Design Atlas
한국어
▞ Patterns & textiles

Guilloché

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A dense weave of curved lines engraved by precisely combining rotational and oscillating motion — the mathematical precision made it the standard for currency and security printing.

Also known as: 엔진 터닝Engine turning
···
html
<div class="g"></div><span class="tag">guilloché</span>
css
.g{position:absolute;inset:-20%;background-color:#111015;
  background-image:
    repeating-radial-gradient(circle at 30% 40%,transparent 0 3px,rgba(198,161,58,.55) 3px 4px),
    repeating-radial-gradient(circle at 70% 60%,transparent 0 3px,rgba(198,161,58,.55) 3px 4px),
    repeating-radial-gradient(circle at 50% 50%,transparent 0 3px,rgba(198,161,58,.35) 3px 4px);
  animation:spin 24s linear infinite}
@keyframes spin{to{transform:rotate(360deg)}}
.tag{position:absolute;left:10px;bottom:8px;padding:3px 9px;border-radius:999px;background:rgba(198,161,58,.2);
  color:#f0dca0;font:600 10px/1.5 ui-monospace,SFMono-Regular,Menlo,monospace;letter-spacing:.03em;border:1px solid rgba(198,161,58,.4)}

The technique began as precision engraving in 16th–17th-century France and reached its peak with the "rose engine lathe" — a machine that combines rotational and oscillating motion to cut a metal plate. The resulting curves were too precise and too dense to reproduce by hand, which is exactly why they first decorated pocket-watch cases and fine jewellery (Fabergé eggs are the famous example).

That same "impossible to forge by hand" property is what made it the standard for security printing — banknotes, passports, cheques. Before computers, there was effectively no way to copy this pattern freehand without a rose engine of your own.

Structurally it's the same idea as a spirograph curve (a hypotrochoid): rotational motion with a sinusoidal oscillation layered on top. The demo overlaps three concentric-ring fields from different centre points and rotates them together slowly, so the three interfere and read as a dense, woven texture — the same "rotating overlaid patterns create interference" principle as the moiré entry, applied here to a security-print context.

When to use

Use for security/certificate-feel premium packaging, watch and jewellery branding, and UI backgrounds that metaphorically signal "tamper-proof."