If it is women who today offer them letters of nobility, the first so-called “secret” models were the prerogative of men: pocket watches, whose cover protected the dial, or housed personal messages, miniature portraits or precious objects.
“Secret watches have their origins in old timepieces with secret compartments, like erotic watches from the end of the 18th century,” explains Geoffroy Ader, expert in horology and collector’s watches. Yes, in the 18th and 19th centuries centuries, this type of reference hid a forbidden scene or an automaton, it fulfilled another function in the 20th century, that of hiding the time.” Surprising? Not necessarily. In certain circles, out of respect for decency, a woman should not inquire about the passage of time, at the risk of revealing her boredom. The consultation is then discreet, using sophisticated mechanisms. Sliding shutters, lids, hinges, hidden buttons compete in ingenuity to make us forget that a timepiece appears under what looks like a precious bracelet.
Thus, the dial of the Ludo Secret watch by Van Cleef & Arpels is only revealed by simultaneously pressing two precious stone motifs on the sides. On the Jaeger-LeCoultre 101 Secrets reference, a button, hidden behind the rows of diamonds, opens a window on the bracelet. The time is visible for a moment on the dial, before disappearing once the button is released. This model features the caliber 101, created in 1929 and which remains to this day the smallest mechanical movement in shape. Bulgari, for its part, has held the record for miniaturization on a round caliber since 2022 with its Piccolissimo BVL 100 movement. It equips the unique Monete Catene Dual Time timepiece, unveiled last September. Its double dial appears thanks to two emeralds housed on the sides of the case, which activate the cover. Same principle at Cartier, on the Tutti Frutti Lodi watch, whose cover is topped with an engraved emerald of 16.83 carats while a button decorated with a lion sculpted in gold slides on the dial of the cuff Mademoiselle Privé Lion by Chanel.
A dial that plays hide and seek
The time can also be displayed discreetly on pendants, as Chanel, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Van Cleef & Arpels and Piaget have chosen to do. This house has also created a unique piece with the Foliatura watch, where the dial plays hide and seek under the jewelry cuff.
On watch automatons, the time is not secret, but takes second place. With Dior Grand Soir Automate or Louis Vuitton’s Tambour Fiery Heart Automata, priority is given to the lively scene. Secret or simply discreet, these feminine timepieces transcend the simple measurement of time.
An article from the special “Watchmaking” section of L’Express, published in the weekly on December 7, 2023