The last of the really nice finishes on the blued Smith revolvers seemed to kind of go away in the late 80s (and many folks say they had been "sliding" for a long time before that).
Not only was it not as hot a seller anymore once the 6-- guns came out, stainless requires very little finish work. A good bluing job requires a fair amount. Any savings to Smith on buying Carbon Steel went out the window when they invested time to make the bluing look nice - or as nice as it could look given evolving EPA rules.
I would go as far as to say there aren't many nice bluing jobs on guns anymore, short of some high-end 1911s.
-shooter