Glossary · Trade
Finisseur
A specialist workshop or worker who completed an ébauche to a saleable standard.
Explanation
In the Swiss établissage system a watch passed through many hands. A blank movement, the ébauche, came from a specialist factory; other workers supplied escapements, springs, dials and cases. The finisseur took the ébauche and its parts and brought them to a working, saleable standard: fitting, finishing surfaces and adjusting the movement.
Because of this division of labour, the name on a dial often belongs to the établisseur or retailer, not to the person or factory that made the ébauche. Identifying the ébauche maker requires the calibre shape, markings under the dial or on the pillar plate, and comparison with factory catalogues.
What to record
- Look under the dial and on the pillar plate for ébauche marks that differ from the dial name.
- Records of finishing workshops are rare; attribution usually rests on the movement itself.
Do not assume that the dial signature names the maker of the movement.