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Skeletonized watches – or skeleton watches for short – are hugely popular with many watch connoisseurs and collectors. This is especially true of those with a keen interest in mechanical masterpieces who love to take a look at the movement and its engineering details. Reason enough to take a closer look at some examples of this special type of watch from the collections of Hublot, Maurice Lacroix, Oris, TAG Heuer and Tissot.
Luxury Skeleton Watches – a Product Category with a Long Tradition
Skeleton watches are by no means a recent invention; in fact, they have been around for more than 250 years. Still, the term skeleton watch deserves a brief explanation, because while it offers a good, vivid description of what it refers to, it is also a little misleading.
A skeleton is usually understood to be a supporting structure, such as the bony framework of humans and mammals or the reinforced-concrete frame of a building. This structure can be covered or visible from the outside, and "skeletonized" accordingly describes a state in which the otherwise hidden skeleton has been exposed and is therefore visible.
With a skeleton watch, however, this isn't quite accurate. What happens is not the exposure of a supporting structure; instead, existing parts of the movement are stamped, milled or sawn down to the point where they can still perform their structural function, while the resulting cutouts open up a view of the structures behind them.
Strictly speaking, then, it isn't an existing skeleton that is exposed; rather, existing components are pared down to a skeleton-like structure. Over the course of history, skeletonized versions of almost every type of timepiece have been made, from historic table clocks to wall clocks and pocket watches all the way to luxury skeleton wristwatches. The motivation is always the same: a fascination with the ingenious mechanics at work inside a watch, which the skeletonized structures let you observe in action.
Skeletonized table clocks, for example, were already being made in France around 1750 and are often displayed under a glass dome. Among pocket watches, alongside true skeleton models there were also those with an "open dial." A famous example is the piece Abraham Louis Breguet made especially for Marie Antoinette, which featured a transparent dial of rock crystal.
Finishing Gains Importance with the Rise of Skeleton Watches
Among the wristwatches available today, there are numerous models that at first glance appear to belong to the skeleton watch category. On closer inspection, however, considerable differences emerge. There are now machine-made skeleton watches produced in large numbers, which are generally simply finished and comparatively affordable. In contrast, there are handcrafted luxury skeleton watches offered by renowned manufactures, whose production is as technically demanding as it is time-consuming. Some are produced only in small series, and they are often distinguished by especially elaborate finishing.
Finishing is a refinement process that encompasses technical enhancement through various additional functions as well as the mechanical reworking of movements or their parts. Techniques such as chasing, guilloché, engraving, embossing, laser sintering and, above all, a range of polishing and graining techniques are used. The results of these additional steps, which are largely reserved for haute horlogerie, can of course be admired particularly well on skeleton watches – so the interest in skeleton watches has likely played no small part in spreading and advancing the corresponding finishing techniques.
Skeleton watches naturally show themselves off best when they not only do without a conventional closed dial but also feature a sapphire crystal caseback.
For Watch Lovers with Gasoline in Their Veins: Luxury Skeleton Watches from TAG Heuer and Tissot
With the TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre HEUER 01, launched in March 2015, TAG Heuer – a manufacture with deep traditional ties to motorsport – created an in-house chronograph positioned as the centerpiece of its collection and, at the same time, as a tribute to company founder Edouard Heuer. The number 01 refers to the chronograph caliber created for the occasion, an extensively further developed version of the Calibre 1887.
Overall, the skeleton watch has a decidedly purist design. From the front, it reveals the control elements of the chronograph function as well as the openworked date disc, which looks particularly delicate. From the back, you can see the column wheel, which adds a striking visual accent thanks to its red color, along with the skeletonized chronograph bridge and the rotor of the automatic winding system. The 45-millimeter stainless steel case is coated with titanium carbide and built modularly from twelve different components, resulting in a wide range of possible combinations of colors, surface designs and materials. The sporty look of the TAG Heuer Carrera Calibre HEUER 01 is underscored by the black perforated rubber strap.
Tissot also offers a skeletonized men's watch in its lineup, the Tissot T-Complication Squelette, which has no chronograph function but comes across as even sportier and more purist.
Its functions are limited to central hours and minutes and a small seconds at 9 o'clock. The design of the hand-wound Tissot T-Complication Squelette is inspired by a sports car wheel, or more precisely its rim. Its purist character is emphasized not least by the many milled – rather than polished or otherwise decorated – surfaces of the various movement components.
Oris, Maurice Lacroix and Hublot: Classic and Extraordinary Luxury Skeleton Watches
If, instead of the purist Tissot T-Complication Squelette, you're looking for a technically similar but somewhat more classically styled skeleton watch, the Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Squelette may well be the model that meets your wishes. Its 43-millimeter stainless steel case likewise houses a hand-wound mechanical movement that drives the central hour and minute hands as well as the small seconds at 9 o'clock.
Compared with the Tissot T-Complication Squelette, the Maurice Lacroix Masterpiece Squelette offers even more "see-through," because every element that could obstruct the view through the watch's skeleton has been consistently omitted. The model is available in four different versions, including one with a black-coated case and one with a gold-colored skeleton.
The Oris Artelier Skeleton, on the other hand, which Oris launched as the first skeleton watch in its Artelier collection, is distinguished by a more classic, traditional design.
On this three-hand watch, the dial isn't omitted entirely but has merely been reduced to an outer ring bearing the baton hour markers and, at 6 o'clock, the brand logo. Available with either a leather strap or a stainless steel bracelet, the Oris Artelier Skeleton, with its 40-millimeter case diameter, makes a perfect elegant dress watch. The Oris 734 caliber movement features automatic winding with up to 38 hours of power reserve.
Hublot has a particularly extraordinary skeleton model in its collection. The Hublot Classic Fusion Ultra-thin Skeleton is extremely thin and also stands out because its small seconds is positioned not at 6 or 9 o'clock, but at 7 o'clock.
As is customary at Hublot, the skeletonized Hublot Classic Fusion is available in several variants, including one with a gold case.
