Guilloché

The guilloche is a special pattern, an ornament of several intricate interlocking and overlapping line features. The individual lines make this cord -like, often asymmetric, closed ellipses or circular paths.

History

Depending on the source, the invention of the guilloche pattern is explained in different ways:

• The inventor should be the Frenchman Guillot,
• The term " guilloche " comes from the French word for burin, an engraving tool,
• Hans Schwanhardt († 1621) is to invent it, and his son Jacob Heppner († 1645) is said to have contributed to the spread.
• Jakob Degen invented 1816-1820 a guilloche engraving machine.

Applications

Guilloche patterns were used in earlier times, especially as a security feature in the printing of bank notes, securities, passports and identity documents to discourage counterfeiting, as the guilloche on the then engraved printing plates could not be reproduced easily 1:1. At the same time they complicate manipulation by mechanical erasures of original documents, since such interventions by the interrupted guilloche pattern are obvious. Due to modern forgery assurance measures that can nowadays be incorporated into such documents ( OVI, OVD, micro prints, etc.), guilloche patterns are no longer used so often today.

The guilloche engraving on metal is called guilloche. These have been since the 17th century Guillochiermaschinen or guilloche, a specialized form of this purpose lathes, used. In German, the terms exist round and Geradzugmaschine ( train = guilloche ); in English are the names in accordance with rose engine and straight line engine.

In addition, the guilloche even the ornament and the gray scale were used. As in earlier times, today's widespread screening technique was not usual to color graphics with graded shades ( gray scale) differentiated, line patterns were used. The denser the network of lines was, the darker seemed the printed surface.

Jewelry Production

With watches and jewelery are less complex line patterns are used as in the production of print templates for certificates and bills. Here, the spatial design of the pattern is taken into account in the material also in contrast to printed guilloche patterns.

Popular were guilloche at tins, cups, pocket covers or pens in recent times; very clear they emerge in silver thimbles.

The guilloche is a begriffenes dying craft. It was done in piecework and today is no longer profitable. In the jewelry workshop of the German Museum of Technology Berlin purpose objects and videos can be seen, among other works of art of the late 2001 Guillochiermeisters Walter Wenzel, who put up the exhibition.

The goldsmiths school in Pforzheim currently still forms off at Guillochiermaschinen and in Pforzheim Technical Museum Guillochiermaschinen are issued.

In the watch industry in Germany and Switzerland are still encountered a few companies that dominate the guilloching watch movements or watch dials. Based in vats engraver Norbert Heese guilloche pattern on old round or Geradzugmaschinen as a supplier for the surrounding watch industry.

Famous Guillocheure

Known for guilloche jewelry and watches are Peter Carl Fabergé and Abraham Louis Breguet. A well-known contemporary turner from Germany 's Wolfgang Friedrich Lötterle from Wildbad, whose daughter, continuing the family tradition.

Others

• Many companies and institutions, including the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority ( BaFin), guilloche use as a logo.
• Gideon Fairman is referred to in a paper by Horace H. Furness as the inventor of the engine -turning ( = guilloche ).