skeletonized

Naked Rolex! Black Out Concept Skeletonized Daytona Watch

A stripped Rolex, don't you feel naughty gawking at it... While skeletonized dial watches are popular, you don't see too many skeletonized Rolex watches. Actually, this is the first one I have seen where the dial has be cut away to display the movement. Rolex movements aren't super glamorous, even though they are hardy as a tank, and known for quality. Regardless, the brave people at Black Out Concept (known for making black colored or otherwise modified Rolex watches) gave a Rolex Daytona watch the skeletonized treatment.

The dial was cut away as much as possible, leaving only the hour markers, chronograph seconds scale, and subsidiary dials for the seconds and chronograph registers. They then applied peralge polish to the movement plate, and of course being Black Out Concept, gave the entire watch case and bracelet a DLC black hard coating. Cool looking? Depends on who you ask. Certainly not for first time Daytona watch owners. Black Out Concept says that this is the first time anyone has offered a skeletonized Daytona, and I am sure it will appeal to some people. Personally, I like the black Rolex concept, but I will stick with the stock dial, Rolex actually does that pretty well.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: black, concept, Daytona, DLC, Rolex, skeletonized

Piaget Polo FortyFive Skeletonized Watches

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Here are some interesting skeletonized versions of Piaget's new Polo 45 (FortyFive) collection timepieces. I spotted these watches at Piaget, though I don't believe there has been any press about them. Piaget may be waiting to announce them, but here they are. There is a chronograph and three-hand version, and they are pretty much the same Piaget Polo 45 you are now familiar with, but with stylized, skeletonized dials.

Under the dials is the in-house made Piaget movement with perlage polish. The the dials retain all the necessary markers and numerals, but are otherwise skeletonzied. A liberal amount of red is used adding to the sporty feel of the watch. Many people feel that the Piaget Polo FortyFive watch collection was a mistake to begin with. Being overpriced and under-styled. Others really liked it though - and for those people I think these skeletonized models will be a hit.

Piaget uses a large red circle over the date window, which is a nice touch. I don't think these watches have the typical Piaget polish that we are used to, but that isn't really what the Polo FortyFive collection is all about. While the hour markers do a good job of popping out on the dial, the hands need a lot of improvement to be legible enough. I understand that these skeletonized Polo FortyFive watches are going to be commercially available but in limited amounts. Look for them sometime this year at a price that is likely a slight premium over the standard Piaget Polo FortyFive automatic or chronograph models.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Piaget Polo 45 Skeletonized Watch

Tags: 2010, 45, automatic, Chronograph, fortyfive, Polo, skeleton, skeletonized, watch

Hermes Arceau Skeleton Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

It has been suggested that the new popular luxury Ralph Lauren watch brand isn't as original as they claim - "borrowing" lots of influence from Hermes. This is probably true to an extent, with Hermes being one of the first luxury equestrian themed watches - not necessarily the novel looking Ralph Lauren Stirrup watch collection. The Hermes Arceau collection has had a bit of a stirrup look in it for a while. The newest piece to enter into the collection is this new Arceau Skeleton watch that will be unveiled soon. The timepiece uses the 41mm wide Arceau steel case, with a highly skeletonized and perlage decorated Vaucher H1 automatic movement inside. Really cool is the automatic rotor that has been skeletonized in a manner to portray the Hermes logo.

There are two version of the watch - either with a black or brown dial. The dial is really just the chapter ring with the curved, cursive numerals and the matching colored alligator strap. Functions include just the time, but done so nicely with blued steel hands over the highly attractive skeletonized movement that serves as most of the dial. Having the hour indicators on the flange helps in making the watch actually readable. A nice watch by the high-end fashion and luxury item brand - available soon. My choice is the brown version to match the brand's brown and orange signature tones.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 2010, Arceau, Hermes, skeletonized, watch

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Skeleton Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Another new Audemars Piguet watch for 2010. I honestly never though this would be made, but it makes sense given all the other skeletonized watches that Audemars Piguet has been coming out with. Here is your standard well loved Royal Oak watch in either steel or 18k rose gold, with a fully skeletonized movement. Above and in the image gallery you can get a good view of Audemars Piguet's handiwork skeletonizing one of their in-house made automatic movements. Looks like the movement surface is rhodium plated for the gray look, which looks nice against both the steel and gold. Through the rear of the watch you can see the nicely engraved 22k gold automatic rotor.

I believe that the Royal Oak Skeleton will become a niche model that will appeal to current owners of the brand who want a more visual appreciation of the movement in watch they know and love. I enjoyed wearing it and noticed a welcome attention to detail and function. Audemars Piguet maintains legibility in the watch by including a chapter ring with applied hour markers (with lume) and minute indicators. It is a very simple and satisfying piece for fans of the brand and skeletonized movements. Price is $30,100 in steel with steel bracelet, and $45,500 in rose gold on the brown crocodile strap.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Skeleton Watch

Tags: 2010, Audemars Piguet, AudemarsPiguet, royal oak, RoyalOak, sihh, skeleton, skeletonized, watch

Daniel Roth Tourbillon Lumière Platinum Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Finally! A classy looking skeletonized tourbillon watch in platinum with what looks to be a... blue horseshoe on the dial. Is that right? Horseshoe? Sure why not. A little good imagery always does watches good. The whimsy doesn't stop there as the matching blued hands squiggle ("serpentine") in delight, pointing to the time. The manually wound Calibre DR780 Tourbillon Squellete (skeleton) movement is chamfered and hand filed and polished until it gleams of worthiness (this includes hand polishing of the screws as well!). The movement is quite nice actually, with an 82 part tourbillon carriage spinning with lots of white area around it to ease your view, as well as 64 hours or power reserve.

Daniel Roth further suggests oddness in the watch as it is an inherent paradox (if you see it their way). While the case itself is make out of platinum (a very heavy metal) the dial is highly skeletonized suggesting lightness. Thus the watch mixes the concepts of high weighted stateliness with a feeling of feather-light delicacy. Are they harmonious or do they oppose one another? The light tone of the platinum and blued steel on the dial meld well with the midnight blue hand-sewn alligator strap. The strap clasp is in white gold as opposed to platinum (likely to prevent scratches on this "high contact area" of the watch). This Daniel Roth Tourbillon Lumière Platinum horological acquired taste will likely be available soon in limited numbers.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: daniel roth, DanielRoth, lumiere, platinum, skeletonized, tourbillon, watch

Milus Tirion TriRetrograde Seconds Skeleton 1919 Limited Edition Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

The TriRetrograde Seconds complication put Milus back on the horology map and was first placed in their Herios line of watches that featured a square case. The follow up timepiece using the successful TriRetrograde Seconds movement from Milus is this Tirion Skeleton 1919 Limited Edition (of 38 pieces) watch. The obvious purpose of this watch is to imbue a classic looking design with the handsome and visually stimulating complication. Remove your gaze from the watch face and focus on the case and strap alone - you have just a nicely put together, but conservative watch for the most part. Add in the skeletonized dial with the TriRetrograde Seconds complication, and you start to have something interesting, yet classic feeling.

The striking feature about the dial aside from the complications is the depth of it. There are several true layers and each is interesting in its own right. Outermost is the numeral dial that the well-conceived hands easily reach. Thus you can ignore the middle of the watch for brevity's sake when you just want to know the time. Spend a little bit more time on the dial and you can watch the simple but gratifying TriRetrograde seconds complication. Three retrograde dials each measure 20 seconds. They operate one at a time moving clockwise - being fun to watch. In addition to this, a date dial is viewable at 6 o'clock. The case itself is large at 45mm wide and done in rose gold for this limited edition. Overall, the Tirion TriRetrograde Seconds Skeleton 1919 limited edition is another classy but stimulating timepiece from Milus.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 1919, limited edition, LimitedEdition, milus, retrograde, skeletonized, timepiece, tirion, triretrograde, watch

Kudoke Skeletonized Watches To Be Announced At Baselworld

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

There has been a lot of buzz about Stefan Kudoke and the upcoming Kudoke watch line. Reminding me of a more refined and precision cut Krone skeletonized watches, the Kudoke watches are all about appreciating the beauty of a watch movement. Stripped to the bone (no pun intended) this skeletonized look even gets a fair amount of engraving decoration on many of the bridges. Such engraving contrasts with perlage polish, while steel and gold tones play off of one another in this very interesting design. The hands of the watch look as finely cut as the face, but seem to have an artisan look that helps promote the idea that this is still an 'independent' watch. Seeing this timepiece in a 'still' image doesn't allow you to appreciate just how animated the entire piece likely is while in operation. With gears constantly moving the entire timepiece serves to feature the essential aspect of watch making... the watch movement itself.

More details will be available later this month as the Kudoke watch line is officially unveiled at Baselworld. The movements are each skeletonized and decorated by hand. I anticipate the watch line to be in precious metals with comparable luxury pricing.

Ariel Adams publishes the watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: baselworld, Kudoke, skeletonized, stefan, timepeice, watch