Hidden Figures: A Guide To The Horological Easter Eggs Of Your Favorite Watches

Any gamer or Marvel Cinematic Universe fan will tell you about the delights of finding Easter eggs. Once discovered, these purposefully hidden features, such as codes, off-screen character references, and other insider information, make the audience feel a little bit more “in the know.”

Likewise, in the watch industry, there are secret codes hidden in plain sight on movements. Yet, many watch enthusiasts do not know horological Easter eggs exist, even though the same enthusiasts can (and do) spend entire days talking about the design codes of their preferred brand. Horological Easter eggs exist for several reasons: To foil counterfeiters, to sign their work as an artist would sign a canvas, or simply, for the amusement of the watchmaker and the collector.

Let’s go down the rabbit hole of horological Easter eggs.

Abraham-Louis Breguet was the first in so many horological innovations, including integrating a “secret signature” into his timepieces. And even though the skill level required to create a Breguet would have discouraged counterfeits anyway, the watchmaker still felt the need to acknowledge authenticity.
 

Back in the 1800s, Breguet wrote, “To ensure the public is not deceived by works in which I have no part, I will put a distinctive mark on the dial, executed by a machine whose effects are extremely difficult to imitate.” He used a drypoint pantograph (one of which still exists in the Breguet Museum in Paris) to etch an almost imperceptible signature on the dial.
 

This signature is still etched onto modern Breguet watches, albeit using lasers because it’s the 21st century. On engine-turned dials, you will usually find this mark on either side of the 6 or 12 o’clock numeral or placed somewhere on the lower half of enamel dials.

For some Easter eggs, horological detectives will need a magnifying glass and good lighting to look for clues. Blancpain doesn’t mark all of its pieces, but when models have a grand feu enamel dial – which is essentially a work of art – it demands a signature. Look for the hidden JB logo engraved between the numbers 4 and 5 or 7 and 8. As a tribute to the company’s history, the initials JB reference Blancpain founder Jehan-Jacques Blancpain. But you’ll have to work hard to find it. This subtle mark is only revealed when you examine the piece as the light hits it at an oblique angle.
 

Other secrets are hidden in plain sight. For example, you may have noticed that the dials of Grand Seiko watches have two different stars. But what do they mean?

An eight-pointed star indicates the dial is a “Special Dial” using precious materials for the dial plate, hands, and/or the markers. A five-pointed star signifies that the movement is accurate to 5 seconds per year.
 

Grand Seiko has a tradition of telling a story through the design of its movements as well. For example, the caliber 9R01 is laid out to represent Mt. Fuji (a landscape that is visible from the Micro Artist Studio).

Omega places an almost microscopic Ω on the center of its crystals. The practice started in the early 1950s and continues today with the symbol being laser-etched onto the Hesalite glass version of the new Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch.