With All Hallows’ Eve upon us, we were thinking of the perfect watches to wear for a scare. There are a lot of timepieces themed after aviation or automobiles, but nothing that screams Halloween. The scariest thing we could think of are skull dial watches. KTT is known for covering the broadest spectrum of watches, so it’s fitting that we found skull dials in every category: microbrand, haute horlogerie, affordable, and luxury.
Now, don’t get these confused with skeleton dial watches. Skeletonized watches don’t have a dial plate, so you can see straight through the movement and out the back. What we’re talking about here are watches with a skull design on the dial. Here are 4 for you to feast your eyes on!
Advisor Ascent “Mr. Skull”
Affordable Automatic
Advisor took their popular Ascent model and turned it into a freaky timepiece. The Mr. Skull model comes in black or rose gold tone with a big skull dial. It is limited edition with only 300 available. What makes this skull dial watch special is the way Advisor cut out a space for the mouth, making it a skeletonized skull dial! The scare factor is that the mouth appears to be moving (or chewing) thanks to the exposed escapement ticking away. A full 8:20 review of this piece is coming soon. (more)
HYT “The Skull”
Hydromechanical Horology
The HYT Skull watch uses the brand’s signature liquid time-telling technology, but in the shape of a skull. We actually think it looks more like an Iron Man helmet than a skull. Some even say the bellows at 6:00 make it look like a lightbulb. Either way, HYT calls it a skull so it made the list! The eyes serve as indicators: The left is a running seconds disc, and the right is a power reserve indicator. Where this piece gets cool is the lume, check it out below! These skull watches are limited edition with only 50 available worldwide. As for scare factor: in 2015 when this model was photographed by our team at Baselworld, the retail price was around $60,000 USD. Now the newer Skull models are as much as $115,000 USD. That might send chills down your spine!
Ballast Trafalgar “Jolly Roger”
Limited Edition Embossed Dial
Before Ballast became known for their recent Trafalgar line with the bezel that winds the movement, they had other Trafalgars like this skull dial model. Limited edition with only 500 produced, this Swiss quartz watch features skull and crossbones design embossed in the dial. We’d like to see them do an updated Jolly Roger model using the bezel winding system found in their new pieces. (more)
Corum “Jolly Roger” Bubble
Limited Edition Chronograph
Back in the day when Corum Bubble watches were all the rage, they put out a limited edition with a skull an bones dial. Only 500 were produced. The skull is at 12:00 with two red Corum logos for the eyes, and the crossbones form the hands. The extra thick domed sapphire crystal took the overall thickness to 21mm. What’s scary is thinking about knocking the crystal against a doorknob! (more)
Know of a scary or skull dial watch not featured here? Add it to the comments below!
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