A skeleton watch is one whose movement has been openworked: the mainplate and bridges are cut away and finished so the gear train, balance, and barrel show through the front. This page is cross-brand. Audemars Piguet leads it with the Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked in steel and rose gold, Richard Mille sits alongside it because a skeletonized movement is the default architecture across nearly the whole RM catalog, and Vacheron Constantin and Girard-Perregaux fill out the rest of our current selection.
Openworked is the term the maisons use in their own model names. Skeleton is the more common word for the same construction. Pre-owned examples at this level trade from around $50,000 for a steel openworked Royal Oak into the mid six figures for carbon-case Richard Mille chronographs, with limited editions reaching seven figures. At this level we authenticate everything ourselves, in-house in New York.
A skeleton watch has its movement openworked. The mainplate and bridges are cut back and hand-finished so the gear train, balance, and mainspring barrel are visible from the front. The dial is either removed entirely or reduced to a thin ring carrying the hour markers, leaving the mechanics on display.
Skeleton or openworked: is there a difference?
Not in practice. Openworked is the word Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin put in their own model names, while Girard-Perregaux calls its version Skeleton. Both describe the same construction. Richard Mille uses neither consistently, because a movement you can see through is standard across nearly the entire catalog.
How much do skeleton watches for men cost?
Openworked pieces at this level trade from around $50,000 for a steel Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked into the mid six figures for carbon-case Richard Mille chronographs. Limited editions reach seven figures. Reference, case material, and condition drive where a piece lands in that range, along with whether it still has its box and papers.
Are skeleton watches easy to read?
It depends on the execution. The Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked keeps applied hour markers and full-length hands over the movement, so it reads at a glance. Richard Mille runs skeletonized hands across a skeletonized movement, which takes more getting used to, particularly in low light.
Which brands make skeleton watches?
Audemars Piguet builds the largest openworked line at this level, led by the Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openworked. Richard Mille skeletonizes almost everything it makes. Vacheron Constantin and Girard-Perregaux both produce openworked references in smaller numbers. Availability moves constantly, so what is shown here is what we currently have.
The Royal Oak 15407 was introduced at SIHH 2016. It features an open-worked movement with two superimposed balance wheels in the typical Royal Oak case with dimensions similar to that of the 2015 15400.Royal Oak Double Balance Wheel Openwork 41mm Skeleton-Self-winding watch with date display. 41mm stainless steel case, slate grey open-worked dial, 18-carat pink gold applied hour markers, Royal Oak hands with luminescent coating, stainless steel bracelet. Water-resistant up to 50 meters.
