Openworked timepieces have a long history in watchmaking. Breguet’s Watch No. 160 – the pocket watch believed to be commissioned for Marie Antoinette – features a rock crystal dial and caseback to exhibit its movement. No. 160 was intended to place all of Breguet’s accumulated knowledge throughout his watchmaker journey into the limelight – a Grande Complication with perpetual calendar and minute repeater as well as an automatic winding system. In The Art of Breguet, George Daniels describes this pocket watch as “a monument to eighteenth-century horology.” It is one, and with its openworked dial, it’s a monument that’s there for all to see.
Breguet hit a bullseye with the value of openworked watches nearly 250 years ago. Fundamentally, they provide any collector or enthusiast with immediate entrance into the entire “world” of the watch. No dial or caseback conceals the levers, gears, and springs that make the timepiece come to life.
It’s no coincidence that openworking has become so popular in modern watchmaking – both with mainstream and independent brands. Modern watches are exquisitely finished, often displaying three-dimensional movement architectures. Everyone wants to see the inner workings.
Across Armin Strom, Angelus, MB&F, De Bethune, and Arnold & Son, we’re diving into some exceptional openworked timepieces from our favorite indie brands.
Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Manufacture Edition
One of the themes of this article is certainly that ultra-complicated timepieces lend themselves very well to openworking. That was the case with Breguet’s No. 160 pocket watch. That is the case with Armin Strom’s Mirrored Force Resonance Manufacture Edition.
Over the last 15 years, Armin Strom has made a name for itself specifically by crafting complicated timepieces with extensive openworked dials. This is the Biel-based brand’s most complicated timepiece, one of the only watchmaking brands to create a resonance complication alongside F.P. Journe. Launched originally in 2016, the Manufacture Edition is an updated version of the Mirrored Force Resonance featuring a slimmer and more elegant case.
Here, openworking allows both balance wheels to be showcased dial-side – the spectacle of resonance is for all to see. Synchronized side by side, the pusher at 2 o’clock allows the two running seconds indicators – which rotate in mirrored clockwise and counterclockwise motions – to be reset to zero and visually track the state of resonance. With two independent movements operating simultaneously, the Mirrored Force Resonance Manufacture Edition is an unusual ultra-high complication in modern indie watchmaking.
Angelus U30
Future-forward designs, Angelus has paved the way for a catalog of ultra-modern timepieces since revitalizing the brand ten years ago in 2015. Fundamentally, the La-Chaux-de-Fonds brand leans heavily into chronograph complications. The U30 is one of Angelus’ more complicated, beautifully openworked timepieces featuring both split-second (rattrapante) chronograph and tourbillon.
Frankly, it’s rare to see both a split-second chronograph and a one-minute tourbillon in the same timepiece. The timepiece’s contemporary movement architecture, designed from the ground up at their manufacture, accommodates both complications. Extensive openworking reveals the one-minute tourbillon at 10 o’clock while a power reserve indicator at 7 o’clock and 30-minute counter subdial at 3 o’clock. On the U30, plates and bridges are skeletonized – meaning the non-critical areas to maintain the structure of each component are hallowed out. This allows more visibility of the movement from the dial. Specifically interesting on this timepiece is how openworked and skeletonized the dial is whereas the movement through the caseback is remarkably solid, ensuring the primary aesthetic elements are observed while worn comfortably on the wrist.
Limited to 25 pieces, the U30 debuted originally in Baselworld 2016. Nearly a decade later, it remains a unique offering of modern aesthetics and two “high” complications in one watch.
MB&F Legacy Machine Perpetual
Stephan McDonnell is a low-profile mastermind in modern independent watchmaking. Based in Northern Ireland, he is the movement constructor behind MB&F’s Legacy Machine Perpetual as well as the Legacy Machine Sequential EVO – two of the brand’s most complicated timepieces. The Legacy Machine Perpetual, in focus for today, is one of the most aesthetically captivating perpetuals in watchmaking, all due to its movement construction and openworked dial.
We went into much greater detail on the LM Perpetual’s movement here, but in brief, it’s one of the most user-friendly perpetuals on the market. The movement construction isolates day, date, month, and leap year indicator so that each can be adjusted individually. This removes the often-feared possibility of adjusting out of order or too close to midnight, an easy mistake that can require pricey servicing to fix. The balance sits front and center on the dial with its beautiful arched bridges, beating away while an array of different components power each of the subdials. This is a timepiece that feels worthy of study under a loupe for hours.
The “EVO” edition of the LM Perpetual brings the exceptional movement and openworking to a whole new level of sportiness. With 80m water-resistance, MB&F crafted an ultra-complicated timepiece with the robustness of a “daily beater.”
De Bethune DB28xs Steel Wheels
Released last year, 2024, at Geneva Watch Days, the DB28xs Steel Wheels is an evolutionary step in the design of the original DB28’s. It’s an overall slimmer, more sleek timepiece, but one that doesn’t sacrifice any chronometric performance. A nontrivial task, the mastermind behind De Bethune, Denis Flageollet, substantially miniaturized this timepiece from 43mm to 39mm while increasing the power reserve by 20% – now six days of energy stored in the caliber.
While the DB28xs is a time-only watch, the timepiece’s openworking is lavish due to the movement’s architecture and signature, abundant black polish on the dial. With the blued balance at 6 o’clock, the “starfleet” inspired bridge is textured with elegant grooves while the twin barrels and part of the wheel train driving the hands are revealed beneath the bridge. Of course, the blued hands, blued balance wheel, and blued hour markers in the chapter ring surrounding the dial elevate the openworked dial by adding that extra “pop” of color. Ultra light weight in titanium, the DB28xs Steel Wheels is one of the many striking timepieces in De Bethune’s collection and a prime example of beautiful openworking in modern indie watchmaking.
Arnold & Son Nebula
Based in La-Chaux-de-Fonds, Arnold & Son is known for their astronomical complications as well as maritime aesthetic. The brand’s entry-level timepiece, the Nebula, is an astounding in-house developed openworked watch, punching well above its weight class. Showcasing Arnold & Son’s core watchmaking capabilities, the Nebula (this version in steel blue) offers openworking to push the rich, three-dimensional movement architecture and multi-axial symmetry front and center.
What makes the Nebula so distinctive is the placement of the timepiece’s seven bridges along the edges of the dial. Each wonderfully finished, the twin barrel for the 90-hour power reserve, the small-second subdial, the balance spring, as well as the entire winding system are fully exposed through the dial. Finishing through the dial and movement cover the essentials of fine watchmaking, including bright blue PVD-coated mainplate, chamfered bridges and wheels, polished edges, brushed surfaces, and beveled screws with mirror-polished heads. While the Nebula typically skews more dressy, this steel blue model brings with it a much more sporty and casual aesthetic.
Openworked timepieces are beloved for good reason. Everyone wants to see the inner workings of the world’s most technically complex and beautiful mechanical watches. While there’s always good ground for the ultra-classy, hidden tourbillon movement, even Breguet 200+ years ago knew that there was a time and place to “flex” the ingenuity of a well-designed and constructed timepiece through an openworked dial. No doubt, indies with their focus on the highest-end mechanical watchmaking will continue to lean into openworking to showcase each watchmaker and brand’s creativity.