Skeleton watch

Skeleton keyboard

— a design feature found in mechanical watches (see "Movement type"). In cases of the Skeleton type, the dial substrate is made transparent, thanks to which the watch mechanism is visible. This design gives a special style, which is appreciated by many adherents of high-quality watches; in fact, most often this feature is found in premium models. At the same time, the “skeletons” also have a certain practical meaning: such a case allows you to control whether parts of the movement are moving and, accordingly, whether the watch is running. This is especially useful when there is no second hand.

Note that this feature should be distinguished from such design solutions as a transparent body and an open balance. In watches with a transparent case (in fact, it is a transparent dial), the mechanism itself is usually hidden in a blind casing; if the working “hardware” is visible from the side of the dial, both the “transparent case” and the “Skeleton case” are indicated in the characteristics. In turn, an open balance implies only a small window on the dial, through which a part of the mechanism is visible (usually a special pendulum wheel, just called “balance”); this feature, by definition, cannot be combined with a Skeleton-type hull.