Orient brings new colours to its Semi Skeleton and I want them all

Japanese watchmaker Orient has revealed a set of bright new colours for its popular Semi Skeleton series.

Part of the company’s Contemporary Collection, the Semi Skeleton is a watch that lives up to its name, thanks to a dial that offers a partially skeletal view of the automatic mechanical movement within. This viewing window neatly overlaps slightly with a small second dial at the six o’clock position, bringing a nice amount of intrigue to what would otherwise be a fairly simple timepiece.

Orient says the new colours are intended to make the watch appeal more to younger buyers, and the gold model is a particular highlight. The gold-coloured stainless steel case and matching bezel – plus gold crown hands and hour markers – are paired with a white dial for a classy, luxurious aesthetic without the vast cost of real gold.

The other three models all have the steel-coloured case and bracelet. The dark green dial looks great to my eyes, especially with its gold hour markers giving a nice amount of contrast. Meanwhile, the red dial with silver hands and indices certainly makes a bold statement, and the light blue is similar to Tiffany Blue, as used by a great many watches over the last couple of years.

As well as the viewing window at the nine o’clock position, all four watches have a see-through exhibition case back for showing off the in-house calibre F6S22 movement. Although these watches look smart, and the gold one in particular exudes a sense of luxury, Orient says the Semi Skeleton is intended to be a practical mechanical watch that’s ideal for daily use.

The automatic movement (which can also be wound manually) has a power reserve of 40 hours, 24 jewels and has an accuracy of +25 / -15 seconds per day. The case of each watch measures 40.8 mm in diameter and is 10.9 mm thick. The dial is protected by scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, and the back is crystal glass.

All four come with a stainless steel, 22 mm bracelet with trifold deployment buckle. Water resistance is 50 metres, so the watch is safe to shower and swim in, but shouldn’t be taken snorkeling or used during watersports.

Available now, the red, green and blue models are priced at ￡364.99, and the gold version is ￡409.99.