Collection: Learn about watches: Bluing steel (blue steel hands, screws and more)

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• Run a quick search on google then you'll find that blue steel watch hands (thermally blued, not painted or plated) are usually reserved for higher-end luxury watches. Now, you can experience the craft and create blued steel hands for your own watches.

  Blue steel hands are watch hands thermally treated to the right color (blue most of the time), and therefore, the right hardness, for a watch. Stainless steel today has great material properties so watch hand bluing is usually done for the aesthetic appeal. However, for early watchmakers in history, this was a very functional step. After shaping the steel components to the final shape, they would then heat the part until it is red hot, then cool the part rapidly (quenching) to harden the component. After quenching the part is usually too hard and brittle for practical use. Therefore, they follow up by performing heat bluing of the steel parts (tempering), which makes the part less brittle and tougher. 
  (Learn more: The History and Science of Blue Watch Hands and Screws | DIY Watch Club)

  Being able to thermally blue components at home revolutionize the hobby of at-home watchmaking. If your mechanical watch has a standard movement like Miyota 8215 or Seiko NH, you will be able to massively upgrade the aesthetic appeal of your watch :)

Featured video guides:

Heat bluing steel hands for your watch

Heat bluing steel screws for your watch