Damaskeening is the decoration of a watch movement’s plates and bridges with detailed patterns applied by machine. The patterns are made of very fine scratches. The word belongs to the American watch industry. The United States Watch Co. saw damaskeening as a way to make its watches look more upmarket.
How is damaskeening done?
The patterns are cut on a rose engine lathe. The cutting is done with a small disk, a polishing wheel or an ivory lap. Each leaves very fine scratches in the metal, and together these scratches build up the pattern. The metal of the plates matters. Nickel movement plates lasted longer than gilded ones. They were also better suited to decorative machining such as damaskeening. In 2022 the Swiss machine maker SwissKH presented a new machine for producing this decoration.
Where it comes from
Damaskeening was popular in Switzerland before it reached America. There, the method was kept as a trade secret. European watchmakers call the decoration Fausses Côtes, Côtes de Genève or Geneva Stripes. The word damaskeening was used only by the American watch industry. No one is certain where it comes from. It may refer to the swirling patterns of Damascus steel. The oldest known American movement with damaskeening is E. Howard & Company serial number 1,105. In 1867 the U.S. Watch Co of Marion, New Jersey, became the first American maker to damaskeen solid nickel movements.
What is the difference between two-tone and damaskeened gilt?
Two-tone and damaskeened gilt are different finishes. A two-tone movement has nickel plates with a thin layer of gilt laid over them. The damaskeening cuts through this outer layer of gold and into the nickel plate underneath. The result is a pattern with two finishes. In damaskeened gilt, the polished gold finish covers the whole of each plate.
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