An Ode to the Closed Caseback
Ever since quality watchmakers had to change how they market their products post ‘quartz crisis’ - from something needed to something to be desired - the see-through case-back has been an added value in the industry. But here, I’d like to build an enthusiast’s defense for the solid case-back.
A staple of the tool watch (among waterproofing, legibility… and so on) is a closed-case-back. That is, the back of the watch features no sapphire or glass window through which to see the movement.
One reason for this is because if your watch is a tool for a job, the movement should be industrial in its design, rather than beautiful and ornate. If the movement is a work of hand-finished perfection, then of course there’s value in being able to see it. But equally, if it’s mostly made by a machine and designed to work rather than look pretty, you don’t really need to see it.
Moreover, even if the watch is stunningly finished, you’ll only see about 10% of the movement though the caseback anyway. A watch movement is made up of several metal plates - (measured in lignes; the number of lignes depends on the watche’s complications) All you’ll see through the back is the first of many plates. In the case of a tool watch movement, which are usually automatic, more than a third of the view will always be blocked by the rotor anyway (but I’ll admit the rotor can be decorated too).
Another plus for the opaque is that a sapphire case back could also be cost-cutting. A synthetic sapphire disc costs considerably less than the disc of precious metal that would otherwise be there. Now I know not all watches are made of precious metal (especially tool watches, often in steel), but if you’ve got a solid gold watch and the case-back is glorified glass, wouldn’t you feel a bit ripped-off? Patek Philippe, until the late 90’s, used to sell you the sapphire case back and the solid version; you could switch-out how you pleased. I kind of wish all brands sold you both nowadays.
A Patek Philippe ref. 5004 with a solid case-back included (bottom-left) - thekeystone.com
Third, you can’t engrave glass. Case-back engravings add sentiment to the world of watches. A notable date, a famous quote or a gift-message nestled under your wrist is often more valuable than being able to see the movement through the back. I’ve heard a story of a mountaineer who’d engrave the name of the mountain and the date he submitted it on the back of his Rolex Explorer - now that is worth voiding the warranty. And let me say it here: anyone who fails to engrave their Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso is a fop!
Finally, there’s something ineffably badass about coving up even an exquisite movement with a solid slab of metal. I don’t know what it is. It makes me think of John Mayor’s unique Patek Philippe 5004 - a watch endowed with a host of complications being a perpetual-calendar-split-second-chronograph - only to be covered-up with a solid case-back bearing the simple engraving ‘Mr. J. C. Mayor, 2012’. Perhaps the appeal is that it adds to the mystical nature of a mechanical watch; the movement is behind a closed door, quietly shunting away at confusing computations to somehow produce the time, and if you can’t see it, it becomes more alluringly special. With a closed case-back, you can always dare to get an appointment with the movement by removing the back entirely. To reference another episode of HODNIKEE’s Talking Watches, the writer Gary Shteyngart sums it up brilliantly: “It’s so hard for me to know that this incredible party is happening and I can get an invite to it”.
The engraved solid caseback of John Mayer's specially requested Patek Philippe ref. 5004 - hodinkee.com