region of Switzerland .
IN THE JURA It is in the small village of L ’ Abbaye , nestled in that same valley within the Jura mountains , that the modern Claude Meylan – surrounded by history – has decided to chart its future .
While others are content to play it safe and tiptoe past the bone yard , Claude Meylan has not . Despite featuring a range of traditionally dialed timepieces , les squelettes have figured prominently in the lineup from the early days of the company ’ s inception in 1988 .
With a retail price of $ 1,450 , the 6045 Skeleton represents the entry-level within the Claude Meylan stable of timepieces . Other models in the lineup include chronographs in the Legends Line , the popular tonneau-shaped Tortue Series , the truly unique Poya , which sets a small watch movement within a larger case that serve to display tableaus of fantasy dreamscapes . The innovative Fenêtre sur Temps features watches with rotating disks with a window cut out to serve as the hour hand .
UNITAS INSIDE The 6045 Skeleton utilizes a Unitas caliber 6497 , initially introduced in 1950 as a pocket watch movement . Measuring 16.5 lignes or 36.6mm , the manual-wind movement had been quietly waiting in the wings for decades until being pressed into service to power wristwatches as in recent years as fashion trends pushed case sizes ever larger .
The Unitas 6497 is available in a few different skeletonized options , including a modern , angular design and even with PVD coated offerings .
CASE AND CRYSTAL The watch ’ s 42mm stainless steel case is polished on all surfaces . Although of ample size , the watch wears comfortably owing to its relatively shorter lug length . The unsigned crown is well proportioned to the case and also is of substantial size , suitable for its role on a manual-wind movement .
The steel case is topped off with a flat sapphire crystal , giving the whole package a sleek modern feel while creating an interesting counterbalance with the traditional mechanical movement .
The spade-style hands are blued and contrast nicely against the steel plates of the movement , giving the watch a high level of legibility for a skeleton .
Because this Unitas was initially created as a pocket watch movement , the sub-seconds hand is found at the nine o ’ clock position when fitted into a wristwatch .
DIAL AND BACK The silvered rehaut carries Roman numerals and is thin enough to be unobtrusive but substantial enough to adequately perform its function . It features two different finishes , a frosted main section and a polished inner rim that carries the minute marks .
These small touches and attention to detail impart upon the watch a quality that resonates well above its asking price .
Turning the watch over and observing the backside , the eyes are treated to an even more delightful view of the movement . Ruby-red jewels are juxtaposed against blued screw heads , both of which are sprinkled generously throughout , as if the engineers were bakers putting the final glittering touches atop a cake .
GOOD MATH The designers at Claude Meylan continue to remind us that it is actually possible to achieve addition through subtraction . There is much for us to learn about how a watch functions simply by observing how all the components interact with one another . But the most important thing we can learn from a skeleton has nothing to do with the science of timekeeping .
By stripping away everything down to the absolute necessities , we are left with nothing but the essential , and in doing so a skeleton reveals its greatest lesson : that the bare essentials are all we ever need .
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