Men's Automatic Skeleton Watch with Silicone Strap

An automatic skeleton watch you can see working

This ONOLA is an automatic skeleton watch: the dial is cut open, so you look straight at the gears and the balance wheel while they move. According to the supplier it winds itself from the motion of your wrist and needs no battery.

The case has an octagonal bezel with eight visible screws, and the strap is silicone. There are eight colourways, with a case in silver tone, rose gold tone or black.

At a glance

The piece: sporty outside, busy inside

The outside is clean and sporty: a brushed case, a flat octagonal bezel and a ribbed silicone strap. The inside is the opposite. Through the glass you see gold-coloured bridges, small pink jewels and wheels that turn, with ONOLA printed on the ring around them.

One correction to the older text on this page. The supplier's description spoke of a gold-tone link bracelet with a fold-over clasp. The photos, and the label "Silicone strap" printed on them, show a silicone strap on every version. We follow the photos.

Who it's for

For you if you like to see how things work and want a mechanical watch without paying a mechanical-watch price. It is a good first automatic, and a fun gift for someone who takes things apart to look inside.

If you want a watch you never have to think about, a battery watch is easier. An automatic stops when you leave it in a drawer for a few days, and then you set the time again.

Closer look

• Automatic mechanical movement, no battery (supplier)
• Skeleton dial with visible gears and balance wheel (supplier and photos)
• Octagonal bezel with eight screws (photos)
• Mineral glass (supplier)
• Luminous hands, readable at night per the supplier's label (photos)
• Silicone strap (supplier photo label)

Materials and build

The supplier names two materials: mineral glass over the dial, which its photo label calls scratch-resistant, and a silicone strap. The case material is not given. The rose gold tone on some versions is a colour, and nothing in the supplier data says it is gold.

The supplier's photos carry the label "30 meters waterproof, meet daily waterproof". We read that as fine for rain and washing your hands. We would not swim or shower with it.

Size and fit

The supplier gives no case diameter, thickness or strap length, which is a pity for a watch. In the photos the case looks broad and sporty. The photos do not show how the strap closes, so we cannot confirm the type of clasp. If you have a slim wrist and want the exact case size, ask us before you order.

Styling: quiet or loud

All black or silver with a black strap goes with a suit and with a hoodie. The rose gold tone versions are warmer and dressier. Lime green and blue are weekend watches: wear them with a white T-shirt and let the strap be the colour in the outfit.

Occasions

Wear it to the office or on a night out when you want something to fidget with at the table. As a present it works for a graduation, a first job or Father's Day.

Care

The supplier gives no care instructions. As general practice for automatic watches, wear it regularly so it keeps running, set the time with the crown when it has stopped, and keep it away from strong magnets such as speakers. Rinse the silicone strap with water and a little soap and dry it with a soft cloth.

The wow detail: the balance wheel

Somewhere in that open dial a small wheel swings back and forth, several times a second. That is the balance wheel, the part that keeps the time. On most watches it is hidden behind a solid dial. Here you can watch it while you wait for the lift.

Fashion that gives back

5% of each sale goes to a cause you choose. The causes are matched to 11 of the 17 SDGs, the global goals set by the United Nations, and you decide where your share goes.

Our promise

Ships from our partner warehouse in China. Usually 8–15 business days to your door, with tracking. Delivery is free within the EU on orders from €69; below that it costs €4.95 in the Netherlands and €6.95 elsewhere in the EU.

You have 14 days after delivery to ask for a return, as long as it is unworn and in its original packaging. Our promise is plain: if what arrives does not match what this page says, send it back within 14 days and we refund you.

More watches are in our watches collection.