The New Depancel Serie-R Chronograph Skeleton

The Depancel Serie-R is one of the brand’s most recognisable watches, with its rectangular case and automotive-inspired details and, more recently, an automatic chronograph movement. The new Serie-R Chronograph Skeleton keeps the existing construction but opens it up, making the mechanical movement the centre of the design. The earlier Serie-R Chronograph Tangerine, introduced in 2024, was the collection’s first chronograph and used the Peacock SL-4801, an integrated automatic calibre with column wheel, vertical clutch and transversal balance bridge. This new Depancel model is still unmistakably Serie-R, but with more mechanical presence.

The 40mm x 36mm stainless steel case, measuring 48.5mm lug-to-lug, remains unchanged from the earlier chronograph editions, but the new version is slightly thicker: 13.7mm overall, or 12.8mm without its sapphire crystal. Brushed and polished surfaces alternate across the construction, emphasising its sharp edges and giving the rectangular profile some visual contrast. The sapphire crystal is bevelled and follows the case lines, with the Depancel logo incorporated into its upper surface. Water-resistance is 50m.

On the dial side, Depancel uses a fully skeletonised construction that lets the underlying mechanics become the watch’s attraction. The chronograph readings are given their own colour, orange, to indicate elapsed minutes at 3 o’clock and hours at 9 o’clock, while the large central hand indicates the chronograph seconds. Depancel’s usual “dashboard” hands and indices remain in place, treated with white Super-LumiNova C1. 

The watch is powered by the Peacock SL-4802, an automatic chronograph with a 55-hour power reserve. It is the skeletonised version of the Peacock calibre already used in the Serie-R Chronograph family. The base SL-4801 is an integrated automatic chronograph with a column wheel, vertical clutch, and transversal balance bridge, and the new SL-4802 retains the mechanical foundation. The difference is that much more of that architecture is now visible from the front and through the sapphire caseback.

The watch is worn on a bull leather strap secured by a steel buckle, keeping the Serie-R’s racing-inspired character intact. Limited to 100 pieces, the Chronograph Skeleton will be available for pre-order from 4PM Paris time on October 8, with deliveries scheduled to begin in mid-December. It is priced at EUR 1,595 or USD 1,595.

For more details and orders, please visit depancel.com.