I have been following the new skeleton models since last year – one by one, skeletonised and openworked watches have started to populate the various watch categories and even niches: we have seen luxury sports models, avant-garde watches, classic watches, ultra-complicated watches, unique/very limited-edition models, jewellery watches and many more. Then, in April, at Watches and Wonders, some of the most famous brands in the industry, including Chopard, Parmigiani Fleurier, Panerai, Piaget, Grand Seiko, Montblanc, Baume & Mercier and, of course, Roger Dubuis, (re)confirmed their interest in exhibiting the movement. Since these famous brands will always be in the spotlight, I have chosen to illustrate this trend with new releases from other brands – whether or not participating in Watches and Wonders, some more niche, other more widely-known, most of them independent, but all of them run by the freest minds in watchmaking today.

Achromatic kinetics

Label Noir, a brand launched by Emmanuel Curti in 2011, is one of the most coveted names among collectors when it comes to reinterpretations of existing designs. The company has worked with more or less niche brands, including Armin Strom, Cvstos, Corum, Louis Erard, Schwarz Etienne, Behrens and the now-defunct Rebellion watch division. With Maurice Lacroix they launched a version of the best-selling Aikon (CHF 2,300, 50 pieces, sold out) in 2020, and now a watch equipped with the manual winding calibre ML134, limited to 288 pieces. The 43mm anthracite-black steel case of the Maurice Lacroix x Label Noir Masterpiece Skeleton piece (EUR 7,350) reveals a seductive kinetic architecture. Judging by the design, the high quality of the in-house calibre and the price, the watch can only be described as a success.

An illusion of simplicity

ArtyA is already a mature brand, a brand that has found its way after having tried and experimented multiple times, yet a brand that is still full of surprises, which its fans appreciate. 2024 marks a decade and a half of activity and ArtyA’s first participation in Watches and Wonders. The brand is celebrating these events with the launch of the Purity Stairway to Heaven – a piece with a 40mm case in steel (PVD-treated or non-PVD treated, priced at EUR 25,900) or in ceramic (white, black, green or blue, priced at EUR 31,000), where the focus is on the movement rather than the dial. Thanks to the “suspended” calibre and its extreme skeletonisation, this model is one of the most accurate definitions of minimalism in the watchmaking world.

Same name, different watch

The Armin Strom brand has come a long way in terms of watch design since the retirement of the master watchmaker to whom it owes its name. The transition towards a more modern spirit began in 2009, when the brand was taken over by entrepreneur Serge Michel and watchmaker Claude Greisler. The current collection does not necessarily make use of classic skeletonisation, a domain in which the brand has unparalleled experience, but rather stylises, miniaturises or even eliminates the dial completely, leaving the calibre more or less exposed. Armin Strom has attracted a new generation of customers, while remaining an exclusive brand, a manufacture that makes its own movements. The model shown here is a reference to the first Armin Strom timepiece (from 2010) to feature an in-house movement. Equipped with the new hand-wound calibre ARM21, with a power reserve of seven days and housed in a 41mm case, the Armin Strom One Week First Edition is a limited edition of 25 pieces, priced at EUR 37,000 each. Since we are talking about a steel watch, the price is a reflection of the technical and aesthetic value of the timepiece.

Mechanical lacework

Our faithful readers are well aware that Arnold & Son is one of our favourite brands – we keep a close eye on their major launches. All of them, in fact, because the brand only produces valuable models, and knows how to draw on the technical and stylistic heritage that makes it so unique. Heir to a name that dates back to the great English watchmaking tradition of the 18th and 19th centuries, a name that was revived in Switzerland at the end of the 20th century, Arnold & Son puts on a show when it comes to Moon phases, tourbillons, ultrathin movements, multiple timezones or grandes complications. This highly technical facet of the brand is complemented by an exceptional aesthetic vocation. One offspring of this solid happy union is the Ultrathin Tourbillon Skeleton, a timepiece with a sculptural hand-wound calibre, housed in a 41.5mm case, available in either red gold (CHF 74,400) or platinum (CHF 86,200); both versions are limited to 28 pieces.

Perpetual Evo, a new edition

MB & F is bringing back a model that was first launched four years ago – the LM Perpetual Evo, a perpetual calendar with a calibre designed by one of the company’s most loyal collaborators, Stephen McDonnell. In addition to the technical qualities of this award-winning calibre, the watch relies on the architecture of the display and the materials used for the case. The new icy blue edition (EUR 176,000), is made of titanium – the second to be made of this material and the fifth if the zirconium editions are taken into account. Unlike the zirconium editions, which were announced as being limited to 15 pieces per version (navy blue, black and orange), there seems to be no limit on the titanium versions (icy blue and green), which doesn’t mean we’ll see them very often, though.

The end of the rainbow

A genuine colour spectacle: this is what Gerald Charles has in store for haute horlogerie afficionados, enriching two of its collections – the Maestro 8.0 Squelette and Maestro 2.0 Ultra-Thin – with models decorated with coloured gemstones. “Our aim is to carry the creative vision of our founder, Mr. Genta, forward into the future”, explains Federico Ziviani, the brand’s CEO. “These new timepieces are meant to continue with the brand’s playful path and its initial spirit of using bright colours like a painter does for his paintings. Indeed, Mr. Genta considered his creations to be works of art, some of which even carry the designer’s signature on the caseback.” The Maestro 8.0 Squelette collection, the one which caught my eye this time, has been renewed with four watches, each featuring sapphires on the bezel, in different shades: purple for the Optical White version, turquoise for the Ice Blue version, orange for the Coral and yellow for the Sunshine versions, respectively. The steel case (41 x 39mm; white gold bezel) houses an ultrathin automatic movement (GCA 5482), with a 50-hour power reserve. Each colour version is produced in a limited edition of ten pieces, with prices available on request.

Anniversary edition

Hautlence is celebrating two decades of history by launching the HLXX model and reminding the avant-garde watch enthusiasts of the company’s first movement – the manual winding calibre A20. In terms of shape, the watch is in line with the previous models, with a design borrowed from the television sets of decades past, a design that has become Hautlence’s trademark in watchmaking. The case (45 x 37 x 11.75mm) is made of Grade 5 titanium and is integrated with the rubber strap. The dial reminds us that the brand has always preferred to find alternative ways of displaying time, deconstructing and complicating the architecture of the classic functions in a poetic exercise motivated solely by the desire to demonstrate that rules exist in order to be broken in innovative ways. The dial also features a cut-out – in fact, an asymmetrical “window” onto the movement, a way of paying tribute to the calibre with which the brand began its journey and which is now being used in a Hautlence creation for the last time. The HLXX is produced in a limited edition of 20 pieces at a price of CHF 39,900 each.

A hybrid calibre

An independent brand, Vanguart was founded in 2021 by a team of specialists and entrepreneurs with relevant experience in watchmaking and finance: Thierry Fischer, Jérémy Freléchox, Axel Leuenberger and Mehmet Korutürk. It is worth noting the audacity of the programme that the brand’s name sums up, with innovation and aesthetics as the main coordinates; the challenge is not only to remain relevant in a stylistic universe where tastes change at a dizzying pace, but to actually become a trendsetter. After the first model, the Black Hole Tourbillon, launched in three editions of eight pieces each (titanium – CHF 290,000, platinum and rose gold – CHF 320,000), Vanguart now comes up with the spectacular Orb, a hand-finished flying tourbillon, whose calibre can be powered by both self-winding and manual winding. The movement is housed in a 41mm titanium or rose gold case, which showcases a layered structure: below the hour and minute display we find the tourbillon (at six o’clock), and these elements are framed by the trajectory of the diamond adorning the orbital oscillating mass. According to Mehmet Korutürk, President of Vanguart, the aim of this project is to “strengthen our position in the haute horlogerie segment by enriching our collection with a model that fuses elegance and futurism in a unique way. The Orb is an expression of our long-term vision and our commitment to develop exceptional creations that broaden the appreciation of modern watchmaking by introducing new possibilities.” As we can see, aspirations are high and it remains to be seen how the collectors will respond.

Perfect fluidity

At Watches and Wonders, H. Moser & Cie. caused quite a stir, not only with its monochrome minimalist dials (the citrus green of the Pioneer, and the Wyoming jade of the Streamliner reinforce green’s status as a fetish colour), but also with their absence. The Streamliner Tourbillon Skeleton Double Hairspring (CHF 79,000) in steel offers unrestricted visual access to its stripped-down movement (the skeletonised automatic calibre HMC 814). It is a beautiful timepiece that reconfirms the Streamliner collection’s status as a new icon among luxury sports watches, with its fluid, vintage-modern design, which is perfectly ergonomic thanks to the integrated bracelet and impeccably designed surfaces.

A double tourbillon

Cyrus’ creations are examples of creativity, authenticity and impeccable craftsmanship. Even some of the major watchmaking houses find it difficult to maintain this balance between innovation and the quality of the finishes. Cyrus is a bold brand (it is not without reason that it has been given this name), assertive, lacking neither the production resources, nor the financial independence to claim a place in the avant-garde niche. At Watches and Wonders they came up with a reinterpretation of Klepcys Réveil (CHF 39,950, excluding tax), a steel timepiece, with a mechanical alarm – a rare complication, and with the Etheral model with two tourbillons, jumping hours and a completely unconventional minute hand. The dial is not exactly skeletonised, but it does contain a wealth of technical information and creates a new choreography of functions. Designed by master watchmaker Jean-François Mojon, the Etheral Twin Orbital Tourbillon has a 44mm rose gold case with titanium inserts, which houses the in-house manual-winding calibre CYR518-E. The first Cyrus model with a round case, this watch is available in a limited edition of 18 pieces, with prices provided on request.

Collectors’ choice

Even though it was one of the participants in the Watches and Wonders trade fair, Rudis Sylva is a watchmaker known only to a very small circle of collectors, mainly because it produces very few pieces each year. The company was founded in 2006 by Jacky Epitaux, a former football coach who had also gained experience in watchmaking, working for Zenith and other companies. Together with two other investors, he set out to make Rudis Sylva one of the most authentic expressions of haute horlogerie tradition and innovation. The first step was to create an in-house calibre, the Harmonious Oscillator – a technical masterpiece – and from there the collection gradually developed, with the rather slow dynamics of a house that pays attention to every little detail. At this year’s Watches and Wonders, Rudis Sylva presented the inaccessible Hymne d’Orient (a one-off piece, CHF 800,000) – whose dial depicts a water landscape with a koi fish and a lotus flower floating on the waves under an aventurine sky – and the more subtle, yet equally refined RS 23. The latter is available in two versions: rose gold (CHF 90,000) and titanium (CHF 80,000), each of them produced in a limited edition of eight pieces.

Mineral transparencies

In 2019, a year before the bankruptcy of RJ Watches, a watch brand that had caused such a stir among trendsetters, I interviewed its CEO, Marco Tedeschi. He was and still is one of the youngest entrepreneurs in the industry: in 2020, he quickly regained his sense of direction and founded a design studio, Kross. Soon after, Kross Studio began launching watches designed to appeal to the fans of Justice League, Looney Tunes, Star Wars or Game of Thrones. This bet on celebrity which Tedeschi is renewing (while at RJ Watches, he also pursued the exploitation of cult pop landmarks in watchmaking) is risky and subject to the whims of fans who must be willing (and able) to purchase themed, ultra-limited edition (or even one-off) timepieces that are extremely expensive. However, not all Kross Studio productions bear a pop-cult visual signature; this is the case for the KS-05 Central Floating Tourbillon Titanium Moss Agate, a one-off timepiece (CHF 98,000) that showcases the mechanism (the manual winding calibre KS7005) and, of course, the tourbillon, the manufacturer also capitalising on the aesthetic values of the moss agate dial.

Earth seen from up close

Bianchet is an extremely niche and young brand, which may appeal to some watchmaking enthusiasts who want to stand out by wearing a lesser known (and less accessible) timepiece. The company is deliberately playing this card, with the new Flying Tourbillon Sport GMT (CHF 75,500 + VAT) which is aimed at wealthy globetrotters. With its 3D representation of the Earth, this timepiece reminds of the complex creations of Greubel Forsey, Girard-Perregaux or Arnold & Son, but this single common feature does not compromise the originality of the Bianchet watch. The model allows the time to be read simultaneously in two different time zones and is highly resistant to shocks and pressure. Its technical character resides in the arrangement of the functions, the high quality of the hand-wound movement (with a power reserve of 90 hours) and the presence of a tourbillon. The skeletonisation also plays a key role, as do the materials of the two case versions (51 x 43 x 14.35mm): high-density carbon infused with titanium powder or the same special carbon plus titanium for the caseback and the bezel. The watch is available in six colour versions, each of them accompanied by two rubber straps.

A contemporary aristocrat

Bovet projects us into the highest league of watchmaking and skeletonisation. The house makes collectible timepieces, using a variety of decorative techniques meant to offer the exceptional calibres a matching exterior. In terms of skeletonisation and calibre display, Bovet boasts elaborate lacework reminiscent of aristocratic splendour, as seen in many Virtuoso and Récital models. While these are the continuators of a noble tradition, the models designed in collaboration with Pininfarina take a different approach, exploiting this tradition in a modern fashion. Thus, the Aperto 1 becomes the epitome of the two companies’ shared passion for “the contemporary and futuristic design translated into exceptional mechanical timepieces”, according to Pascal Raffy, owner of Bovet. The shift in style is remarkable. The Aperto 1 features a manual winding movement and a seven-day power reserve, a 42mm titanium case (the total weight of the timepiece is only 63 grams) and a patented interchangeable strap system, for two available versions distinguished by their colour accents (yellow or blue). The Aperto 1 retails for CHF 48,800 (excluding tax).