THE GUILLOCHÉ ENGRAVER
The guilloché engraver is the craftsman specialized in guilloché (engine-turning), a decoration technique consisting of engraving repetitive and regular geometric patterns on a metal surface — dial, case or main plate — using a manual rose engine (guilloché lathe). Mastery of this craft relies on gesture: guided by his sensitivity and experience, it is he who applies the pressure necessary for engraving to avoid the slightest irregularity. The guilloché engraver maintains a close relationship with his machine, whose maintenance and repair he often carries out himself. This rare and demanding know-how is not the subject of any certified training in Switzerland and is passed on mainly through a long apprenticeship with an experienced craftsman.
Two historical machines share the guilloché engraver’s workshop: the straight line, dedicated to linear patterns (stripes, waves), and the rose engine (guilloché lathe) rose engine, which generates circular or radiating patterns through a set of cams against which a follower guides the tool. The choice of pattern, its depth and its spacing directly influence the play of light on the engraved surface. The term “guilloché” is in fact often wrongly used to refer to mechanized engraving performed by a computer-controlled machine: strictly speaking, this is mechanical engraving and not guilloché (engine-turning).
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