, or highlighted so only the raised or chosen areas catch the light. Our polishers work by hand, which is what allows that precision — it's the customer's call where the eye should land. Most pieces are sandblasted first, then polished to enhance the result.

Bead sandblasting cabinet
United States Marshal star polished to a mirror finish
More than two finishes

Two bead grades

A finer glass bead leaves a smooth, clean satin; a coarser bead leaves a defined matte tooth. Choosing the grade sets how much the surface scatters light.

Selective highlighting

We can polish only the raised detail or a chosen area, leaving the rest matte — a high-contrast look that makes lettering and emblems pop without any color at all.

Prep for plating & color

Because blasting leaves no residue and an even tooth, it's an ideal surface to receive electroplating or to sit alongside epoxy and enamel fills on the same piece.

A before/after on a single piece — bare finding, then finished — reads instantly for a buyer and is worth shooting for every process.
A new chapter

New England Colors is now part of Robert Corio Designs.

Robert Corio Designs has acquired New England Colors — and we could not be more excited to meet and work with everyone who has made this company what it is. We've moved operations to our state-of-the-art factory at 1263 Hartford Ave in Johnston, about five minutes down the street from the original New England Colors building, and we've brought the entire New England Colors team with us. The same people, the same craft, and the same standards continue here — now with the added capacity to improve turnaround and output for every customer we serve.

What stays the same

The New England Colors name, the team and their hands-on expertise, the processes and quality standards you rely on, and your existing points of contact — info@necolorsri.com still reaches us. At the new facility, call (401) 621-8870 and ask for Shirley.

What gets better

A larger, state-of-the-art facility five minutes from the original shop, expanded manufacturing capacity for faster and more reliable turnaround,.

The Robert Corio Designs factory at 1263 Hartford Ave, Johnston RI — now home to New England Colors
1263 Hartford Ave, Johnston · the new home of New England Colors
Main entrance of the Robert Corio Designs facility
Main entrance · ask for Shirley
Contact

Request a quote.

Tell us about the piece — the metal, the cavity, the look you're after, and your quantity — and attach your badge artwork or a photo. We'll come back with options, turnaround, and (if you'd like) an interactive color proof.

How to request a quote

Email us with the details below and we'll come back with options, pricing, and turnaround. Attach your badge artwork or a clear photo of the piece if you have one.

  • 01The piece. What it is — badge, insignia, pin, emblem — and the metal or finding.
  • 02The finish. Buffed epoxy, inlay epoxy, hard-fired enamel, or sandblasting and polishing. Not sure? Tell us the look you want and we'll recommend.
  • 03Colors. Any color numbers or references you already work from.
  • 04Quantity and timing. How many pieces, and when you need them.
Email your quote request Call (401) 621-8870
Emailinfo@necolorsri.com
Telephone(401) 621-8870
Ask for Shirley
Address1263 Hartford Ave, Johnston, RI 02919
Parent companyrobertcorio.com ↗
Hours of operation

Monday – Thursday   6:30am – 3:30pm
Friday   6:30am – 11:00am

Closed: Memorial Day · first two weeks of July · Victory Day · Labor Day · Columbus Day · Veterans' Day · Thanksgiving & the day after · the weeks of Christmas and New Year's