As I familiarized myself more with watch terminology when my passion started to grow, I found multiple articles on Google talking about exhibition casebacks and they really caught my interest. I thought to myself, “What even is an exhibition caseback?”, but after I did my own research about them, I realized that they are an amazing feature to find on a timepiece.
An exhibition caseback is a see-through watch crystal on the back of a watch. Exhibition casebacks allow watch users to view, appreciate, and protect a timepiece’s internal moving parts. However, exhibition casebacks can generally be less durable than regular, solid metal casebacks.
Read on to view my full article explaining what an exhibition caseback is used for, the purpose of exhibition casebacks, the issues that can arise with them, and my personal thoughts about these types of casebacks.
What’s The Purpose Of An Exhibition Caseback
For plenty of years, the only way you could view a watch’s internal moving components was by disassembling it and completely taking it apart. But as time went by and innovations started arising, watch manufacturers came up with one of their best inventions yet, which is the massively adored exhibition caseback.
The primary purpose of an exhibition caseback is to allow watch users to visualize the craftsmanship put behind the watch’s internal movement with a see-through crystal. In addition, exhibition casebacks protect the watch’s internal moving parts (like the balance wheel and gears) similar to solid metal casebacks.
While there are plenty of components that make up a timepiece, one of the most overlooked parts of a watch is the caseback, which is the back of the watch, and especially exhibition casebacks. I think they’re underrated because they provide extremely useful features that other casebacks don’t have.
What Are Some Issues That Can Arise With Exhibition Casebacks?
One of the most obvious problems that can arise with an exhibition caseback is that it’s significantly less durable than regular casebacks. Since exhibition casebacks are made out of a clear watch crystal similar to the sapphire crystal on the front of the watch, they can crack, scratch, and break easier than regular casebacks. Even though exhibition casebacks provide helpful features, they are clearly not as strong as regular casebacks.
The majority of watches generally have a solid precious metal caseback that is used to protect the watch and make it more durable. While exhibition casebacks allow watch users to visualize the internal gears and springs, it trades-off its unique feature with overall durability.
Another issue that comes with an exhibition caseback is that it’s harder to make, which means companies will typically increase the price of a watch with exhibition casebacks. I think that this issue is not a big deal at all and it’s totally worth it to pay a little more for an exhibition caseback than to have a regular, solid caseback.
Regular casebacks don’t allow you to appreciate the watch nearly as much as exhibition casebacks, which is why I prefer them. Nonetheless, these are the only issues that I could find with exhibition casebacks. After thinking of other ways that could make them less viable, the only ones that I really found were that they are less durable than regular casebacks and are generally slightly more expensive.
Other than these two cons, everything else about exhibition casebacks is amazing to me. They let you get a close look inside the watch, which is something you can’t do with the many timepieces.
The Best Watches With An Exhibition Caseback
While there are plenty of watches out there that have exhibition casebacks, there are a few watch models that really stand out with their own exhibition caseback and show how much watchmakers put into their specific timepieces.
Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch
Omega is one of the most popular and well-known watch brands in the world. One of Omega’s most popular watch models is the Speedmaster Moonwatch. While some Speedmasters have a regular caseback, the Moonwach models have an exquisite exhibition caseback where you can see the jewels, balance wheel, and internal moving gears.
When you look at the back of a Speedmaster Moonwatch with an exhibition caseback, you’re bound to be impressed with its craftsmanship.
I think that the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch is a jaw-dropping watch. First, the brand recognition of Omega is a huge plus. Omega is one of the most recognized watch brands because of how much passion they put behind their watches and the overall high-end quality of their watches.
The best part about the Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch exhibition caseback, to me, is that the whole caseback is pretty much a see-through crystal. With other timepieces with exhibition casebacks, the majority of them are pretty small and are surrounded with a large stainless steel ring around them, but this specific watch model has a big exhibition caseback compared to other watches.
Panerai Luminor Due 3 Days Automatic
When it comes to top luxury watch brands, Panerai competes with the best of the best. Their specific watch model, the Luminor Due 3 Days Automatic, features an exhibition caseback where you can clearly see its internal mini-rotor, bridges, gears, and more.
Personally, I really love the Panerai brand and the exhibition caseback on the Luminor Due 3 Days. Similar to the Omega Speedmaster Professional Moonwatch, this Panerai Luminor also has a relatively large exhibition caseback compared to other watches. On top of that, looking at the interior of the watch, you can see how beautifully designed and crafted this timepiece is with its P.4000 caliber.
In fact, I own a Panerai watch myself and it’s my first ever luxury watch brand. If you want to see my review of my Panerai Luminor Chronograph Daylight, you can view my full in-depth review by clicking right here.
Breitling Navitimer 01
Breitling is an excellent Swiss watch brand that is highly regarded as one of the most popular watch brands in the world. As for the Breitling brand, the Navitimer 01 is one of their most popular watch models and many have an exhibition caseback.
Similar to the other watches. I mentioned, the exhibition caseback on the Navitimer is large, and you can clearly see its internal motor and other moving parts. I personally love the Breitling brand and the Navitimer specifically because of how popular the model is, how intricate the dial is, and how eye-catching and useful it can be in certain situations.
Similar to Panerai, I also own a Breitling Wings watch in my personal collection. If you want to check out my in-depth review of my Breitling watch and my opinions about the Breitling brand, you can do so by clicking right here.
Exhibition Casebacks: My Thoughts And Opinions
In my personal opinion, I am a massive fan of exhibition casebacks and I honestly prefer them over solid metal casebacks. They allow you to look inside of the watch and look at how much time and effort was put into the timepiece, which you don’t really get with regular casebacks.
Even though that they aren’t as durable as normal, solid metal casebacks and may be very slightly more expensive, I would rather have the trade-off of having the ability to really appreciate the craftsmanship put behind a watch and lessening the durability of the watch.
The reason why I would rather have the watch less durable is that the exhibition caseback faces inward toward my wrist unlike the watch crystal on the front of the watch, which means that exhibition casebacks are protected much more than the actual frontal watch crystal.
One of the main reasons why I love watches so much is because of how much time and effort watch manufacturers and designers put into them, and exhibition casebacks allow me to fully appreciate timepieces.
If you want to see the internal movement of a watch with a regular case, then you would have to take a watch apart to look inside, which can lead to expensive servicing. However, you get to fully visualize a watch movement without taking it apart with an exhibition caseback, which is the reason why I think they’re so good.