It can sometimes be easy to forget that behind many of the watches we admire, however impressive, sit simple humans. Whilst we often focus on the quest for perfection and precision in horology, mistakes are an integral part of this human element. From misspelling the Patek Philippe name on a buckle, to the wrong numerals being applied on a Rolex dial, mistakes crop up from time to time, sometimes in the most surprising places.

We wanted to look back at the times that mishaps accidentally slipped through the quality-control net and made it into circulation. Many of these remind us of a time when watchmaking was far less precise and controlled than it is today, where modern manufacturing has narrowed the room for error. In some cases, the mistakes are surprisingly recent. If you’ve ever felt remorse about sending an email out with a typo, this might just make you feel better. 

Before we dive in, we wanted to outline just what we mean by a mistake. We will only be looking at manufacturing errors that have taken place whilst the watch was being made and not defaults that appeared after it was sold. We won’t be covering paint that turns tropical or markers that drop off when the watch receives a shock, though these could certainly be considered imperfections. We’re dealing with the glaringly obvious ones here. Many of the mistakes featured have occurred on a small batch of watches, having been quickly corrected once the anomaly was spotted. There