Best Skull Watches of 2013

Call it Memento-Mori Madness. Skull watches are one of high watchmaking’s most treacherous trends, and the perfect accessory for a Halloween party this weekend. If you think about it, the vanitas motif is a logical progression of the gothic black-on-black look that has dominated watches the past few years. But the edgy look of the skull becomes instantly glamorous if you add diamonds (especially black diamonds) or a tourbillon, and it’s even more fun when it’s “skeletonized.” Here are a few fearsome examples:

Hublot Skull Bang, in black ceramic with black PVD titanium screws. The dial features a skull-motif transfer on a black background, as does the caseback, through which you can see the movement, the HUB 1112 automatic caliber.

Romain Jerome’s Dia de los Muertos is named for Mexico’s annual celebration honoring the dead. The skull dial is enameled and decorated with diamonds and black sapphires. It has a self-winding movement, in black PVD-coated steel.

Cvstos Jet Liner Skull in steel with titanium screws, set with diamonds. The automatic movement, CVSTOS CVS350, is open worked in a rhodium-plated dial and set with diamonds, with a skeletonized date disk.

Richard Mille RM 52-01 Skull Nano Ceramique, in TZP ceramic and carbon nanotubes, with caliber RM052, a manual winding tourbillon. The “skull” plate and bridges are made of titanium, aluminum and vanadium.

Bell & Ross BR 01 415 Airborne Shadow in black carbon, with a diamond-set skull and crossbones symbol that was a talisman for paratroopers. The dial and case are set with 2.78 carats of white and black diamonds.