HALF-SKELLY: A Collector's Handbook

A Watchmaker’s Mark, a Collector’s Discovery

To a master watchmaker, most restorations become routine—until one changes everything. In 2014, George Thomas, co-founder of Towson Watch Company, was restoring Abraham Lincoln’s pocket watch when he made an unexpected discovery. Inside the case-back, a watchmaker had inscribed a personal message to Lincoln—words that had remained unnoticed by the thousands of visitors who admired it at the museum for over a century. It was a deliberate mark, left in a place where only the watchmaker and the timepiece’s discerning owner would ever find it.

That moment redefined Thomas’s approach to watchmaking. A Towson Watch isn’t just acquired—it’s explored. The most meaningful details aren’t the ones immediately seen but the ones that wait to be noticed.

This philosophy shaped the HALF-SKELLY. At 4 o’clock on the dial, the TWC calligraphy is not hidden but deliberately placed—waiting, like an inscription in Lincoln’s watch, for the right set of eyes to notice. It is a watchmaker’s mark, meant not for the world, but for the individual who holds it.

‍The Skelly Series: Deconstructing Tradition

The HALF-SKELLY is the latest evolution of Towson Watch Company’s Skelly Series, a collection that reinterprets traditional watchmaking by selectively revealing the mechanics beneath the dial. It follows the lineage of its predecessor, the FULL-SKELLY, a timepiece that embraced complete skeletonization, exposing every working component of the movement. The HALF-SKELLY refines this concept, balancing exposure with restraint—a deliberate decision that preserves the integrity of the dial while offering a deeper connection to the mechanics within.

The Skelly Series itself traces its origins to Towson’s Potomac Collection, which honors the legacy of American pocket watches. The 6498 manual-wind caliber, originally designed for pocket watches, serves as the foundation for both the Potomac and Skelly models. But where the Potomac Collection maintains the traditional architecture of a 19th-century timepiece, the Skelly Series dissects it—reshaping classical watchmaking into something more revealing and expressive.

The HALF-SKELLY takes this a step further. Instead of fully removing the dial, it selectively exposes parts of the movement, using precision guilloché and engraving to create a visual interplay between mechanics and artistry. The cathedral-style hands, originally seen on the Bay Pilot, have been skeletonized to reveal even more of the dial’s detail. At 4 o’clock, the movement carries the TWC calligraphy, engraved into the base plate—not hidden, but placed where only a watchmaker’s eye would instinctively look.

With the HALF-SKELLY, the Skelly Series moves beyond the aesthetics of skeletonization—it becomes an exploration of what should be revealed and what should remain intact.

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The Benzinger Collaboration: Precision in Artistry

The HALF-SKELLY is a result of Towson Watch Company’s long-standing partnership with Jochen Benzinger, a master of hand-engraving, guilloché, and skeletonization. Using a rose engine, Benzinger transforms the 6498 movement into a mechanical composition where engraving, open-work, and structure exist in balance.

This collaboration traces back to Hartwig Balke, Towson’s co-founder, who grew up alongside Benzinger in Pforzheim, Germany. Their decades of shared expertise—Balke’s precision engineering and Benzinger’s mastery of decorative finishing—have shaped Towson’s most intricate timepieces.

On the dial side, the TWC calligraphy at 4 o’clock is subtly engraved into the movement’s base plate, placed with intent for those who have the eye to admire it. Flip the watch over, and Benzinger’s work is fully revealed—deep-relief engravings, guilloché-patterned ratchet wheels, and open-worked bridges, all meticulously hand-finished. Blued screws, ruby jewels, and a gold “Towson Watch Company” plaque complete the movement’s architecture, making the case back a declaration of the watch’s craftsmanship.

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Movement

• Caliber: Unitas 6498, manually wound
• Decoration: Fully skeletonized and hand-engraved by Jochen Benzinger
• Power Reserve: ~36 hours
• Jewels: 17
• Balance Frequency: 18,000 vibrations per hour (2.5 Hz)
• Bridges & Plates: Deep-relief hand-engraving and guilloché finishing
• Blued Screws & Ruby Bearings: Providing striking contrast against the black-coated base plate

Case and Bezel

• Material: 316L polished stainless steel with a rounded bezel
• Diameter: 42mm
• Thickness: 11mm
• Crystal:
  
  • Front: Domed sapphire crystal
  • Back: Exhibition sapphire crystal case-back
• Water Resistance: 5 ATM (50 meters)
• Lugs: Machined onto the case, high-polish finish matching midsection
• Crown: Traditional pull-out "onion" style, complementing the vintage-inspired design

Dial and Skeletonization

• Dial: Base guilloché movement plate serves as the dial’s centerpiece
• Guilloché Pattern: Radiates from the center, creating a textured effect that catches light at different angles
• Brand Marking: A plaque/banner at 12 o’clock displaying "Towson Watch Company"
• Chapter Rings: Separate frosted sterling silver rings for hours and minutes at 6 o’clock
• Skeletonization: Extensive cutouts on the right side, revealing plates, wheels, and bridges of the movement

Hands and Subdial

• Hands: Skeletonized cathedral-style, white-coated, further opening up the dial
• Small Seconds Subdial: Positioned at 6 o’clock, skeletonized with a marked ring boundary, revealing movement gears

Case Back & Movement Finishing

• Bridges: Fully hand-skeletonized with deep-relief engraving
• Gear Train & Ratchet Wheels: Guilloché-engraved with a sunburst pattern
• Screws: Heat-blued for contrast against the movement’s black-coated plates
• Signature Plaque: Gold “Original Handmade” engraving, located on a movement bridge

Strap & Buckle

• Material: Black calfskin leather with contrast white stitching
• Customization: Customers may choose leather straps or steel mesh bracelets
• Buckle: 316L stainless steel pin buckle, engraved with the TWC logo