I dig the lightweight tuners, hard. The obvious benefit of steel/brass, and a fine gear ratio without the dampening mass or weight to lug around. Reminds me of drilled-out bicycle components.
My creaky hat peg tuners are light and relatively non-dampening, but what a coarse, hateful, jerky, creaky action they have - ugh.
I love seeing such clever solutions!
Regarding the carving, it may well be a hand job if they have one guy who does it all day. In my business, high-end architectural woodwork and furniture, when I apprenticed, larger shops usually had one or more carvers, who did nothing but that. These folks were fast AND good...take a talented person and have them do something endlessly and they are bound to get good (or go nuts, or both).
I'll email the firm and see what they say, sharing what I learn, if anything.