Rose engine lathe

The decoration produced by a rose engine lathe is called guilloche.

It sometimes confused with "jewel finishes" or engine turning, a much cheaper process of making swirly marks in metal by a rotating abrasive peg or pad, which is repeatedly applied to the surface to make a pattern of overlapping circles.

Jewel finishes used to be common on stereo faceplates and automobile interiors.

The die used to prepare the printing plates was partially created by means of the rose engine, which produced a complicated pattern on a separate piece of metal.

The rose engine cut a series of parallel lines into the metal surface onto which the enamel was applied.