A watch case including a thumbwheel for controlling a watch function, configured to be manipulated by a user, movable inside a housing and configured to allow a limited translational motion of one portion of the thumbwheel in a radial direction of the case, against an elastic return configured to move the portion away from an interior of the case. The housing includes a control detector detecting presence of the portion close to the center of the case when pressure is applied by a user, and configured to activate or deactivate a sensor included in the case in proximity to the housing, configured, when a rotational movement is imparted to the thumbwheel by the user, to detect passage of a transmitter included in the thumbwheel.