Just a moment ago, we were sitting in the Amber Room, the leaves of the trees outside glowing in shades of yellow, orange and gold. Now the wind has stripped most of the branches bare, and leaf blowers roar along the paths. But the golden glow can still be conjured up – with gold decorations. At our porcelain factory, we work with 24-carat fine gold, which is applied to the porcelain and then fired at 825 degrees. What comes out of the kiln is initially an ugly duckling: the decorations look dull, rough and brownish. To turn it into a proud swan, the gold has to be processed. ‘It is pre-polished with agate, then finished with a bloodstone to compact the gold and give it depth,’ explains Roswitha Scholz, who has 30 years of experience and can even hear when a plate or figurine is finished being polished. Depending on the object, this takes three times longer than painting and requires experience, patience and strength. The fine art is not to break the almost finished product or damage the precious gold. Roswitha Scholz and her wrist have now internalised the process. ‘I can simply feel whether a round, flat or large stone is ideal – and when I need to stop.’ What never ends is the love for the combination of white and real gold.