Back in the 18th century, Abraham-Louis Breguet already attached particular importance to the decoration of his creations. The famous watchmaker’s timepieces all exhibit different motifs that enhance the beauty not only of their movements, but also of their cases and dials. The motivation for this meticulous artistic endeavour is nevertheless primarily functional. The decorating of watches can often prevent them from becoming prematurely tarnished, and helps overcome the fragility of matt or polished surfaces that can only too easily be scratched, grazed or otherwise damaged in a variety of ways. This tendency has evolved over time: today aesthetic considerations take precedent over the practical reasons at the origin of watch decoration. In addition to their technical skills, Breguet artisans, whether they are bevellers, engravers or engine-turners, nowadays thus lend their skills to the service of beauty, while at the same time perpetuating an ancestral expertise worthy of the greatest watchmakers of all time.

Among these finishing techniques based on rare skills transmitted from generation to generation, bevelling is characterised by its complexity. Serving to polish and round off the edges of the component parts of watch movements, bevelling performs a double function. At a practical level, it removes imperfections and traces of machining that could hamper the efficiency and accuracy of the watch movement. Its role is above all aesthetic, however, thanks to the subtle interplay of reflections between satin-finished surfaces and sharply-cut polished angles. Each surface of a timepiece is re-worked, embellished and painstakingly burnished with a range of tools and abrasive materials that seem to have survived from a previous age. The angles finally obtained have either sharp external edges or narrow internal ones; their edges are straight, curved or rounded-off. Thus enhanced, the watch movement is a hymn to the authenticity of Breguet’s watchmaking expertise.

Engraving is, for its part, a fully-fledged decorative art in its own right. With the aid of a range of tools that he has patiently prepared, the artisan carves the finest of materials by hand. The slightest error or trembling of the hand can reduce several days’ work to nothing in a split second. The decorative effects thus obtained give Breguet timepieces an unrivalled refinement and unique identity that makes them immediately recognisable.

A form of raised engraving, the technique of engine-turning by hand has been particularly prized by master watchmakers since its first appearance in the 16th century. Originally used to enhance the beauty of watch cases, Abraham-Louis Breguet began to use engine-turning to fashion the dials. Veritable works of art, Breguet dials epitomise a spirit of infinite patience applied in the service of an impressive mastery of technique. The dials are made by hand in accordance with ancestral working methods, and exactly how the delicate details are achieved remains a jealously-guarded production secret even today. Worked in the traditional style on a lathe (in the case of the circular motifs) or in a straight line on a machine (for linear patterns), engine-turning is unquestionably one of the identifying features of a Breguet timepiece. The initially smooth dial disc made of 18-carat gold or mother-of-pearl is first worked with a graver. The “borders” thus obtained highlight the different zones that will show the various time displays (the power reserve, moon phase indicator, small seconds, date window, etc.). The dial is then ready to be decorated, which will give it a delicately textured, non-reflecting matt surface, and will also mark out the zones with a variety of motifs – clous de Paris, flinqué, grain d’orge, wave or basketwork designs, etc.