Living Moments - N°1 Edition 2013

53 www.private-residences.net 7TaTYR 8ZXPY_^ At the end of the 19th century the art of guilloche became immortal thanks to Peter Carl Fabergé, who was the court jeweller for the Russian tsar, Alexander III. Fabergé used the guilloche as a sub- surface for his famous enamel workswhich became known throughout the world as Fabergé eggs, named after him.Today, Jochen Benzinger manu- factures the guilloche for the most exclusive Fabergé eggs. During his apprenticeship to become an engraver under the then guild master of Pforzheim, he came in contact with this subject for the first time. Though the handicraft of engine turning was an independent profession in the gold town, Benzinger's master insisted that his apprentices learned how to guilloche as well, as this profession had not been a teaching profession since 1961, and the skill became increasingly extinct with only a few old masters remaining. Benzinger passed his apprenticeship with flying colours and, in the following years, he mainly taught himself the craft of engine turning. In 1985, he took over a traditional workshop in Pforzheim which made an excellent name for itself as a guilloche workshop. In addition, he also restores all kinds of antique engine turning machines. A nd while we are on the subject: Not all turningmachines are alike.The rosettes, as the metal plates are called, serve as templates for the pattern which is transferred onto the workpiece. Each machine has ten rosettes, which feature varied finely structured grooves. The combination of different rosettes allows for a random number of different kinds of guilloché patterns. Short lines are minted by straight line engines, whereby rose engines produce an endless number of lines. The oldest machine which is in operation in Benzinger’s workshop dates back to around 1870, the latest one is from the 1940s. O n Jochen Benzinger's agenda today is the refinement of a wristwatch, namely the dial and various parts of the movement. Everything starts with a basic clock movement which Benzinger’s master watchmaker has already taken apart into all its components, and which are nowwaiting to be worked on in their neatly packed little plastic boxes. The work pieces are fixed by means of en- graving resin which Benzinger uses in order for them not to slip. Being flexibly secured on the engraver’s ball, the marked ornaments are cut into the work piece by hand with a graver. Jochen Benzinger marks the patterns with a steady hand before engraving them permanently. Each cut has to be thoroughly thought out – a single littlemistake and the whole piece is ruined forever. The next step then is the skeletonising. Here, the clockwork is reduced to a minimum of material in order to allow an insight into the work and its technical refinements. With a fine goldsmith’s jigsaw Benzinger carefully cuts out the bridges along the engraved ornaments which were graved in. Afterwards, he meticulously removes all the remaining burrs with a fine rasp. Then Jochen Benzinger changes his work place from the en- graving table to the turning machine. The bottom plate of the watch is embellished by hand with a fine pattern using a nearly one-hundred-year-old rose engine machine. The pressure with which he clamps the contact piece onto the work piece has to be applied sensitively – just a little bit too much and the work piece will be perforated instead of guilloched. Which in this case is not a trifle, indeed, as there cannot simply be any standard spare parts pulled out of the hat for the kind of timepieces Benzinger is working on. Eventually, Benzinger's master watchmaker meticulously puts all the parts of the clockwork back together, piece by tiny piece, to recreate the watch anew. Et voilà, a comparatively inconsp- icuous timepiece has become a true work of art. Der imTouche eingespannte Schneidstahl hinterlässt bleibenden Eindruck. Stellt der Guillocheur die Versetzung des Vorschubs falsch ein oder gibt er nur einen Hauch zu viel Druck, ist das feine Metallplätt- chen Schrott. The sharp steel which is clamped into the grain pattern leaves a permanent impression. If the engine turner sets the position of the feed wrongly or applies just a bit too much pressure, the fine metal plate is worthless. Jochen Benzinger has breathed new life into the Guilloché craft and he has therefore given this wonderful, old art some more precious decades. Text: Britta Bau · Fotos: Stefan Bau