The lugs of the Hetchins reminds me of the difference between manufacturing in Europe and America during the Industrial Revolution. Americans tended to be much more pragmatic about designing products that were very utilitarian/purpose built and easy to produce leading to interchangeable part production. The Europeans tended to make all their products artistic, which were labor intensive and artesian driven.

We tend to like a combination of them. Forgive me if I offend, but one of the last American products requiring custom finish work was the Winchester Mod 70 built before 1964. Every bolt was marked with the serial number of the action to ensure they were matched. The production process required hand fitting the parts together using files/stone and were not interchangeable between even the same r.i.f.l.e model/caliper. It nearly drove them out of business because of the labor cost (read customer price). The competitors had already changed their tooling and designs to be much more market acceptable with the near equivalent performance (controversy between controlled and non-controlled actions). If you research the Winchester Arms, you will find multiple ownerships since that time period.

The irony is that pre-64 Mod 70 r.i.f.l.es and actions bring a premium price on the used market. They are referred to as the "r.i.f.l.eman’s r.i.f.l.e." The reputation built between the mid 30's to 64 is hard to overcome.

So fancy lugs and custom bike frame sets are analogous and likely to continue to be in demand but cost a lot more and we will continue to admire and judge them with indifference to admiration. That is what makes C&V!