“A secret watch is the perfect blend of high jewellery and watchmaking,” says Rainer Bernard, director of research and development for watches at Van Cleef & Arpels. “It is puzzling, interesting and makes you dream.” For the unfamiliar, “secret” watches are timepieces that are hidden within a jewellery design, most often bracelets, but also brooches, rings and necklaces. The category stems, in part, from an era when it was considered impolite to check the time. While men had pockets in their garments to hide their watches, women often did not have ways of concealing them. Clever machinations ensued. See the latest of said machinations, and read the (IMO) interesting fun story, here.
