| It has been said that a man who has not married is incomplete. It is only after he is wed, that he is well and truly finished.Whilst movement finish of a mechanical watch is somewhat different from the above-mentioned situation, it has to be said that the finishing touch is really what separates the men from the boys.
Of course, aesthetics is one of the main reasons why watchmakers can spend hours angling a single part, amongst hundreds, in a mechanical watch. Yet it must be remembered that most people won’t understand what anglage is all about, and many of the parts that are tediously angled by hand will eventually be completely hidden under other parts. Thus, is there another reason besides beauty why in a top-notch mechanical watch, all parts are angled instead of leaving them sharp and rough?
Watchmakers present the following case – that the parts such as bridges and levers cannot have sharp corners because during assembly of the hundreds of parts within a tiny working area, these parts are bound to hit each other, and even the steadiest of hands may cause the part being installed to touch another adjacent part causing minute scratches.
These scratches are minute – mostly invisible to the naked eye – but watchmakers work with loupes that have at least 5X magnification, and whilst the scratches are still very difficult to notice, one would imagine that the perfectionist in every watchmaker worth his salt would not allow such imperfections in his or her masterpiece.
The Girard-Perregaux Tourbillon under Three Gold Bridges. See how the anglage along the bridge is perfectly even, and perfectly polished.
Thus, besides beauty, one practical reason why anglage is performed is that when a watchmaker installs a part, he or she minimizes scratching done to other parts.
Of course, the actual angle of the anglage must be consistent throughout – typically, the anglage is mirror polished as well. (See right)
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