Speake-Marin Crazy Skulls: Malaysia Price and Review

Alvin Wong 07 December 2018

Beauty that's more than skin deep.

At the risk of sounding silly, one of the most forbidding things about a complication watch is exactly that – its complexity. Although a niche group of watch buffs would be thrilled by the mere thought of insanely engineered mechanisms, there are also many who find the likes of tourbillons or perpetual calendars too complex to wrap their heads around.

However, there are a few special timepieces that have the knack of expressing technical prowess AND tell a story about all at once. And complications that do that become more than just elevated mechanical beings – they become magical.

Case in point: the Speake-Marin Crazy Skulls. At its core, the watch is a grand complication, comprising a minute repeater with carillon chime and a 60-second tourbillon. The timepiece also has a neat party trick. When the minute repeater is activated, it also sets off an animated sequence in which the two hand-engraved skulls, located at the bottom of the dial, break part to reveal the tourbillon.

There are a lot to be said about the intricate web of mechanisms that work in harmony to perform the aforementioned tasks. For instance, the minute repeater is fitted with a regulator wheel that whirls silently to control the speed of the chimes. Elsewhere, the movement boasts a separate barrel for the chiming and animation functions, so that energy efficiency is optimised and doesn’t affect with timekeeping precision. And of course, the ornamental hand decoration is a slight to behold, spanning gorgeous skeletonisation to beautiful hand-engraving.

But above all, the Speake-Marin Crazy Skulls wins us over with its ability to tell a story. The stunning artistry and mechanical acrobatics, while evidently complex, serve to tell a tale of everlasting love.

Loaded with symbolism, the watch’s two skulls represent two lovers who have endured the passage of time. When ‘together’ (that is, before the minute repeater is activated), the skulls sit side by side, creating a heart-shaped window in the middle. After the repeater is activated, the skulls part and the ‘XII’ hour marker breaks apart to symbolise dissolution in a world without love.

It sounds deep and poetic all at once, but that’s exactly what the Speake-Marin Crazy Skulls sets out to achieve. More importantly, the watch imbues a sense of awe, even amongst people who haven’t the slightest clue about technical watchmaking. And that, really, is the toughest thing for a ‘complication’ to do.