Contemporary Skeleton Watches: The New Art of Space

Historically, a skeleton watch is the relationship between artisan crafts and high mechanics, turning a timepiece into a miniaturized piece of high architecture and art Also known as openworked, it is one of the most challenging old world artisan techniques in traditional watchmaking It essentially uses engraving techniques (such intaglio, relief, or sculpture) to remove any non-moving components of a watch movement, including the main-plate and barrel bridges More recently, for some brands, skeletonized watches are created with the aid of computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD-CAM) and other technologies, which can produce designs that are impossible to replicate by hand.

This, along with new-age lightweight and strong materials, such as titanium and carbon fiber, have opened a new era in watchmaking, where the tiniest use of material can produce watches with new designs that can withstand great forces Below are a few examples of skeleton watches using contemporary techniques and materials. Girard-Perregaux . Source