"Not so Watson Bros, whose Michael Louca received me (by appointment) and gave me a tour of his shop and the opportunity to handle a number of his guns." So long as the craftsman can deliver -- and Louca can -- establishing a relationship with a craftsman you like is a huge part of commissioning a bespoke gun.

To the comment, "In other words, is a H&H really $30,000 better than a Brown?" Given that Brown's have built a load of H&Hs -- including some of their Royals in the '60s and '70s -- that's open to debate, certainly in terms of intrinsic craftsmanship on a like-gun to like-gun basis, with name value set aside.)