The Speake Marin Ripples Skeleton, with new High-Frequency Movement

While immediately recognizable thanks to its signature Piccadilly case, which is found in its emblematic Openworked and Academic collections, Speake Marin decided in 2022 that it was time to join the all-important sporty-chic category, with its own vision of a watch with an integrated bracelet. This took the shape of an original watch named Ripples, a watch full of twists and originality, and a character of its own. Now available in different versions in stainless steel and powered by high-performance in-house automatic calibres (with or without date), Speake Marin this year expands the collection with the Ripples Skeleton… But don’t be too fast to draw a conclusion, as there’s much more to this watch than just an openworked movement. 

While at first this new Speake Marin Ripples Skeleton might appear as just a tweaked movement with less material to it and no dial, in fact, the brand has decided to create here a new flagship model. Ultra-thin, micro-rotor, high-frequency… There’s a brand new movement inside and the result is a watch that is a few millimetres thinner than the classic versions.

Before we dive into the technical part and the new movement inside this Ripples Skeleton, let’s have a look at the design. As you’d expect, this new model shares the same overall and original shape as the classic Speake Marin Ripples and Ripples Date models. Designed by Stéphane Lacroix, it combines the two most popular shapes used in watchmaking: the circle and the square, resulting in the “La City” case. It’s a rather unique take on the luxury sports watch concept, with its unique personality and a certain eccentricity. With the Skeleton model, this hasn’t changed, and the diameter of 40.3mm is still the same too.

But some updates have been made. First, the case, with its brushed surfaces and polished accents, is now made of 904L stainless steel – an alloy that contains a higher percentage of nickel and chromium, which increases its resistance to corrosion and acids, and makes it shinier when polished. Second, this new Ripples Skeleton is thinner than the normal versions. Measured at 6.30mm in height, it’s about 3mm slimmer than before and is, without a doubt, amongst the thinnest automatic luxury sports watches on the market. The 40-component case, with its square-shaped bezel and rounded corners, features a screw-down crown and has a 50m water-resistance – the same as the classic versions, despite the significant thickness reduction.

As the name suggests, the Speake Marin Ripples Skeleton introduces an openworked dial, revealing most of the movement components in a modern, architectural way. The bridges have been cleverly designed with double-horizontal lines, reminiscent of the now-familiar ripples pattern, holding in place all the essential components of the movement – micro-rotor, balance and barrel (clearly visible at 4 o’clock, and being opened, acting as a power reserve indicator). A signature feature of many Speake Marin watches, the small seconds sits originally at 1:30, and the sub-dial has been decorated with the collection ripples pattern over a black PVD-treated base.

The openworked nature of the dial and movement is reinforced by the fine decoration that includes vertical satin finish, bevelled microbeaded profiles and polished angles. Time is indicated by classic Speake Marin hands in blued steel, with the iconic heart-shaped hour hand.

At the heart of this new Speake Marin Ripples Skeleton and responsible for its thinness is the new calibre SMA07. Conceived and manufactured by the watchmakers of Le Cercle des Horlogers, Speake Marin’s in-house manufacture and a supplier of many high-end brands, it comes with a regulating organ that beats at a high frequency of 36,000 vibrations per hour, ensuring improved chronometric performance with a time accuracy of -/+ 5 seconds per day. This movement measures only 3.25mm in thickness and has a fully integrated micro-rotor. The latter, with its laser-engraved surface, is bidirectional and offers a 52-hour power reserve.

An important element of such sporty-chic watches, the Speake Marin Ripples Skeleton is worn on a 3-link stainless steel bracelet with polished and satin-finished surfaces. It is closed by a well-integrated folding clasp that includes a comfort release. It can be extended up to 4mm when you need it.

The Speake Marin Ripples Skeleton is now available from the brand and while not a limited edition, its availability is limited by production capacities. It is priced at CHF 29,900 (excl. taxes). For more details, please visit Speake-Marin.com.