Reply With QuoteI'm a big fan of decorated movements and part of the reason why I went for my Breguet Marine. I feel it completes the watch. I think it's a shame that the likes of Rolex and Tudor keep their movements hidden away behind solid casebacks.
Hi guys! I want to discuss with you about decorations on automatic movements.
Some days ago I was talking about it with some friends and I noticed that there are different opinions about it.
In particular, I’ve seen a special finish in a Montblanc movement. I post the pics below.
Do you consider it Standard or Elaboré? Do you consider it as a better finish, if you compare it to the perlage?
Personally I like it a lot, I haven’t watches with this kind of finish. (I post a perlage movement below as a comparison)
I'm a big fan of decorated movements and part of the reason why I went for my Breguet Marine. I feel it completes the watch. I think it's a shame that the likes of Rolex and Tudor keep their movements hidden away behind solid casebacks.
Not too keen on clear case backs .
It will depend on the finish TBH
Apologies if slightly off topic but what the heck is going on here:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ROLEX-MAS...h/263944493053
On topic, I'm not really fussed about spending money for something no-one else will see and I'll only see when I take the watch on and off.
Couldn't care less about them.
n2
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
I think they are wonderful and an appreciable part of the appreciation on the watch
If it doesn’t have a glass case back I see little point
Personally I love them it's like the icing on the cake when a watch has a transparent caseback with a decorated movement on show
I think some tasteful decoration can be a great addition to a watch.
I do think there is something very special about decorated movements - the icing on the cake, as mentioned
Love them. Owning something like an A Lange & Sohne is the grail for me, proper craftsmanship. But even the display back on my humble Seiko 5 is welcome - whilst lacking in decoration, the mechanical engineering aspect is still a big part of the appeal for me.
I may be wrong here, but at first glance that movement looks like the ETA 2893-2 Elaboré that I have put in my Ti GMT.Originally Posted by Loris-76
I’ve seen a special finish in a Montblanc movement. I post the pics below.
Do you consider it Standard or Elaboré? Do you consider it as a better finish, if you compare it to the perlage?
Personally I like it a lot, I haven’t watches with this kind of finish. (I post a perlage movement below as a comparison)
It passes for the exhibition back, obviously helps if you do something with the rotor as well, but not as nice as the ‘top’ perlage.
My first auto bought five years ago from China for £80 came with enough decoration to make me think that it doesn't take much effort to produce something vaguely pleasing to the eye:
I'd rather have a solid case back and 1mm shaved off the thickness.
I understand the reasoning from both sides of the opinion, the back of the watch is not often seen and spends most of its time being pressed against a wrist, so an open case back with a decorative movement would not get appreciated in most cases as it cannot be seen.
However, investing into detailed pieces with expert craftsmanship that goes into the watch movement, it is nice to have it on display in a presentable manner, for the owner to see and appreciate the detail of the powering mechanism masterpiece from time to time.
Each to their own I guess, but for me an open case back is an added benefit.
Rolex and Tudor do not display their movements simply because they are practical and basically ugly.
Personally I like them but it does depend on the watch. Never really understood dive watches with them, for example, it just makes the case thicker for the same WR
I think, beyond a certain level, decoration is almost essential in further adding to the specialness of a watch. And, whilst there is something perversely satisfying in the thought of a beautiful movement hidden behind a solid caseback, I’d be shallow enough to want to have a gander through an exhibition back now and then.
I’m also amazed that more power reserve indicators don’t find their way into the back of a watch - it seems like the perfect place for them from both a functional and aesthetic perspective.
For me careful decoration adds a lot to a movement, not just for the beauty. It can show the craftsmanship which has been applied to the whole movement but which is generally at far too small a scale to see with the naked eye.
There is an added piquancy for me if all that beauty is actually contained inside a solid caseback, only seen at service time. It’s enough that it exists, it doesn’t have to be on show all the time. Like a beautiful soul, that you have to know to appreciate.
I know my JLeC looks like this inside; that stays with me even when I’m not wearing the watch.
For me each piece of a movement should be finished so that it belies the machining process required to beget the part. Surfaces should look uniform and the edges should be free from burrs. There is no essential difference in quality with perlage over another type of surface finish like Geneva striping. They are both machine applied, even at the highest grades. They all can vary in the care and time taken to apply - or lack thereof.
Decorative finishing can add the final touch of elan to a movement to elevate it to something special. It is not solely confined to the highest grades of haute horology in my opinion. The functional but excellent cosmetic finishing Rolex apply to their movements project the pride they must have on their watchmaking. All the more so when it is hidden away behind a solid caseback. A see-through case back is nice but not for all watches.
More importantly the functional parts of a watch should be finished to a high standard on any watch. The surface of the gears that mesh with other gears as an example. This is the sort of finishing that cannot be as easily identified as perlage or anglage but arguably indicates just where exactly the maker's priority lies. My level of knowledge does not extend to readily spotting this but I am always pursuing this information when thinking of buying the next watch.
I take a different view from many watch addicts.
I regard watches as jewellery (there are other practical ways of telling the time), and for me a pretty little movement is an essential part of the charm.*
don’t buy the line of argument put forward by some manufacturers about a steel back providing better antimagnetic properties, or enabling a slimmer watch (many of the watches from these companies are anything but slim), or improving WR (yes, but 200m is easily achievable with a display back, and 99.9% of us do not need more)**—* all that seems to be simply a smoke screen to allow the use of cheaper (i.e. industrially finished) movements and case backs.
So, I have developed the philosophy that, if the manufacturer can’t be bothered to show me his art, I can’t be bothered to give him my money.
Here are the obligatory photos of some of my collection . . . .
The Autos:
And some manuals:
Sent from my iPad using TZ-UK mobile app
Last edited by Yokel; 29th September 2018 at 11:20.
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