There are different switching schemes to get the decade results you’re looking for. The use of ten equal components in series like the GR and ESI resistor decades use is perhaps the easiest to implement but there are others ways. You don’t actually need switches as my really old Welch resistor decade uses tapered shorting pegs with a 1,2,3,4 sequence. The CDE decade box use an encoded rotary switch with a 1,2,3,4 sequence of resistors and the Phipps & Bird uses individual slide switches with a 1,2,3,4 sequence of resistors. The IET uses thumbwheel switches and a 1,2,2,2,2 series of resistors and capacitors to go from 1 to 9 which is a little different. The high accuracy 6 decade ESI Dekabox I have uses coaxial stacked switches to give a wide range in a compact box.
The CDE capacitor decades are notorious for the capacitors going bad. The Aerovox I have uses silver micas and is still right on. The resistor decades generally last forever unless they are damaged. You can see on the photo of the IET decade box that one resistor had been damaged and I had to replace it.