A very significant percentage of the (hand) work − and therefore cost − of a high-end watch goes into the finishing of components.

Today, fine finishing is no longer essential from a practical point of view as watches are assembled in dust- and moisture-free environments, and waterproofing generally does a good job at keeping moisture and dust out of the timepiece during daily use.

But fine finishing isn’t just about mechanical practicality: contrasting finishes visually break up large surfaces, and reflections off mirror-polished steel catches the eye. Finishes can be a signature of sorts: think of Breguet’s guilloche dials or Greubel Forsey’s English-style frosted plates.

Few brands take hand finishing as seriously as Greubel Forsey, where each and every component is individually decorated. Just finishing one bridge can require two days of work. And that’s just one of hundreds of components in the brand’s usually quite complicated movements.

And then the watchmaker has to assemble all of these beautifully decorated parts, without a single scratch.

In this video by The Watches TV, Stephen Forsey explains why finishing is so important to Greubel Forsey and takes a look at the whole process.