The Kingdom of Guilloché Specialists

The place is pervaded by a sense of serenity and tranquility. While the proverb holds that silence is golden, one cannot but appreciate the fact that the latter is slightly disturbed by subtle, gentle musical whisper. A series of clicks from the carriages of the guilloché machines (also known as rose engines) sets the tempo, while the muffled whirring of the cams plays its own unique melody. So much for the audio side of things, while in visual terms, the intensely concentrated work of the guilloché experts gives life to an infinite variety of patterns adorning finely engraved dials in this merging of humans and machines. At Breguet, guilloché work is a living craft perpetuated with great dexterity by around 20 artisans, following in the illustrious footsteps of the company founder who was the first to associate this craft with watchmaking, in 1786. 

Incredible Finesse

This craft calls for a rare breed of expertise combining manual intelligence with the mechanical precision of a guilloché lathe to finely engrave the material with finely interwoven patterns of straight, curved or broken lines. While machines are essential to all guilloché work, everything is guided by hand-crafted skills. Unlike industrial practice, the entire process is manually controlled: the left hand operates the tool with a crank while the right hand accompanies the graver fixed on a carriage, using a clever blend of strength and gentleness. The result is a repetitive and perfectly symmetrical decoration with multiple and incredibly sophisticated patterns – including “Clous de Paris” hobnailing, cross weave, flame – that only the most seasoned artisans can achieve. This is all done on gold or mother-of-pearl dials, like the new Classique Dame 8068, which discreetly bears the words “Swiss guilloché main”, a tribute to the amazing craftsmanship perpetuated for more than two centuries in the secrecy of the Breguet workshops.