Artisanal crafts and decorative techniques come alive in contemporary timepieces. But there is more to watchmaking than traditional methods.
Timepieces are akin to canvases on which artisanal practices are brought to life, through a tapestry of watchmaking and decorative techniques. Perfection accomplished via flawless execution, painstaking devotion, dexterous fingers, innumerous man-hours and attention to detail isn’t a hopeful result but a requisite and an expectation. It is a source of pride and a seed for prestige.
Multiple gatekeepers exist within the industry to ensure such exacting standards are met. Internally strict control is laid within a manufacture to cultivate transcendental quality. Externally a bevy of certification bodies exist to ascertain that a particular timepiece satisfies prescribed requirements.
Chopard’s L.U.C Full Strike Sapphire is emblemed with the Poinçon de Genève, seen on the balance bridge.
A famous example is the Geneva Seal, or Poinçon de Genève, which is bestowed upon a movement produced in the Canton of Geneva and fulfilled the stipulations. The engraved hallmark is proudly displayed typically on the bridge of the movement observable on the transparent caseback.
A similar body, the Fleurier Quality Foundation, demands a timepiece to be 100% made in Switzerland, reliable in all circumstances, tested for reliability and durability, and possessing exclusive aesthetic quality in finishing.
Popular Polishing, Striping and Graining Techniques
Bvlgari demonstrates the complex level of craftsmanship required of the Serpenti Misteriosi
A finishing technique like anglage is typically reserved for the movement, especially prominent on larger and more conspicuous components such as bridges and plates, anglage (French for chamfering) accentuates the outlines of these pivotal parts by smoothing the edges and heightening the level of contrast and finesse. Although used interchangeably, bevelling and chamfering are different. The former cuts across two parallel surfaces at a sharp angle, while the latter aims to achieve transitional, softer edges at a 45-degree angle similar to the shape of an octagon.
Thanks to rounded edges, chamfering reduces the risk of accidental laceration from careless handling. Chamfered surfaces can also be black polished, also known as mirror polishing, to create a mirror-like gloss to boost visual appeal.
The movement of Bvlgari’s Octo Finissimo Perpetual Calendar is meticulously chamfered, and articulated with the Côtes de Genève and perlage.
Another prominent decorative motif is the Côtes de Genève, or Geneva stripes. Though its provenance can be traced back to Geneva, Côtes de Genève has been adopted by watchmakers throughout Switzerland. The precise and uniform wave-like pattern on plates, bridges and rotors is brought to greater appreciation as a result of the ubiquity of transparent casebacks. The lines are created by employing a specific lathe with a spinning tool head that moves in a parallel and circular motion while tracing the finely brushed pattern.
A similar practice by select Glashütte watchmakers is christened the Glashütte ribbing. Besides being a treat to the senses, Côtes de Genève is said to have been invented to trap dust and prevent it from infiltrating the movement underneath.
Complementary of the Côtes de Genève is perlage. Otherwise called circular graining, the technique requires the steady hands of a watchmaker to laboriously graze surfaces such as plates and rotors with circles one at a time, all the while maintaining even spacing. The outer edge of the overlapping circle must intersect with the heart of the preceding circle and each row of circle must move in the same direction for the finished product to be adjudged top shelf.
Another circular graining finish is known as snailing. It comprises a series of spirals emanating from the central point of the finished part and is regularly attributed to the ratchet wheel.
Breitling invites viewers to learn more about the manufacturing of its watch cases
Mirror polishing involves extensive buffing of a surface to produce a flawless reflection. The reflective finish is regularly encountered on watch cases and bracelets as it is intended to catch the light. Alternative polishing is also called upon at times to create a different effect. These techniques can be combined to bring forth a desirable contrast, as seen on the beads-of-rice bracelet where mirror-polished “rice” links are paired with satin-finished links.
Unlike mirror polishing where a single scratch can ruin the overall look, brushed finishing such as satin deliberately introduces soft glow, subtle lines onto the surface, meant to be understated.
The black ceramic case of Bell & Ross’ BR 05 Skeleton Black Lum Ceramic was subjected to sandblasting.
For the granular aesthetics commonly embraced by utilitarian timepieces, capable of riding out the elements and heavy-duty conditions, watchmakers usually choose the sandblasted finish. Boosting an industrial look and a matte colour scheme, the technique involves blasting a medium at the metal, which eventually is turned into watch cases, dials and bezels. Abrasive media include glass beads, hence sandblasting is also called bead blasting at times. The downside of a sandblasted watch is that it can’t be easily re-finished or re-polished as a mirror-polished counterpart.
Elevating Style with Guilloché and Enamel
Parmigiani Fleurier’s Tonda PF GMT Rattrapante combines the Grain d’Orge guilloché dial with a fluted bezel.
To concoct mesmerising geometric patterns on watch dials and rotors, watchmakers turn to engine turning, or guilloché. The decorative technique requires a skilled artisan to manually operate a lathe known as a rose engine to crank out a particular design. The most famous culmination is the Clous de Paris, or the hobnail pattern, a collage consisting of tiny pyramids arranged in squares.
Other imaginative patterns can also be engendered using the rose engine, such as the sunburst where petal-like ripples radiate from the centre of the dial; the barley grain, or grain d’orge, favoured by Parmigiani Fleurier; the pavé de Paris, a symmetrical design of intersecting rows and columns; the self-explanatory basket weave; and more.
Watchmakers often leave emblematic imprints on their watches. None is more literal than by hammering and leaving masses indentations on the dial. While guilloché is seen as complex and calculated, the vagaries of hand hammering lead to an irreplicable end product.
Breguet’s Tradition Quantième Rétrograde 7597 is arrayed with a fluted caseband, a Clous de Paris guilloché dial, blued screws and anthracite-coated bridges.
Much like guilloché, fluting has also become a signature of certain watch collections. The decorative technique can be applied on watch bezels, case bands and crowns to create deep grooves of varying gaps.
Guilloché can also be dressed up further by depositing it with enamel. This ancient technique is known as flinqué. Enamelling is a gruelling process that requires several demanding steps to come together smoothly in order to achieve an exceptional finished work. Typically, it entails fusing powdered glass and metal oxides, which impart colours, upon a metal base in high heat around 800°C inside a kiln. The powder melts and then hardens to form a smooth, vitreous coating upon the metal base.
Blancpain attires the Traditional Chinese Calendar in a luscious green Grand Feu enamel dial.
A variety of enamelling techniques exist. Grand feu, translating to great fire, is accomplished by adding layer upon layer of enamel in a process fraught with frustration. Whenever a new layer is applied, it has to be fired in order to fuse the base and the newly added layer together, therefore raising the risk of the enamel developing hairline crack and other faults that render it a defect.
Cloisonné is an enamelling technique that injects colour into the work by attaching fine gold wires onto the metal base, which function as barriers, and thus allowing the enameller to fill the partitioned spaces with metal oxides, which introduce different colours and melt at varying temperatures. The latticework is known as filigree and the fine wires remain visible on the final work.
Cartier’s Maison des Métiers d’Art skillfully marries straw and gold marquetry with enamel filigree.
Though the basis of introducing complex images onto the watch dial remains the same, the champlevé enamelling method is the opposite of cloisonné. In lieu of gold fences and pens, champlevé necessitates engraving of the image to create recesses, which are then filled in with metal oxides and enamel powder, and repeatedly heated.
A complex improvement on cloisonné, and like cloisonné, plique-à-jour relies on a mixture of filigree, enamel powder and metal oxides in its execution. But unlike cloisonné, the metal base is removed in the final step either through dissolving in acid or rubbing it away, thus permitting light to travel through the final work and making it transparent like a pane of stained glass.
Apart from all of these specialised techniques, miniature paintings can also be drawn upon enamel dials to magnificent effects.
Physics and Technology Come to the Fore
Heat isn’t only used for enamelling, it is also brought into play for bluing. Blued screws are reserved for high watchmaking for both aesthetics and practicality. By heating steel to a certain temperature, it will evolve into a different colour. The colour exhibited by a blued screw is evidence of the heating process where it turns royal blue around 310°C.
OMEGA’s Seamaster Aqua Terra Worldtimer showcases the vivid potential of a laser-ablated globe and green PVD-coated dial.
Decorative techniques in watchmaking continue to evolve apace thanks to the adoption of technology and the development of artisanal crafts. The development is especially evident in lapidary and metallurgy. The former has enabled gemstones to be cut and set in creative ways, and the latter in enabling watches to be made from innovative alloys. While engraving can be performed traditionally by hand, laser engraving has found prominence in modern watchmaking, especially in the execution of a complex motif.
TAG Heuer is a pioneer in high-quality lab-grown diamonds specific to watchmaking.
Pertaining to watchmaking, PVD, short for physical vapour deposition, is a coating process in which a solid material, such as metal or carbon, is vaporised in a vacuum and deposited onto the surface of a watch case. A more sophisticated process compared to PVD is DLC, which stands for diamond-like carbon. TAG Heuer is a practitioner of chemical vapour deposition (CVP), where the brand calls it the Plasma technology. This pioneering technology transferred to watchmaking allows the introduction of colour in diamonds during the lab growth process, without the need for post-processing, thus ensuring the diamond is evenly coloured throughout.
These are only but small recent examples of technologically aided processes that found their ways into the flesh of a watch. One thing is certain: There is more to come.
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