Speake-Marin’s Contemporary Crazy Skulls

It’s not an idea we’ve not seen before, but it’s worth the quick look of course. Speake-Marin has combined a 60-seconds flying tourbillon coupled with a minute repeater Carillon and a double dial animation to bring this Crazy Skulls timepiece. It’s also a horological goody because of the nice hand-graving work that hides the flying tourbillon subtly but in all honesty, the marvel of this watch is definitely in the movement. 

When the slider on the left hand side is activated, the minute repeater Carillon starts to ring and launches the double dial animation, leading to the ‘XII’ index to move out of the way and for the two skulls opening that reveals the watch’s hidden heart: the Flying Tourbillon. It’s a nice touch! There is also a double safety module that enables the time setting while the watch rings because of the Carillon, of which its speed depends on the setting of its regulator wheel. All of its energy comes from a dedicated barrel for the Carillon, which we’ve also learnt, does not disrupt the watch’s chronometry.

The minute repeater Carillon displays the time using three hammers, one for the hour, one for the minutes and all three move to each quarter. Once the time is given by the three hammers, the two skulls reunite and the XII Roman numeral comes back to its initial position. The tourbillon at 6 o’clock also features a hand-finished 60-second cage and is supported by a striking paddle-shaped bridge, offering clear visual access to the surrounding gears below. It’s overall mechanical intricacy is also complemented by the overall contemporary look which to us, makes this watch one of our favourites from this independent brand.