What are secret watches and why are they trending again in 2023? High jewellery maisons Chanel, Dior, Piaget and Van Cleef & Arpels all just dropped new timepiece models inspired by antiquated ideas
- Chanel showed off Mademoiselle Privé Bouton designs at Watches and Wonders in Geneva, while Van Cleef & Arpels added to its Perlée range and Piaget had new Limelight cuff watches
- Hermès has a new Médor Mini Joaillerie cuff, Van Cleef & Arpels a new Ludo, Chaumet added Souveraine and Maharani designs, plus there’s fresh Dearest Dior models and Jaeger-LeCoultre unveiled a secret necklace Reverso
They may look like diamond bracelets, bold titanium cuffs, or pearl or onyx sautoirs, but these precious pieces of jewellery hide something else – they also tell the time, for they are secret watches.
Today these exquisite timepieces are fashionable as an expression of style and individuality, but a century ago they were conceived as a discreet way for a lady to keep an eye on the time.
From the 1920s right through into the 1950s, it was considered impolite for a woman to look at her wristwatch if she was in a social setting. It might suggest she was bored and was considered particularly unladylike if she was in the company of a gentleman. So jewellery houses and watchmakers came up with a solution – camouflage the watch as a piece of jewellery.
As a result, women started wearing timepieces masquerading as high jewellery, mostly bracelets, brooches and sautoirs that, for the stylish 20s flapper girl, nestled among her ropes of Chanel pearls and Tiffany & Co. pendants.
Hiding in plain sight, these dazzling watches became enormously fashionable, even though some of the dials secreted under their pretty covers were so small as to be barely legible.
Of course, the rules of etiquette have changed with the times, and in modern society, such attitudes towards checking the time have relaxed somewhat – or at the very least shed their overt sexism.
Nevertheless, secret watches continue to enchant women with their dazzling exteriors and have enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent years.
At Watches and Wonders in Geneva this spring, Chanel, Hermès and Van Cleef & Arpels were among those unveiling a fresh generation of secret watches, and there are rumours that Bulgari has several such novelties to unveil in its high jewellery collection due to drop this month.
Chanel showcased its latest limited edition Mademoiselle Privé Bouton designs with the couturier’s birth sign Leo – the lion’s head depicted in gold and diamonds – protectively hiding a black lacquer dial and quartz movement. Crafted in Chanel’s métiers d’arts workshops, the head is emblazoned on black titanium cuffs, a diamond and onyx sautoir necklace, and a calfskin strap.