ETA 6498 Decoration Pt. 3

Movement Finishing
There are 3 main elements to the movement finishing that I do.  First, Côtes de Genève.  Second, perlage.  Third, bluing the screws.  This entry will describe the perlage process.

Perlage
Of the three movement decorations, perlage is probably the easiest to do.  I use a benchtop drill press and a 1/4" Cratex tip on a mandrel.  But there are multiple ways to do it.

Before doing anything with the 6498, I practiced with some brass discs to get a feel for how the perlage shows up.  I also experimented with the Cratex.  I sanded some of the tips down to a 3mm - 4mm diameter to produce smaller perlage.

On to the movement itself...I started on the outside edge and worked my way to the center.  I overlapped each circle about 1/2 way into the previous circle.  I like that the result isn't perfect.  To me, I believe, it adds to the handmade quality of the watch.  Perlage done by CNC machines are spaced perfectly, which is fine, but I much prefer the unique pattern of the perlage when applied by hand.  This will make each movement I decorate even more unique.