The 15 Best Skeleton Watches for Men

The Invicta Subaqua is a high-end eighteen-karat gold plated skeleton watch. It is also reasonably priced for a watch that utilizes ion plating to generate that familiar metallic yellow sheen. Underneath, however, is a case material made of stainless steel and a band material made of gold tone. These accentuate the round synthetic sapphire skeleton dial window. With a case diameter and case thickness of 5.2 centimeters and 21 millimeters, respectively, this watch is certainly among the most conspicuous on our list.

It is also quite heavy at 16 ounces, which, admittedly, is not something that everyone will find desirable. Be that as it may, you would certainly find its resistance to water to be worth every penny (you can submerge it to a depth of up to 1640 feet). That is not something common with watches of this kind. You will feel safe taking a dip in the pool or the lake or the ocean. If water sports are your thing, you can take your watch along with you for the ride. The Swiss quartz movement is protected.

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The Tissot T-Complication, with its stainless steel case and black leather strap, is a less expensive but equally sophisticated Swiss skeleton watch. There are a number of features that add a lot to the sophistication, but none more obvious than the prominent skeleton dial, which gives the user a peek at the gears turning underneath. The watch’s designers excel in this regard as they leave you in awe of seeing all the essential functional parts doing their thing. Seeing the magic happen reminds you that this is an analog mechanical watch.

That means a battery does not power it. Rather, it relies solely on your movement, particularly harnessing energy through your natural wrist movement. It goes without saying that you would have to use your watch regularly to preserve the accuracy of the timepiece. Disregard this, and you might end up having to rewind and reset it frequently. It certainly helps to know, though, that you won’t need to replace the batteries. The watch weighs 1.1 pounds, which is similar to the Invicta.

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The Chronograph Skeleton by Maurice Lacroix is a worthy member of the brand’s Masterpiece collection because the watch is exactly that: a masterpiece. It showcases the sublime skills of its designer in both design and functionality. It manages to be both alluring and functionally complex. This timepiece possesses a 43-mm stainless steel case, which is covered on top by an anti-reflective sapphire dial window. Through this curved window, you can behold the Caliber ML 206 skeleton. Among the skeleton’s features are the automatic self-wind and 48-hour power reserve.

Aside from those, you also get to see the wheels, bridges, and disks behind the 30-minute chronograph counter. The bridges derive their strength and aesthetic appeal from the corrosion-resistant tantalum or gold-colored physical vapor deposition (PVD). If you’re familiar with Maurice Lacroix, then you will also be aware of the “Grand Colimacon” finish, which is a constant feature in their watches and is used here for the main bridge.

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This mens skeleton watch is automatic, and as such, relies solely on your movement, particularly harnessing energy through your natural wrist movement. This means you won’t have to worry about batteries running down eventually. The Men’s Steampunk watch remains incredibly accurate as long as you strap its stainless steel band to your wrist regularly. In the event that it does lose its accuracy due to the irregularity of usage, you can rest easy in the knowledge that you can rewind the mainspring and reset it to its initial accuracy.

Another interesting feature is the photochromic glass or discoloration glass. This creates the mesmerizing effect of changing the color of the dials with noticeable changes in sunshine intensity or the intensity of some other light source. You can see different colors looking through the glass at different angles. This takes advantage of the steampunk appearance, mineral glass, and a luminous pointer to the extent that the darker it becomes, the more luminous the appearance of the dial. It has a moderate water resistance of 10M.

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The Charles-Hubert Premium mechanical watch is one of the more fashionable choices on our list. It successfully combines complex functionality with impeccable design style. For one thing, you will immediately notice and appreciate the strikingly beautiful contrast between the stainless steel frame, the gold-colored dial, and its components with varied colors (most notably the 17 jewels Automatic Movement and blue hands). All of these make this moderately water-resistant (30M) timepiece impressive.

It is impressively fashionable for other reasons as well. Consider that it is incredibly light with a weight of 7.2 ounces. Its case diameter is fashionably large at 49 millimeters, and the size is suitably complemented by a thickness of 15 millimeters. Throw in the 22-mm calfskin band, and you are set to walk into any crowd feeling adequately sophisticated with this mid-tier watch.

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This skeleton watch is the definition of luxury and is limited to only eight pieces worldwide. It was launched at the Geneva Motor Show last year as part of a collaboration between ItalDesign and Roger Dubuis to mark the introduction of the ItalDesign Automobili Special. This limited automobile series is the company’s first attempt at manufacturing a proper car outside of their niche. The Roger Dubuis Excalibur Spider Single Tourbillon watch is the inspiration behind the sleek skeleton dial design, which reveals the caliber RD505SQ and has been adapted to give an Italian vibe.

You can instantly make out the colors of the Italian flag used to accentuate the locality in which ItalDesign operates. It also matches the design and color scheme of the car. As for its structure, it features a multi-layer carbon case, which is 45 millimeters in diameter. Inside, you can see the white ceramic bezel clearly accented by red liquid ceramic. The designers favored coating the surface of this watch with Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC), which significantly increases the watch’s aesthetic appeal.

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The intricacy of the Blancpain Squelette 8 Jours skeleton dial is sublime and arguably inimitable. A worthy addition to the watchmaker’s artistically outstanding Villeret collection, it highlights some of the most innovative design paradigms in the skeleton watch market making it a technically and aesthetically accomplished timepiece. Of all the watches on this list, it has the distinction of having two sapphire crystals on the back and front, which fully reveal the “openwork” of the manual-wind Caliber 1333SQ. It is fitted with a titanium balance, three series-coupled barrels, and a Breguet balance spring, which combine to give the timepiece an 8-day power reserve.

This is complemented appropriately by the white gold case, which is 38 millimeters in diameter and that features bridges and the main plate decorated with a scrolling motif. These gel perfectly with the circular curves of the barrels, case, and bridges. All of these encapsulate the powerful functionality and reliability of the Blancpain Squelette 8 Jours.

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Swiss watchmaker, Chronoswiss, introduced the very first “openwork” version of the original Chronoswiss Timemaster Chronograph in 2014. The skeleton reveals the filigreed and adorned automatic movement. Furthermore, it has the distinct feature of offering two separate dials, each of which is encapsulated by finely defined Diamond-Like Carbon bezels. The watch possesses a stainless steel case, which is 44 millimeters in diameter and 15.3 millimeters thick. The DLC pattern extends outward to the case where the bezels are polished making it remarkably scratch-resistant and tough.

It is comprised of 52 parts that are blended with its nonreflective sapphire crystal finish that showcases the Autobloc system that has since been patented by Chronoswiss. As for the dials, the galvanic black dial and galvanic silver dial use white and turquoise Super-LumiNova respectively. The chronograph features two separate counter subdials set to thirty minutes and twelve hours at twelve o’clock and six o’clock, respectively along with a smaller seconds subdial at nine o’ clock. The caliber C741S chronograph has a 25-jewel movement, which is responsible for its 46 hours of power reserves.

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This is yet another self-winding watch that boasts superb functionality in a fashionable design. The main attraction is, of course, the dual time zone dial that enables you to monitor any other time zone aside from the one to which it is set for reference purposes (it displays both local time and Greenwich Mean Time). The round 42mm wide and 13.4mm thick hardlex dial window also displays an AM/PM indicator with a vintage design featuring a cresting sun and waning moon. At the heart of the watch, though, are the rotor-based self-winding automatic movement, which manipulates gravity induced by the user’s natural arm and wrist movement to power it.

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Watches in the leather Bulova Self-Winding series feature a 41-mm case diameter and either a patterned black and gray dial design or a warm brown color scheme. As is the case with all mechanical watches, purchasing this watch frees you from ever having to replace depleted batteries. Like the preceding watch, it too relies on a rotor-based self-winding automatic 21-jewel movement, which manipulates gravity induced by the user’s natural arm and wrist movement to power it. This is fitted into a stainless steel case, which is covered on the other side by domed metalized crystal, through which the user can see the double-dial aperture, luminous hands and markers, and 24-hour subdial.

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The Stuhrling Original Gen-X Raptor skeleton joins the Blancpain Squelette on the list as another watch having the distinction of having crystals on the back and front. In this case, the matte finished black ion-plated stainless steel case, which is 42 millimeters in diameter and 10 millimeters thick, is protected by Krysterna crystal. Through the crystal’s round window dial, you get a clear view of the black skeleton dial with silver applied Arabic numerals 9 and 3. You will be able to appreciate that the watch is only powered by mechanical hand wind, which helps it maintain its accuracy and is reset following your natural arm and wrist movement. It is water-resistant enough for swimming or diving at depths of up to 50M.

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With the Tag Heuer Carrera Caliber Heuer 01, you are getting a truly unique skeleton watch with a design paradigm inspired by a burgeoning desire for mechanical precision and a passion for high-octane efficient automobile racing. The watch’s openwork displays the dial’s 39-jewel automatic movement beyond a sophisticated aesthetic design that neatly melds silver, black, and white with enough red and which is visible through the sapphire dial window. The dial window is round with the titanium-coated stainless steel case being 45 millimeters wide. It has an impressive water-resistant depth of 100M. It is the second most expensive and heaviest (2.2 pounds) watch on the list.

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The Lucien Piccard Paragon Skeleton Dial is another excellent choice with a sleek black physical vapor deposition stainless steel case to go with a fixed black physical vapor deposition bezel design. It features luminescent hands and Roman numeral hour markers in front of the automatic skeleton dial, which is visible through the scratch-resistant sapphire crystal face. The case is 45mm wide and 12mm thick and is water-resistant at 30M – very fashionable when you add the leather band.

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This is one of the most recognizable watch brands in the world, and it certainly doesn’t disappoint with the Audemars Piguet Millenary 4101 series. It is by far the most expensive skeleton watch on the list. It iconic oval dial window is supported by a 47mm x 13mm 18K rose gold case and sapphire crystal at the back, and in front, by glare-proofed sapphire crystal. Through this window, you can behold the anthracite and silver dial as well as the watch’s automatic Piguet Caliber 4101 movement that produces up to 50 hours in power reserve. The brown crocodile leather strap gives the timepiece a suave look.

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We end our review roundup on a luxurious note with the Hamilton Jazzmaster Viewmatic Skeleton Gent Auto. This watch features a stainless steel screw-in exhibition case that holds the 25-jewel Swiss automatic movement of this mechanical skeleton watch. The case is complemented by a sapphire crystal face, which gives you a clear view of the exhibition dial with brushed silver-tone/matte grey framework and silver-tone H-logo. The dial features luminescent polished silver-tone hour markers. Like the Audemars Piguet Millenary, its designers also opted for a 20-mm wide crocodile leather strap. It fits nicely around the 40mm wide case.

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