Great Bones? Why the Skeletonized Movement Stole the Show at Watches & Wonders

The vast majority of watches keep their movements hidden behind the dial. But some of the most compelling timepieces unveiled at this year’s annual Watches & Wonders tradeshow in Geneva were designed to put their inner workings on display.

Skeleton watches—presented by brands from Audemars Piguet to Zenith—are those rare horological products that remove portions from the dial (or forgo a dial altogether) to allow wearers a closer look at the movement itself.

Producing them is a difficult feat in watchmaking. It requires taking away as much metal from the inner plates as possible, without compromising function or durability. It also means carefully finishing such a movement so that it’s beautiful enough to merit looking at in all its glory. Cartier Prive’s new Crash Squelette (the French word for Skeleton) is a great example of this: its Roman numeral hour markers are actually bridges reaching out from the mainplate, which were painstakingly hand-hammered to fit the contours of the platinum case.

Audemars Piguet’s new Établisseurs collection also offers a skeletonized timepiece, called the Établisseurs Nomade. The combination pocket watch and table clock is emblematic of the collection’s raison d’être: to ensure that centuries-old watchmaking skills are handed down to a new generation of horologists. The Nomade’s movement was skeletonized entirely by hand using a hacksaw. “Today, 99.99 percent of movements are prepared mechanically,” said Sébastian Vivas, Audemars Piguet’s heritage and museum director, in an interview with Robb Report deputy editor Paige Reddinger. “But this is a know-how we want to preserve… For chamfering, hand openworking, lapidaries, there’s no school anymore, so if you want to learn this know-how that is very precious and very rare, you must be very adventurous.”

But some skeleton watches are a little more subtle. Patek PhilippePatek PhilippeA Swiss watchmaker founded in Geneva in 1839 and widely regarded as among the most prestigious in the world, known for complications, hand finishing, and its slogan about passing watchesGo to Patek Philippe Glossary’s new Cubitus Perpetual Calendar Skeleton, the first perpetual calendar in the Cubitus line, has laser-cut strips taken out of its dial. They mimic the striped look of earlier versions of the watch, and slightly obscure the skeletonized movement that powers the reference. It’s a design decision that means you’d have to let someone really, really close to understand exactly what’s on your wrist—and that might be the biggest flex of all.

For a look at the skeleton watches that stood out at Watches & Wonders 2026, keep scrolling.

Patek Philippe Cubitus Perpetual Calendar

The Cubitus collection’s first grand complication is a clear indication of the design’s staying power. Housed in a 45 mm platinum case, the fully skeletonized perpetual calendar movement was designed to fit the square format. It’s discreetly hidden behind a blue PVD dial that has laser-cut strips removed to allow a glimpse of the new caliber 28-28 Q SQU. While other skeletonized watches are designed to make the movement the star, this model is a confident departure from that norm—and a suggestion that, in theory at least, its wearers don’t necessarily need to show off.

Case size: 45 mm
Case material: Platinum
Water resistance: 30 m
Strap: Navy composite
Movement: Caliber 28-28 Q SQU

Audemars Piguet Établisseurs Nomade

Audemars Piguet’s Établisseurs collection was conceived as a platform for keeping hard-won horological expertise alive for a new generation of watchmaking talents. The brand publishes the names of every artisan involved in the creation of the pieces. In the case of the Nomade—part table clock, part pocket watch, part pendant—that means 18 individuals, including two watchmakers, two movement designers, three coordinators, and a dial maker, among others. This is the first of five variations set to debut throughout the remainder of the year.

What sets this object apart, other than its looks, is that its skeletonized movement was made by hand using a hacksaw, following a design developed by Julien Martel and Claudio Dos Santos. It’s one of the most conceptually original pieces shown at the fair.

Établisseurs Nomade:
Watchmakers: Aline Gagneux, Joris Lavanchy; Designer: Ludovic Python; Dial makers: Mario Senape; Gemologists and stone cutters: Mario Senape; Case designer and manufacturer: Emmanuel Dessuzinge; Movement designer: Julien Martel, Claudio Dos Santos; Blank manufacturer: Marco Tedeschi, Alexandre Burkhard; Hand bevelling: Jérôme Besançon; Shaped sapphire crystalSapphire CrystalAn extremely scratch-resistant, clear, transparent material used to cover luxury watch dials, produced synthetically from aluminum oxide. Sapphire crystal ranks near diamond in hardness, and it keeps a watch faceGo to Sapphire Crystal Glossary: Alexis Bernard; Project initiation: Ilaria Resta; Direction: Claudio Cavaliere, Sébastian Vivas; Coordination: Nikolaas Dockx, Claude Meylan, Kevin Quaresma.

Panerai Luminor 31 Giorni

We didn’t need further proof that Panerai can show off its horological muscle beyond its dive watches, but the Giorni does exactly that. It required seven years of research and development, which resulted in a new hand-wound skeletonized movement, the P.2031/S. Its 276 components achieve a power reserve of 31 days; if it weren’t for the patent-pending torque limiter, it could actually go to 36. What’s perhaps most impressive about it is that it is the world’s first watch to get 31 days with its crown, not an external tool. The watch is housed in a 44 mm case made of Goldtech, the manufactureManufactureA watchmaking term for a company that designs and produces most of its movements and components in-house, rather than relying on outside suppliers. Being a true manufacture signals deep expertise,Go to Manufacture Glossary’s proprietary gold alloy.

Case Size: 44 mm
Case Material: Panerai Goldtech, a proprietary 18-karat red-gold alloy
Power Reserve: 31 days (744 hours)
Strap: Black alligator strap
Price: $107,000

Hublot Spirit of Big Bang Moonphase Impact

If the skeletonized movement weren’t impressive enough on its own, Hublot’s intrepid gem-setting takes this new reference over the top. For the first time in the brand’s history, its manufacture managed to set diamonds into sapphire crystal, one of the hardest materials on the planet, which, in fact, must be machined with diamond-tipped tools. Two other editions, in black ceramic and a combination of sapphire and osmium, also deploy the fragmented Impact motif.

Case Size: 42 mm
Case Material: Sapphire crystalSapphire CrystalAn extremely scratch-resistant, clear, transparent material used to cover luxury watch dials, produced synthetically from aluminum oxide. Sapphire crystal ranks near diamond in hardness, and it keeps a watch faceGo to Sapphire Crystal Glossary, black ceramic
Power Reserve: 50 hours
Strap: White or black rubber strap

Zenith Chronomaster Sport Skeleton Chronograph

For the first time, the El Primero movement is letting it all hang out. The new Chronomaster Sport Skeleton’s main dails and subdials are skeletonized, giving the beloved tri-color design a steampunk energy. The caliber 3600 SK is mesmerizing to watch, with its central chronographChronographA watch complication that incorporates a stopwatch function, controlled by pushers on the case and displayed on small subdials. Originally developed for timing events, the chronograph remains popular for itsGo to Chronograph Glossary hand lapping the dial every 10 seconds, but don’t be surprised if you get distracted by the beauty of its inner workings.

Case Size: 41 mm
Case Material: Stainless steel or 18-karat rose gold
Power Reserve: 60 hours
Strap: Steel bracelet or rubber strap (depending on version)
Price: $16,700+

Cartier Privé Crash Squelette

One of the watch world’s most recognizable cases gets a new, revealing look—and a fresh movement. Cartier developed the caliber 1967 MC specifically to handle the curves of the Crash, turning the skeletonized bridges into Roman numerals that stretch out from the movement itself. Each bridge is hand-hammered in a time-consuming two-hour process, so it makes sense that the Parisian house will only be making 150 of these covetable models.

Case Size: 45.34 mm x 25.18 mm
Case Material: Platinum
Movement: Manual
Strap: Burgundy alligator

Hermès Slim d’Hermès Squelette Lune

This upgraded version of Hermès’s elegant Slim watch is stunning when you’re looking at it head-on, but turn it at an angle, and the chamfered edges inside sparkle like a fireworks display as they catch the light. The skeletonized movement, made by Vaucher, features a dual hemisphere display at 6 o’clock. It’s a clear nod that the watch-collecting community is truly global—and a suggestion that this one should come on the road wherever you’re traveling next.

Case Size: 39.5 mm
Case Material: Platinum or titanium
Power Reserve: 48 hours
Strap: Blue alligator (platinum), gray alligator (titanium)

This article originally appeared in Robb Report US.