« A Wealth of “Second Faces” »
There's no question that the dial is the "face" of a watch. But with high-end luxury watches in particular, it often pays to take a look at the back as well. Many renowned watchmakers devote far more attention to the case back than purely practical considerations would require. Some case backs offer fascinating glimpses into the inner workings of a watch, while others carry interesting information or are decorated with artwork. We take a look at the "second faces" of various luxury watches from brands such as Breitling, Chopard, Junghans, Omega and Rolex.
Function and Construction of the Case Back
From a practical standpoint, the case back of a wristwatch is nothing more than the rear closure of the watch case, and – like the case as a whole – its main purpose is to protect the watch and its movement. In most cases, watch cases are made in three parts: in addition to the case back, they consist of a middle case and the bezel holding the crystal. Gaskets between the individual parts seal the interior of the case against dust and other contaminants and, where applicable, against water ingress. As a rule, the case back on watches with a three-part case can be removed, for example to carry out a repair, to clean the watch or – in the case of quartz watches – to replace the battery.
There are also single-piece watch cases, which specialists refer to as monocoque cases. Their advantage is that the case and back form a single unit, so no gasket is needed between them. Monocoque cases are therefore used mainly in dive and sports watches, where water resistance and robustness are a top priority. Alternatively, the case back on such a watch can be screwed down and fitted with suitably resilient gaskets. The geometric shape of the case back generally matches that of the case, so it may be round, rectangular in portrait or landscape orientation, square, oval or tonneau-shaped, for example.
Glass, Metal and More – Materials for Watch Case Backs
The obvious material for a case back is the same one the watch case is made of. For most high-quality watches, that means stainless steel. On watches made of solid gold or ceramic, by contrast, the backs are made of those materials accordingly. In recent years, high-end mechanical watches have also increasingly featured so-called exhibition case backs made of sapphire crystal, which offer a view of the movement.
One of the first manufacturers in the luxury segment to use exhibition case backs on a larger scale was Maurice Lacroix. Since the case back rests directly against the wrist when the watch is worn and is therefore not visible, a simple smooth surface without any further decoration would actually be perfectly sufficient. Even so, only a few manufacturers leave it at that. Instead, many watch manufactures use the case back to display certain information such as limited-edition numbers or water resistance ratings, company logos, model names or a variety of images.
Knowing how a particular manufacturer designs its case backs can be especially important for watch enthusiasts and collectors when it comes to telling genuine brand-name watches from fakes.
Rolex Watches – Never with a Display Back
A particularly prominent example is Rolex. The brand's great prestige has always attracted hordes of counterfeiters trying to imitate the watches bearing the crown logo as faithfully as possible. Yet they repeatedly make typical mistakes – not least when it comes to the case back. At Rolex, the case back is traditionally smooth and free of any engraving. Apparently, however, some counterfeiters find it hard to believe that such a valuable watch could have just a plain, undecorated back, so they like to engrave a Rolex crown or something similar on the backs of their fakes.
A Rolex with an engraved case back can therefore be genuine only in exceptional cases – for example, if it bears a personal dedication or a similar individual engraving, or if it belongs to one of those series made specifically for certain customers and marked accordingly. Examples include the special Submariner and Sea-Dweller models produced for the British Royal Navy and for Comex, a company specializing in deep-sea diving, which bear military markings or the company name on the case back.
Some women's models from the 1990s also feature the engraved circular inscription "Original Rolex Design," and on certain Sea-Dweller models, "Rolex Oyster Original Gas Escape Valve" – a reference to the helium valve – can be read around the edge of the case back. Some supposed Rolex watches are even offered with display backs, even though the manufacturer has so far never used them on any of its models.
Omega: A Great Variety of Case Backs
Omega's lineup, by contrast, now includes numerous models with display backs. Alongside these, however, stainless steel case backs are also used – especially on the dive watches in the Seamaster collection. On a Seamaster Professional, these often feature a distinctive seahorse emblem, alluding to the maritime purpose of these watches. The motif also appears on a number of other models.
For limited special editions, Omega's master watchmakers often come up with something particularly original. The case back of the Omega Seamaster Diver 300m James Bond 007 Collector's Piece, for example, evokes a stylized gun barrel with the back of a cartridge visible at its center.
The Speedmaster Professional, famous as the "Moonwatch" and the astronauts' watch, often bears an engraving noting that this model was selected by NASA as the official watch for its manned space missions.
And to mark the 45th anniversary of the 1972 Apollo 17 lunar mission commanded by Gene Cernan, a limited special edition was released whose case back features, alongside a mission emblem and the engraved inscriptions "45th ANNIVERSARY" and "a tribute to Gene Cernan," a medallion depicting Apollo.
Breitling, Chopard, Junghans & Co. – Case Backs from Other Luxury Watch Brands
Breitling takes a similar approach: many of its models are now fitted with sapphire crystal case backs, but engraved stainless steel backs are also common, pointing for example to limited special editions or special series such as the Breitling for Bentley label.
Chopard offers a simple yet original solution on the back of its Happy Ocean models. Plain lettering shows only the company name, the model name Happy Ocean and the individual piece number. In addition, the case back is covered with delicate wavy lines reminiscent of waves playing across the surface of the sea.
Junghans generally takes a rather restrained approach to case back design, limiting itself to a few details such as the company name or the reference number. Junghans Max Bill watches, however, bear the engraved signature of the famous designer at the center of the case back.
In some cases, certain motifs have adorned a manufacturer's watches for many decades and model generations, such as the turtle on the case backs of Certina watches built according to the DS concept, or the starfish on Mido's Ocean Star models. Some manufacturers have returned to the traditional designs of their case backs after a break of several years, having favored more sober solutions in the meantime. All of these changes can give collectors important clues for dating individual vintage models. So the "second face" of a watch is always worth a look.
