Bare Bones: 13 Luxury Skeleton Watches We Love

Apart from producing mind-bending complications, watchmakers like to demonstrate their technical and aesthetic prowess by creating timepieces with skeletonised movements and open-worked dials. Click on the gallery below to check out some of the most magnificent examples of luxury skeleton watches you can get your hands on today:

Zenith 

Photo: Courtesy of Zenith 

This steely, cool Defy Classic watch is fitted with Zenight’s new Elite skeletonised movement, which is housed in a very wearable 41mm case crafted from brushed titanium. 

 Audemars Piguet 

 Photo: Courtesy of Audemars Piguet 

The Royal Oak Concept Tourbillon Chronograph Openworked is the first Royal Oak Concept self-winding model since the collection was introduced in 2002. It has a peripheral oscillating eight in platinum, which is housed in a sandblasted titanium case. 

Bell & Ross 

Photo: Courtesy of Bell & Ross 

This blue version of the BR-X1 Skeleton Tourbillon. Sapphire is on of only six available in the world. The limited edition piece features a case cut out of five blocks of sapphire that houses a skeletonised flying tourbillon movement. 

 Bovet

 

Photo: Courtesy of Bovet

This intricate piece, the Amadeo Fleurier 45, is crafted from red gold and is completely skeletonised, except for the black guilloche dial. The lower half feaures a flying tourbillon.  

Breguet 

Photo: Courtesy of Breguet 

The skeletonised Classique Complications 3795 watch comes with a rose-gold case and dial, and a finely fluted case band. Each piece is individually numbered. There is also a platinum version.  

Bulgari 

Photo: Courtesy of Bulgari 

For the first time, the inner workings of the Lucea model are revealed in the Lucea Skeleton, which is kept delicate and feminine with a 33mm case in pink gold and stee, and a crown set with a pink cabochon stone. 

Cartier 

Photo: Courtesy of Cartier 

The new Santos de Cartier Skeleton Watch large model comes in a pink-gold version with interchangeable straps and is equipped with a manual 9619 MC movement. 

 Franck Muller 

Photo: Courtesy of Franck Muller 

The Vanguard Tourbillon Minute Repeater features and extraordinary openworked minute repeater. Crafted in rose gold, the timepiece features a skeletonised movement that has been hand chamfered and lacquered. 

 Giard – Perregaux 

Photo: Courtesy of Girard – Perregaux 

The brand presented the first skeletonised version of its Neo Tourbillon with Three Bridges watch this year. This lightweight iteration comes with a titanium case that houses its iconic bridges, which have been blackned, skeletonised, bevelled and sandblasted. 

 Graff 

Photo: Courtesy of Graff

The MasterGraff Structural Skeleton Automatic features a skeletonised dial with sapphire glass bridges, openworked hans and an offset rotor so the movement is visible from all angles. The piece is made with rose gold and titanium DLC. 

 Hysek 

Photo: Courtesy of Hysek

The unconventional IO Skeleton Central Tourbillon presents the hours and minutes on the periphery of a flying tourbillon, which is unusually positioned at the centre of the watch. It also features a jumping hours function. 

Panerai 

Photo: Courtesy of Panerai

Hailed as one of Panerai’s most innovative watches, the Lo Scienziato – Luminor 1950 Tourbillon GMT Titanio has a 3D-printed titanium case, a skeletonised movement and a tourbillon regulator. And beacause if the use of lightweight material and skeletonisation, the timepiece is unbelievably even at 47mm.

Ulysse Nardin

Photo: Courtesy of Ulysse Nardin 

With its white and red stripes and white stars on a deep blue background, the Executive Skeleton Tourbillon “Stars and Stripes” wathc, launched on July 4, is a tribute to the American flag. The commemorative piece is limited to 50.

(See also: 12 Luxury Watches With Date Functions)