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You're asking the wrong guy. I couldn't pick out grades of Spanish guns if I had a gun to my head.
I will say this-right after the A and D boxlock came into being, there were English firms that finished them up as "Bests".
I'm guessing that era only lasted 10-20 years. Dig would know. People, both buyers and makers figured out it didn't take that much to get a boxlock out the door, compared to a sidelock, and people weren't going to pay best prices for them.
I doubt the Spanish ever went through that same thing. A boxlock is always a shooter, and a sidelock is a bit more.
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The Spanish gun makers have a long history of producing very fine, and very expensive, box lock shotguns. The only two makers I know of that still catalog a box lock are AyA and Ugartechea, and only AyA catalogs a truly top end box lock in the XXV-BL:
Back before the great crisis the gun makers went through in the 1980s just about all the makers offered top end box lock guns, with full coverage engraving, including medium and deep relief engraving. Garbi, Grulla, Francisco Sarriugarte, Joaquín Fernández, Eduardo Schilling, et. al. offered box lock guns that that ran from impressive to just stunning.
Here is a Ugartechea from the 1950s:
Francisco Sarriugarte, ornate engraving with gold inlay:
I’ve seen Spanish box lock guns with extensive damascene engraving, deep relief game scenes, even inlay done in platinum. These guns are rare, just as top end side lock guns are rare, and for the same reason; not many could afford to have one made.
