Hand Guilloché
Technically, "guilloché" refers to the engraving, using a machine, of precise and regular patterns composed of straight, broken, or curved lines on flat or convex surfaces. To create such decorations, two main types of guilloché machines are used: those called "straight line" machines, which engrave straight or broken lines, and those called "guilloché lathe" machines, which create circular lines. The lines forming a design are generally between 0.1 and 0.5 mm wide and 0.3 to 0.4 mm deep—less than the thickness of a human hair! By varying the shape, spacing, or intersecting of the lines (broken or circular), it is possible to obtain an infinite number of different patterns.
Usually reserved for high-end watchmaking, we are making this ancestral decoration technique accessible.
Although machines are used to create the decorations, we speak of "hand" guilloché when the guillocheur operates his machine himself.
The guilloché machine is therefore not a true "machine" in the industrial sense of the term. Rather, it should be considered a "tool" that helps the craftsman to create his work, much like the ball and burin of a hand engraver.
Given that each stroke is executed one after the other, the artisan's dexterity and aesthetic sense are crucial, as the placement of the design within the piece, the speed, the pressure applied to the burin, and the precision with which the engraving stops are all determining factors in the final result. It is precisely this human sensitivity that gives this type of decoration its true value.
Text and photos copyright Décors Guillochées SA
