What Is An Enamel Lapel Pin? Soft Enamel vs Hard Enamel Pin Guide

Enamel lapel pins are timeless metal accessories widely used for national flag souvenirs, diplomatic gifts, patriotic collections, corporate giveaways, event memorabilia and promotional merchandise. Custom flag lapel pins, especially crossed friendship flag pins for two-country friendship themes, remain one of the most popular styles for global buyers.

What Is An Enamel Pin?

An enamel pin is a metal badge made by filling colored enamel paint into recessed grooves on a metal base. Metal lines separate different colors to keep patterns neat and clear. Common base materials include zinc alloy, brass, iron and stainless steel. For complex shapes like crossed double flag pins, die-cast zinc alloy is the top choice. It supports delicate flag details, star patterns and custom contours at a competitive cost.

Soft Enamel Pin (Most Popular for Flag Pins)

Soft enamel pins are our mainstream option for crossed friendship flag lapel pins. After die-casting or stamping, raised metal borders form the outline of your design. Enamel color is filled into the recessed areas and baked solid. The enamel sits slightly lower than the raised metal lines, creating a textured touch feeling when you run your finger over the pin. 

Wide Pantone color selection, perfect to match official national flag colors

Lower cost and faster production lead time

Great detail performance for stars, stripes and complex flag graphics

Ideal for souvenir flag pins, diplomatic gifts and bulk promotional orders 

Slight texture difference between metal line and color area

Hard Enamel Pin (Cloisonné Pin, Premium Grade)

Hard enamel, also called cloisonné, is a high-end enamel craft mainly for collectible medals and luxury badges. Colors are filled layer by layer and repeatedly polished until the enamel surface is completely flat, level with the metal lines. The finished surface is smooth like glass, scratch-resistant and long-lasting. 

Fully smooth, glossy surface, excellent wear resistance

High-end, premium look for official commemorative collections 

Higher production cost

Limited color options

Not suitable for super tiny fine details

Common Metal Base Material for Custom Lapel Pins

Zinc Alloy (Die Cast) Best for crossed flag pins, 2D layered designs and shaped badges. Can cast complex sculpted structures such as double crossed flag poles. Good plating effect for bright gold, antique gold and silver finishes. Recommended for most flag souvenir orders.

Brass / Copper (Stamped) High quality raw material for thin flat pins. Fine lines and tiny patterns can be stamped clearly, widely used for high-end hard enamel badges. Higher price than zinc alloy.

Iron Low budget option for simple flat pins. Not suggested for long ocean shipping as iron easily gets rusty in humid containers.

Stainless Steel Strong corrosion resistance, mostly used for printed or engraved pins. Not fit for complex 3D or 2D relief flag designs.

Back Clutch Options for Lapel Pins

The back clutch decides how your pin attaches to clothing, hats, lanyards or bags.

Butterfly Clutch: Standard choice. Single butterfly clutch for small pins; double butterfly clutches recommended for larger crossed flag pins to prevent falling off.

Rubber Clutch: Flexible and low cost, fit for lightweight small pins.

Magnetic Clutch: No piercing required, suitable for formal suits and delicate fabrics.

Safety Pin: Simple built-in pin, common for cheap promotional badges.

Our Crossed Friendship Flag Lapel Pins

Our ready stock crossed flag lapel pins adopt die-cast zinc alloy + soft enamel with bright gold plating, fitted with butterfly clutches (double clutches for larger sizes). We can produce any two-nation crossed flag pins according to Pantone color standards. Custom logo, size, plating finish and packaging are available.

FAQ

Q: What is the MOQ for custom enamel lapel pins? A: MOQ depends on design. For custom flag pins, we accept small batch orders. Stock friendship flag pins can be sold in small quantities.

Q: How to guarantee flag color accuracy? A: We follow Pantone color codes strictly. Color swatches can be confirmed before mass production to avoid color deviation.

Q: Will zinc alloy pins get rusty during sea shipment? A: We add sealing protection after electroplating and use moisture-proof packaging for ocean freight to reduce oxidation risk.