Who wouldn't like this familiar, happy face staring up at them?
If you're an engraver, you may not be as eager as the average person.
Why is that?
Occasionally, pocket watches are engraved on the outside of the case.
That's ideal; although, at some point, through a
customer request or due to the fact that some cases don't
have ample "clean" area for engraving, you'll be faced with the
task of engraving the inner side of the case.
This photo shows, when the watch is opened, the cover
of the watch doesn't open to a 90 degree angle.
Why is that important?
Because of the size of a pantograph's engraving spindle,
the effective engraving area of the watch is limited to the
travel between the spindle and the crystal of the watch.
In this photo, I've
cheated the angle of the cover, by placing
the cover at an angle, in a standard New Hermes watch-holding jig.
A piece of light-tack painter's tape, protects the crystal from
incidental contact with the spindle.
The slight change of angle to the engraving surface isn't so noticeable
in the photo, but you'll see that the taped crystal is very upright.
That increases the travel of the spindle; not by much, but enough for this job.
All's well that ends well!
