Wristwatches remain a popular accessory. Irrespective of your taste, preference, or brand, there’s a type that suits your personality.
One wristwatch that fascinates people, especially individuals with high fashion taste and technical background is the skeleton watch. The concept of skeleton watches dates back to the 1760s. A French watchmaker named André-Charles Caron was the first man to strip off all the window dressing on a pocket watch, leaving in its place a clear view of the inner mechanism. Since then, brands have continued to tweak skeleton watch designs either by showing the full inner mechanism or cutting out certain parts.
Moving forward, you might have been a long-time admirer of wristwatches, or you just got attracted and decided to own one– aside from the visible moving parts, you should consider the following criteria when choosing your skeleton watch. You can get the best skeleton watches at Chrono24.
How to Distinguish the Best Skeleton Watch
You shouldn’t be caught wearing a poorly made or low-quality skeleton watch. To find the best skeleton watches, you should be on the lookout for these features:
The Watch Movement
Skeleton watches are known for their visible movement. Therefore, the first thing to look out for is the movement. You can then decide whether you want an automatic (self-winding) or mechanical (manual-winding) watch.
Interestingly, your hand swing and movement around the wrist converts to the energy that powers the automatic/self-winding wristwatch movement. The spinning motion of your hand automatically moves the watch’s mainspring.
As for the manual/mechanical winding skeleton watches, you will have to control the movement daily. You will have to wound manual skeleton watches by hand every day.
The Gear Exposure
The beauty and aesthetics of skeleton watches lie in the gear exposure. Depending on the brand or your taste, there are skeleton watches with fully exposed gears, partially exposed, or small cutaways.
Most times, enthusiasts of skeleton watches prefer fully cutaway watches that will show every movement mechanism of the watch. However, minimalists who like skeleton watches can go for partially exposed gears.
We have had instances where people could not read the time in a fully exposed gear. That is, the hour markers, timers, and hands have blended with the background. Such a person should go for skeleton watches with partially exposed gears.
The Material of The Watch
Watch brands and manufacturers design different types of wristwatches to suit (almost) any budget. So the material of the skeleton watch you choose depends largely on your budget.
There are skeleton watches made of metal materials such as gold and platinum. Although they are quite expensive. There are also skeleton watches made of leather and stainless steel.
You can also consider the usage of the watch when picking the material. If you acquire a skeleton watch to be worn every day, you can go for stainless steel or leather. If you want to give the wristwatch as a gift, you can go for the gold-plated material or platinum.
Conclusion
Skeleton wristwatches are an impeccable masterpiece. They are aesthetically pleasing and will earn you compliments on every occasion. For those who like to look absolutely stunning and unique, a skeleton wristwatch from one of the top brands is a must-have.
As with every watch type, you will likely get confused about which type to choose. Sometimes, you need to distinguish between a skeleton watch and other types. It would help to consider the highlighted features (above)–as they apply only to skeleton watches. You can therefore determine other criteria like your budget size, favorite brand, longevity, etc.