Among high-end watches, watches such as Patek Philippe, Lange, and Vacheron Constantin are very, very expensive, and the price of hundreds of thousands is also prohibitive for ordinary people. Why are these high-end watches so expensive? Today, I will work with you to fine-tune some of the complicated craftsmanship in these high-end watches.
In addition to some super-complex watches with very complex functions, those simple three-hand high-end watches are also expensive, because in this small space, watchmakers need extremely high talent and wisdom. Although there are no complicated technologies like tourbillon and minute repeater, they have great creativity in the performance of the dial and the modification of the movement. Talented hand-made watchmakers bring the art of exquisite timepieces to life, and the pure and impeccable craftsmanship that pursues perfection is the hallmark of what we call “fine watches”. The “advanced watch” we are going to talk about today is mainly an in-depth analysis of the different technologies used to complete the movement, allowing us to understand the value of these expensive watches.
In high-end watches, in addition to the complex functions inherent in the watch movement, the choice of materials and the design of the watch have extraordinary performance.
The complex Cal.L951.6 movement of the Lange DATOGRAPH series, the movement can be glimpsed through some unique details, its technology and craftsmanship, such as the movement drill and gold sleeve fixed with blue steel screws.
In some respects, the craftsmanship on the dial and movement may have practical functions or functions. For example, the electroplating process on the dial is not only beautiful but also prevents corrosion. The Geneva stripes of the movement are like the sparkling lake of Geneva, and everyone may think it is a decorative polishing. But in fact, at the beginning, the Geneva pattern was originally a functional purpose, designed to catch dust particles and prevent them from falling on the delicate components of the movement. Therefore, its texture should be neither too rough nor too smooth.
In the terminology of watch movements, there is the term “polishing texture”, which refers to some decorative polishing and decorative lines on watch parts produced by machines. Designed to erase the traces of processing on the surface of the part, the original metal immediately becomes an artistic charm on the watch.
Detail of the movement by independent Finnish watchmaker Kari Voutilainen. At first glance, the structure of the movement is simple and ordinary, but a closer inspection will reveal that there are excellent craftsmanship in all aspects of this simple structure. Careful manual long-term grinding is required to obtain the flawless splint and movement parts.
While modern CNC machine tools can be used to produce and create semi-finished components for watches, it is the finely crafted parts that are handcrafted that can be considered true works of art. Industrial products produced by CNC machine tools cannot be compared to the works of artisans and geniuses created by talented craftsmen through the craftsmanship and skills passed down through generations. What’s more, some crafts, such as chamfering on the movement plywood, the more complicated the chamfering of the curved edge, the more difficult it is to complete with CNC machine tools, which can only be done manually by skilled craftsmen.
Chamfer grinding
Chamfering, also known as chamfering, refers to the fact that the metal water chestnut on the edge of the movement plywood is very rough and uneven before processing. In order to look beautiful and keep the movement time constant, the watchmaker will file the edge of the movement to the same angle and width, generally 45°. The beautifully polished outer rim accentuates the shape of the piece. Chamfers must be regular and smooth. It is one of the most delicate hand finishing techniques.
Modern lathes can mass-produce improved blank movements, which also makes watchmaking easier. However, in the secondary processing stage, the precision movement has to rely on manual work to perfect the chamfered slope.
On Vacheron Constantin’s hollowed-out movement, the complex structural curves can only be filed and polished by watchmakers using traditional tools.
Compared with modern CNC lathe processing, watchmakers use traditional tools, such as files, wooden nails, abrasive paste, etc., to manually polish the movement, which is still an irreplaceable process. Sanding by hand using different types of abrasive grains results in an almost flawless finish and a perfect sheen. This meticulous technique requires a lot of patience and skill. The texture of the same radian and luster can only be done by hand. This kind of grinding process is one of the top movement processes of high-end watches. It is worth reminding that the chamfered surface is not flat, but has an arc like a circle, which can only be made by a very small number of well-trained watchmakers. Like Roman Gaudí or independent watchmaker Philippe Dufour.
Black Polishing Black Polishing
The ultimate in polishing is Black Polishing: also known as mirror polishing, the movement parts are clamped by a jig and then repeatedly polished in a circular movement on a diamond-zinc alloy grinding disc until a perfect polishing effect is obtained—the surface of the part appears pure black at a certain angle! This process is very time-consuming, and the polished parts of this kind of parts require that the light reflection must be in a single direction, and this kind of polishing is also conducive to reducing the risk of oxidation.
To make such a surface, the surface must first be softened. The watchmaker needs to wipe the flat markings of the parts on the zinc plate. With the help of abrasive paste, the watchmaker will chamfer and polish the irregular parts of the movement until it reaches a perfect black finish. This process is only suitable for high-end watches, because it is very time-consuming. It may take about 3 hours to polish the surface of a frame plate on the tourbillon.
Côtes de Genève refers to one of the most traditional types of decoration involving the application of a regular pattern of parallel waves to parts such as splints and gears. Stripes can be straight or round and must need to be perfectly aligned between the different sections.
Perlage grinding is another traditional grinding process, also known as round grinding. This grinding covers the surfaces of the bridges and wheel train. By applying a pattern of overlapping small circles with rotating grinding pins, this grinding process has now been slowly replaced by machines, and now watchmakers only need to operate the machine by hand to target the polished parts.
It is generally used in some hollowed-out art-themed watches. Movement engraving is usually used to present patterns or various material information to be expressed. It is used to decorate personalized parts with real watch works of art.
For mass production engraving is done using CNC machines, lasers or pantographs. However, hand-engraving in high-end watches is a very complicated and time-consuming process, and it is a very rare art today. The watchmaker needs to engrave the original design pattern one by one under the microscope. It is easy to distinguish between hand-carved and machine-carved. Hand-carved will have tangent marks and essential “flaws”, while machines will not.
On the movement splint made by the lathe, the jewel holes of the movement of high-end watches are very rough, and the irregular edges of these jewel holes must be polished by hand. The concave chamfers around the movement stones are among the most attention-grabbing details in fine watches.
Even the smallest components, such as screws, are finished. The screws are polished to add luster and high temperature fired blue for an attractive delicate hue. Some brands use industrial polishing and staining these days, but it still can’t compare to real fired blued steel screws. True blue steel screws need to be hand polished to a mirror finish first, rubbed patiently, and then fired at high temperature, in the delicate process of small production using a flame, the screw must be heated at a very precise temperature to get the correct same color.
The movement gears have undergone numerous finishing techniques, carefully eliminating machining marks. Their spokes can be chamfered on the upper and lower sides, the gutters are polished and the gear faces are round satin finished.
After reading the above, you probably know why the price of high-end watches is so high, you get what you pay for.
CNC Machining Watch Components 
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