Editor’s Note
This article explores the enduring allure of ‘secret watches’—timepieces with cleverly concealed dials. A tradition with deep roots at houses like Bulgari, these watches offer a discreet and artful alternative to checking the time, blending horology with high jewelry.
Instead of quickly glancing at a phone, snake mouths are opened and gemstones are shifted. Secret watches with concealed dials have a long tradition, particularly at the Italian watch and jewelry brand Bulgari, and are regaining significance.
The horological equivalent of placing one’s mobile phone face down on the table during a conversation to demonstrate full attention is a so-called Secret Watch. Its dial is concealed by a flap or hidden within the decor, and the watch itself does not look like a classic timepiece at all, but rather like a piece of jewelry.
This is also a main reason why so many Secret Watches have been found in Bulgari’s collections since the late 1940s, in both the Prêt-à-porter and Haute Joaillerie lines: As an original jewelry brand, they added a watch to the typical “Serpenti” snake bracelets to provide practical added value. Furthermore, it was a natural fit to place a watch in the mouth or head of the brand’s iconic snake.
Creating a very small mechanical movement was a challenge – and still is. This is why quartz movements have been ticking inside the jewelry watches of most brands since their invention in the 1970s. For many years, this was also the case for Bulgari:
However, demand for mechanical movements in women’s watches increased:
He finds it particularly strange to “install a simple quartz movement in such a work of art,” especially in Haute Joaillerie pieces. This led Bulgari to produce its own small movement: In 2019, the manufacture movement “BVL100” was introduced, affectionately nicknamed “Piccolissimo.” With a diameter of 12 millimeters, it is as small as a five-cent coin. It is manufactured in Bulgari’s ateliers in Switzerland. It was developed based on the ultra-thin movement of the “Octo Finissimo.”
Even though the list of famous female faces who have been seen with a Bulgari Secret Watch is long, from style icons Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren, and Grace Kelly in the past to personalities and influencers like Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, and Chiara Ferragni today, a Secret Watch is not just for women. Strictly speaking, every watch was once a secret one: through the covers of pocket watches, which protected the glass from scratches and damage in the trouser pocket before the invention of the wristwatch. Wearing it on the wrist, but especially the use of scratch-resistant sapphire and hardened mineral glass, later made the additional protection obsolete.
Today, Bulgari receives inquiries from men primarily for watches whose dials are concealed by ancient Roman coins; the “Monete” collection is also a fixed part of the house’s design codes. The coin can indeed have a higher value than the watch itself. To read the time, one presses a button, and the cover lifts. It is also these gestures that make Secret Watches something special; instead of quickly looking at a phone, buttons are pressed, snake mouths are opened, gemstones are shifted. These small, mindful pauses make such pieces even more desirable in hectic times.
