Pretty, pointless at work, and I still kind of love it
By Abby Turner, Melbourne ·
I'll be upfront: I have no practical reason to want this, and I want it anyway.
The Spaceview has always been about showing you the guts. The original Accutron in 1960 used a tuning fork, and this 2020 version uses an electrostatic motor, which means the seconds hand sweeps around smoothly instead of ticking. You can see the whole works through the open dial and the open caseback. It's a lovely bit of science-fair theatre.
Now the nurse bit. A skeleton dial is a nightmare to read in a hurry. Hands lost against a busy background are exactly what I don't want when I'm counting a pulse at 4 am. It's 43.5 mm wide and 14.4 mm thick, so it'll ride high under a cuff, and with only 30 m of water resistance and a leather strap, the constant hand washing would wreck it in a month.
At US$1,600 to $1,800 it's a weekend and special-occasion watch for people who like gadgets with a history. I'd wear it to a wedding and spend the whole reception showing it to my uncle.