Can a Skeleton Watch Be Minimalist?

I was recently invited to tour Grand Seiko’s Shizukuishi studio. I haven’t asked about photography yet, but hopefully they’ll allow me to snap a few shots. I’ll certainly be adding them to a newsletter if they do!

There are seven watches on offer this week, but the three featured watches all have darkened, relatively simple dials. Well, one is a Credor skeleton and another is a Campanola, so “simple” is being used comparatively.

Lowkey for the brands in question, at least.

A unique contradiction. Can a skeleton watch ever be described as minimalist? The GCBD999 puts forward a reasonable argument.

Where you would expect to see engravings, you instead find brushed ruthenium. It’s a material that needs its own paragraph, but for now, just know it creates a restrained backdrop against which the hand-chamfered edges can shine.

I’m not one to eschew engraved skeleton dials for their lack of clarity - but I do understand the argument. Well executed engravings will catch and scatter the light like diamonds, which can lead to the just as shiny, Zaratsu-polished hands disappearing into the movement below.

That’s not the case here. Zaratsu-polished indices rest atop a floating minute and hour track that’s been designed to contrast with the ruthenium dial below - which is exactly why Credor chose the rare dial material.

Enough beating around the bush - what is ruthenium?

It’s one of the six Platinum Group metals on the periodic table, alongside platinum, rhodium, palladium, osmium and iridium. They share several useful traits - like corrosion resistance, hardness, and distinctive metallic finishes - which has resulted in most of them sneaking their way into high-end watchmaking, whether it’s a ruthenium Royal Oak or a palladium Vacheron Constantin.

Obviously Credor hasn’t used ruthenium for its corrosion resistance and natural hardness, as the dial is safely sandwiched between sapphire and protected by 50m of water resistance. It was selected for its finish.

Depending on your viewing angle and lighting, ruthenium switches from a gunmetal grey to anthracite to slate, giving the watch a dynamic quality that you wouldn’t expect until you have it in your hands.

Could Credor have painted, lacquered or coated a cheaper metal like steel to achieve a similar effect? I suspect they could have come close. But the contrast the watch relies on comes not just from the ruthenium colour itself but also from its brushed finish. The vertical striations remain crisp and reactive, and some of that would undoubtedly have been lost were it placed under a coating.

Credor’s aim with the GCBD999 was to create a skeleton watch you could wear every day. Whether we’re talking about the hands that sit above it, or the pink jewels that dwell inside, the ruthenium dial provides the perfect platform for contrast.

Combined with the shifting hues made possible by its natural finish, we’re left with a simplified skeleton that doesn’t need engravings to stand out.

The Credor GCBD999 is available to buy on our website

In great condition. Just serviced by Credor. No marks of any significance. On the original strap and buckle. Box and papers.

Ruggedised quartz. From beautifully textured dials to solid gold cases, Grand Seiko has never struggled to make its quartz line-up feel luxurious. But the appropriately named Grey Beast on offer today rejects that notion entirely, opting instead for toughness over beauty.

While the hands and indices aren’t wildly different to most of Grand Seiko’s offerings, the presence of LumiBrite on both gives you a clear indication of the utilitarian nature of the watch. Equally, the ballistic nylon strap is made from Cordura - known for its sturdiness - with this being the first time it was used on any Grand Seiko.

The Grey Beast’s face is about as far removed from the snow-capped mountains or rippling lake surfaces that typically inspire the company’s higher-end dials, but don’t mistake its ruggedness for banality. The horizontally brushed, silvery-grey plays perfectly against the Grammar of Design case - and yes, while it isn’t the typical shape, the SBGV245’s punchy case meets all of Taro Tanaka’s design philosophy rules.

But this isn’t just a matter of dress up - the Grey Beast lives up to its nickname in more than just looks.

The screw-down crown affords the watch 200m of water resistance - double the standard from Grand Seiko - and its 16,000 A/m magnetic resistance is more than triple the typical resistance. With the 9F82 calibre being accurate to ±10 seconds per year, it’s no horological chump either.

Grand Seiko has since gone on to design entire collections of tough and sporty watches, but in 2018 the SBGV245 was a visual oddity. The timing of its release perfectly coincided with the brand’s international expansion - and the Grey Beast helped to show a wider audience that Grand Seiko was capable of more than pretty colours and textured dials.

The Grand Seiko SBGV245 is available to buy on our website

In great condition overall. Some small marks can be seen on the polished flanks of the case. On the original strap and clasp. Box and papers.

Aptly named. The BU0020-71E is part of Campanola’s Heaven Filled with Stars collection. However, instead of the more commonly used gold leaf, the stars scattered across its urushi lacquer subdial are crafted from crushed Mother of Pearl. It’s a stunning design choice, made even more eye-catching by the watch’s blacked-out aesthetic, and it gives the watch its name - Amairo Hoshi (天色星), meaning Heavenly Stars.

It’s one of the newest celestial offerings from Citizen, and unlike the previous variants, the moon now features eight layers of paint, giving its craters a rich, three-dimensional depth. Someone recently asked me why details like this, typically only noticeable through a macro lens, matter - and that’s a fair question, but one that has a simple answer.

Small details reveal the watchmaker’s pride in their work. Whether it’s decorating a movement hidden behind a solid caseback or meticulously layering a moon phase for heightened realism, these extra steps demonstrate a level of craftsmanship and diligence that tends to carry through the entire project.

It’s the school of thought that says “how you do anything is how you do everything” expressed in horological form.

The Campanola collection continues to be an incredible value proposition for anyone brave enough to try something different.

The Campanola Eco-Drive BU0020-71E is available to buy on our website

In very good condition overall. Some marks can be seen on the bezel and case. On the original bracelet. Box and papers.

You might have seen them here before, but that doesn’t make them less interesting. All four watches are available to buy:

Seiko “Presage Moonphase” SAWV003

Seiko “Big Date” SAGV005 Perpetual Calendar

Campanola “Burning Incense” AG6251-06W

Seiko Le Vent “Waxing Moon” SSKX003

Don’t forget to follow my Instagram to see all of the watches above in full cinematic glory next week.