Vacheron Constantin

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Geneva Stopworks

What you are referring to is the Geneva Stopworks mechanism, which isn't uniquely V&C but is said to originate with the watchmakers in the Canton of Geneva, although it also appeared in movements of French manufacture.  Attached to the barrel, it does indeed prevent over-winding of the spring.  The nickname "Maltese Cross" was soon given to this mechanism because some variations resembled that religious icon.  It was also a sign of the best quality timepieces until the free-sprung balance arguably surpassed its design efficiencies.  Nevertheless, the mechanism is still used in other mechanical devices to provide intermittent rotation without allowing reverse motion.

Franco Cologni in his must-have reference book, Secrets of Vacheron Constantin, sets out the best description of events IMHO:

"As proof of its optimism, in 1880, when the crisis was at its height, the firm created its celebrated logo: the Maltese cross, distinguished by its four branches and eight points.  Henceforth this would be the symbol that would appear on the dials of all the firm’s watches.  The cross design was registered with the Office federal de la propriete industrielle in Berne in 1880, and two years later in Italy and America.  We do not know who chose this logo, nor their reasons for doing so.  Very probably it was inspired by a part of this shape found in precision watches, the function of which was to limit the tension on the spring in order to avoid it snapping.  Thus it was a mark of quality.  The fact that one of the firm’s agents in Paris had the Rue de Malte as his address for a time may also have played its part, as may memories of the wall clock created in 1790.  But the essential qualities of the symbol reside nevertheless in its nobility, the long tradition attached to it, and its historical importance." 

I have to agree that the combination of religious and political significance represented by the Maltese Cross was at least as important as its connection to a mechanical device...at the time European nobility were the most important customers for V&C and the focus of their marketing strategies.

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