Decorative techniques in watchmaking

News

16.02.2023

Watchmaking is first and foremost an art; beyond their practical functions, timepieces have always been the target of sometimes extravagant or luxurious decorations. They reflect the watchmaking craft and bear witness to the growing expertise in this field. Among the many decoration and finishing techniques, discover in this article those used within the House.

Openwork

The openwork of a watch is a technique that consists of creating an illusion of lace through the movement by playing with the transparency and opening of the parts. This is the technique that gives rise to the skeleton watches which are the House's signature. The mechanism is thus exposed by the absence of certain parts of the dial and reveals its workings and colours. In general, it is used on timepieces with an atypical movement: it is therefore preferred on automatic movements. This cut-out can take different forms in order to give a real identity and artistic dimension to the watch.

The openwork is the most widespread decoration technique at Pierre Lannier. Indeed, a large part of the men's and ladies' watches are so-called "skeleton" watches, where the automatic mechanism is made visible in different patterns. The House has also created a forthcoming chronograph collection, where the date is made visible through the openwork of the dial. Discover them very soon.

Guilloché

Guilloché is a very old decorative technique, which consists in decorating a surface with curved or straight lines, called "guilloche". This technique was originally practiced manually with a chisel. Today, the guilloché of a dial is carried out with the help of a specialised machine, which offers greater regularity in the engraving. However, some luxury houses still carry out the guillochage in a traditional wayIt was Abraham Louis Breguet, founder of the luxury watchmaking company Breguet, who brought this technique to the field of watchmaking in the 13th century.

At Pierre Lannier, the guilloché technique has been used in the making of the Fleuret collection. Indeed, the heart of the dial presents a succession of intersecting curves, offering the eye a pattern that is both refined and hypnotic.

Engraving

In the watchmaking industry, engraving consists of tracing patterns, numbers or letters on any part of the watch movement, buckles or case by removing material. Engraving is done by a specialised craftsman, with a laser or in a more traditional way, by hand. It is a very common decoration technique in luxury watchmaking; Patek Philippe movements, for example, are all engraved by the House's initials.

These engravings are regulated by strong cultural and watchmaking codes —brand, calibre reference, or even number of jewels. In order to respect these codes, engraving was used in the design of Pierre Lannier's most luxurious model: the 1977 watch, assembled in our workshops and made of exclusively French components —with the exception of the dial, which comes from Switzerland. The initials of the House are engraved on the balance of the automatic movement of this exceptional timepiece.

Polishing / Brushing

Before being assembled, all Pierre Lannier cases are polished: this technique preserves their aestheticism and gives them a completely smooth and shiny effect. This is a way of highlighting the edges of the case. This technique is generally alternated with brushing, which is used on the models of the Impulsion collection and on the 1977 watch, Pierre Lannier's signature. If you own a Pierre Lannier watch, it is natural that this smooth appearance is no longer as attractive as it was on the first day. Like any object, a watch is subject to the effects of time, to scratches, and this only adds to its value and identity. Indeed, it is not advisable to take your watch to be polished after purchase: polishing is a material removal technique that will permanently alter the value of your watch. The wrinkles of time are a gift to be kept wisely.

"Côte de Genève"

The "Côte de Genève" finish is certainly the most famous in the art of watchmaking. It has been used to decorate the movements of the most luxurious Houses since the 20th century. In reality, the côtes de Genève are "scratches" of lines traditionally executed by hand or by a specialised machine. These wavy or straight stripes are drawn in a controlled and systematic pattern.

With the appearance of sapphire backgrounds, the Côtes de Genèves became a symbol of luxury and beauty; indeed, the regularity of the stripes creates a reflection of light that is unique to the Côtes de Genève. Beyond its aesthetic aspect, this finish allows to hide the traces of machining, but also to capture the micro-particles of dust so that they do not settle on the stones, the pivots or the movements. You will find the Côte de Genève finish on the movement of the 1977 watch.

1977 model