Palunc,
As you can see from the posts the managers of the two most venerated firms, Purdey and Holland, stated on record that their present day products are made via improved material and manufacturing methods. Greener back in 1910 stated that even back then, not all of each gun was hand made and praised the use of lathes, milling machines and mechanical polishers. Photos of his workshop show machine tools powered by overhead shafts.
The veneration of age for its own sake is not new. Colonel Hawker urged younng shots to stick to flintlocks to improve their follow through. A cartoon in a 19th century magazine shows a gentleman with an open breech loader and two game keepers asking mockingly "how is he going to shoot now that he went and bruck up his gun!" A joke at the expense of the then new breech loader.
Relying on extensive research of quality control methods and after having taken apart hundreds of doubles, some from the very best makers, I lean towards modern metallurgy and precise quality control. Knowing that the action bar has been X rayed, magnafluxed, precisely heat treated in temp control furnaces and preferably cryogenically tempered does it for me.
As for engraving, the post 1980 generation of artist engravers have taken their craft to new heights. The subjects chosen by the clients are often garish, but the technique, as seen under magnification, is as good and often better than in the past.
If I appear somewhat cynical about the marketing use of the term "best" it is because of specific experiences one of which I will detail in a separate post.
