Every plate, wheel, pinion and jewel comes out of the movement and into an ultrasonic cleaner, because decades-old oil gums the pivots and slows the train long before a clock or watch actually stops. Each pivot is inspected under a loupe for wear, and any that have worn oval instead of round get burnished or bushed before reassembly.
The escapement, the part that actually ticks, gets the most attention: pallet stones are checked for the correct locking and drop angles, the balance wheel is checked for poise so it does not run fast in one position and slow in another, and the whole assembly is timed on a machine that graphs the beat rather than trusting an ear alone.
Dials and cases get their own pass separately from the movement: a dial is cleaned or refinished only as far as it can go without erasing the maker's original printing, and a case is polished, re-plated or re-glassed to match the era of the piece rather than to look factory-new.
