POLISHING, THE ULTIMATE FINISH
Our Master Polisher, who was also trained by leading luxury watchmaking manufacturers, pays particular attention to honouring the aesthetic characteristics of the brand names when carrying out his meticulous polishing, satin or brushed finishing or bead-blasted finishing work.
For dents too deep for polishing, we suggest laser welding to restore the original shape of the case, whether it’s made of stainless steel or platinum (price on quotation).
This service can be provided independently of a repair.
Interview
with our Master Polisher Loic Dumas
Following two years of training and apprenticeship at the IATA Watchmaking School in Namur, Loic Dumas joined the VRH team. After just a short time adapting, his path led to his true vocation: polishing.
What’s the first stage carried out on receipt of a watch?
The first stage is to look carefully at the product and the information conveyed on removing it from its box. It’s important to know exactly what the client wants. Then, the product has to be studied to ascertain the extent of the work to be done. So, sometimes it’s important to do an initial cleaning in order to reveal any wear and tear of the watch.
Do things have to be done in a certain order?
Yes, they do. If the watch has a bead-blasting finish, then that will be the first stage, strictly speaking. The bead chosen is very fine in order to avoid corroding the material. It’s important to preserve the hallmarks.
Once the bead blasting is complete, all traces of beads have to be removed before moving on to the next step.
Then, I do the different components of the watch simultaneously, depending on the techniques used.
What exactly are those techniques?
I start, first of all, with the polished surfaces. I restore the polished angles with the lapidary wheel. It’s only after that stage that I move on to the polishing machine to finish those surfaces.
On the polishing machine, we can work with the felt to make good the slightly bigger dents, a satin-finish brush, a brush for the polishing and a finishing brush.
After working on all the polished surfaces, we can concentrate on all the satin-brushed surfaces, whether straight or circular, or even sunrays.
Some parts are given a satin-brushed finish by hand, using a soft leather buffing cloth for a circular effect.
Which process is the most complicated technically?
Restoring the angles and sunray-brushing are the most complicated techniques. That’s also one of the reasons why the leading brand names put their trust in us when they send us repairs.
Our advice: polishing is a skilled trade in its own right and should be carried out with respect for the aesthetic criteria of the brand names. Entrust your timepieces to reputable professionals.