Frosted Movement Finish: High-End or Lazy?

Key Points from the Discussion

• Frosted finishing, traditionally done with chemicals or by hand, is now often achieved via bead blasting, but high-end examples like those from Roger Smith or MB&F still employ meticulous hand-applied techniques.
• The quality of frosting varies significantly, with hand-peening being a difficult technique to achieve consistency, as seen in Breguet's Tradition models, and can effectively highlight specific movement elements.
• Frosted finishing requires re-touching bevels after the surface treatment, which can be more challenging than Côtes de Genève, a finish sometimes used to mask imperfections in mass production.
• Some collectors consider frosting a 'lazy' finish compared to well-executed Côtes de Genève, arguing that the latter requires more skill, though this view is debated by others who cite masters like George Daniels using frosting.
• George Daniels considered a gilded, matt, lemon-yellow frosted surface, contrasted with blue screws and polished steel, to be a superior and refined finish that resists stains and oxidation.
• Côtes de Genève, even from high-end brands like De Bethune, can be applied quickly with minimal handwork, suggesting that the difficulty of a finish doesn't always correlate with its perceived value.