A craftsperson who engraves repeating decorative patterns on watch dials or other metal surfaces using a hand-operated engine-turning machine.
A guillocheur, or guillocheuse, cuts guilloché patterns with one of two hand-operated machines: the straight-line engine for linear patterns such as stripes and waves, and the rose engine for circular or radiating ones. On the rose engine, a crank or pedal turns the part and its cams while the guillocheur’s hand pushes the carriage carrying the graver, setting the pressure that keeps the groove regular and bright. Pieces are first made carefully flat and matte so that the guide mark shows and the pattern does not distort.
Rose engines have not been manufactured since the 1960s, and guillocheurs often maintain and repair their own. Horopedia notes that the craft has no certified training in Switzerland and is passed on through a long apprenticeship; Patek Philippe likewise says it is handed down from artisan to artisan. Running a CNC machine that engraves a similar pattern is mechanical engraving, not guilloché.
In job listings
The title is rare. Guillocheurs work in dial-making and decoration workshops and in métiers d’art ateliers, where the role is bench work at the machine, learned from an experienced guillocheur. Nearby production roles are posted as dial decorator or dial finisher. See current dial decorator roles.
