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Hamilton Jazzmaster Skeleton Auto 40mm H42535141

Jazzmaster vs Orient Star

Hamilton Jazzmaster Skeleton vs Orient Star Modern Skeleton

An openworked dial is usually a watch you cannot wear properly. These are the two exceptions, and they solve the problem in different ways.

By Sawyer V. · Published

The short answer

Buy the Jazzmaster if it is a dress watch: 80 hours of reserve, 11.05mm thick and a 42mm lug-to-lug make it the rare skeleton that fits a normal wrist, and it scores 8.1 against the Orient Star's 7.8. Buy the Orient Star if you want to wear an openworked watch every day — it is the only one here rated 100m with a screw-down crown, and it has a power reserve hand.

Disclosure · Some links below are Amazon affiliate links. If you buy through one we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not decide what goes on this page or in what order — here is exactly how that works.

Top pick

Hamilton Jazzmaster Skeleton Auto 40mm H42535141

Best for: The one to buy as a dress watch

Hamilton Jazzmaster Skeleton Auto 40mm H42535141

8.1/10

Keep Score

Hamilton H-10-S skeletonized automatic, 80 hours, sapphire, 40mm, 42mm lug-to-lug, 11.05mm thick, 50m.

A 42mm lug-to-lug on a 40mm case is the standout figure. Most skeletons wear enormous; this one has barely any overhang at all and will sit on a wrist that rejects everything else in the category.

$1,545.00 · View on Amazon

#ad Affiliate link · Price as of October 11, 2026

Full write-up and the measured specifications are further down this page.

Skeleton watches usually fail the same two tests: they are too thick to wear under a cuff and too fragile to wear anywhere else. These two are the exceptions on this site, and they fail in opposite directions.

The Hamilton is the thin one. 11.05mm on a 40mm case with a 42mm lug-to-lug is a remarkable set of numbers for an openworked watch, and it is the only skeleton here that a small wrist can carry.

The Orient Star is the durable one. 100m with a screw-down crown on an openworked dial is unusual to the point of being nearly unique, and it turns a display piece into something you can actually wear every day.

On prices: every buy button on this page reads its figure from the live price layer and stamps the date it was checked, or else reads "Check price on Amazon". No price is written into this text. Service figures quoted here are the manufacturers' own published rates.

How we picked

We have not worn these watches. What follows is what we checked instead, on documents you can open yourself — the same criteria, in the same order, on every roundup on this site. The full method is on the methodology page.

  1. 01Fit

    40mm with a published 42mm lug-to-lug and 11.05mm of thickness, against 43.2mm, 13.7mm thick and no published lug-to-lug.

  2. 02Water resistance

    50m against 100m with a screw-down crown. An open dial is still a sealed case, but only one of these is rated for swimming.

  3. 03Power reserve

    80 hours against 50, with the Orient Star showing its remaining reserve on a dial hand.

  4. 04Strap standardization

    20mm standard against 21mm. Twenty is universal; twenty-one is an odd size that costs time and money forever.

  5. 05What is identical

    A sapphire crystal, a stainless steel case, an automatic that hand-winds, a stated two-year warranty, no published service price, and both on Amazon today.

Quick picks

Ranked on the Keep Score below — six published specifications, weighted identically on every page. The last row is the one we would not buy.

#WatchBest forKeep ScorePrice
1
Hamilton Jazzmaster Skeleton Auto 40mm H42535141

Hamilton Jazzmaster Skeleton Auto 40mm H42535141

Hamilton H-10-S skeletonized automatic, 80 hours, sapphire, 40mm, 42mm lug-to-lug, 11.05mm thick, 50m.

The one to buy as a dress watch8.1/10

$1,545.00

Check Price on Amazon
2
Orient Star Modern Skeleton RE-AV0005L00B

Orient Star Modern Skeleton RE-AV0005L00B

Orient F6N44 automatic, hand-winding, hacking, power reserve indicator, 50 hours, sapphire, 43.2mm, 13.7mm thick, 100m with a screw-down crown.

Wearing an openworked watch every day7.8/10

$800.00

Check Price on Amazon
—
Tissot Gentleman Open Heart 40mm T127.407.11.041.01

Tissot Gentleman Open Heart 40mm T127.407.11.041.01

Swiss automatic, 80 hours, sapphire, 40mm, 100m, Tissot's published $210 complete mechanical service.

Skip this one

Neither, if a glimpse of the movement is enough8.4/10

$1,025.00

Check Price on Amazon

Prices as of October 11, 2026. Amazon pricing changes without notice — the figure on the listing is the one that counts.

Keep Score is arithmetic, not opinion — six published specifications, weighted the same way on every page. The formula is on our methodology page, so you can re-run it yourself.

01

Hamilton Jazzmaster Skeleton Auto 40mm H42535141

Best for: The one to buy as a dress watch

Hamilton Jazzmaster Skeleton Auto 40mm H42535141

8.1/10

Keep Score

Crystal
2.5/2.5
Serviceability
2.5/2.5
Water resistance
0.6/1.5
Warranty
0.7/1.5
Strap standard
1/1
Cost-to-keep transparency
0.8/1
$1,545.00 · View on Amazon

#ad Affiliate link · Price as of October 11, 2026

A 42mm lug-to-lug on a 40mm case is the standout figure. Most skeletons wear enormous; this one has barely any overhang at all and will sit on a wrist that rejects everything else in the category.

11.05mm thick with an 80-hour reserve is the other half. It goes under a cuff, and it survives a weekend in a drawer without stopping.

20mm standard lugs mean straps forever. Hamilton names the caliber and states the Nivachron hairspring, so parts and antimagnetic behavior are knowable.

50m is the honest limit. It is sealed, but it is not a swimming watch, and Hamilton publishes no US service price.

42mm lug-to-lug on a 40mm case is remarkable — this is a skeleton watch that actually fits a normal wrist. 50m is the honest limit: an open dial is still a sealed case, but it is not a watch to swim in.

Manufacturer specifications for the Hamilton Jazzmaster Skeleton Auto 40mm H42535141
MovementHamilton H-10-S, automatic, skeletonized
Power reserve80 hours
Case40mm stainless steel
Lug-to-lug42mm
Thickness11.05mm
Lug width20mm
Crystalsapphire
Water resistance50m
Warranty2 years

Specifications read from Hamilton product page, H42535141.

02

Orient Star Modern Skeleton RE-AV0005L00B

Best for: Wearing an openworked watch every day

Orient Star Modern Skeleton RE-AV0005L00B

7.8/10

Keep Score

Crystal
2.5/2.5
Serviceability
2.5/2.5
Water resistance
1.1/1.5
Warranty
0.7/1.5
Strap standard
0.6/1
Cost-to-keep transparency
0.4/1
$800.00 · View on Amazon

#ad Affiliate link · Price as of October 11, 2026

100m with a screw-down crown on a skeleton dial is close to unheard of, and it is the reason this watch exists. It makes an openworked watch into one you can wear in the rain, in the shower and in a pool without thinking about it.

The F6N44 hacks, hand-winds and shows its remaining reserve on a dial hand — a genuinely useful complication on a watch you may not wear daily.

The 21mm lug width is the catch and it is permanent. Strap shopping will cost you more and take longer, forever. At 43.2mm and 13.7mm thick it is also a substantially bigger watch than the Hamilton, and Orient publishes no lug-to-lug.

Orient Watch USA states two years on the product page alongside marketing copy mentioning three. We score the shorter stated term.

The only openworked watch on this site rated to 100m with a screw-down crown, which is what makes it wearable rather than ornamental. The 21mm lug width is the catch: strap shopping will cost you more and take longer, forever.

Manufacturer specifications for the Orient Star Modern Skeleton RE-AV0005L00B
MovementOrient F6N44, automatic with hand winding and hacking, power reserve indicator
Power reserve50 hours
Case43.2mm stainless steel
Lug-to-lugNot published
Thickness13.7mm
Lug width21mm
Crystalsapphire
Water resistance100m
Warranty2 years

Orient Watch USA states a two-year warranty on this product page alongside marketing copy referring to three years. We score the shorter stated term.

Specifications read from Orient Watch USA product page, RE-AV0005L00B.

Skip this one

Tissot Gentleman Open Heart 40mm T127.407.11.041.01

Best for: Neither, if a glimpse of the movement is enough

Tissot Gentleman Open Heart 40mm T127.407.11.041.01

8.4/10

Keep Score

Crystal
2.5/2.5
Serviceability
2.5/2.5
Water resistance
1.1/1.5
Warranty
0.7/1.5
Strap standard
0.6/1
Cost-to-keep transparency
1/1
$1,025.00 · View on Amazon

#ad Affiliate link · Price as of October 11, 2026

It fails this page because it is an open-heart watch rather than a true skeleton — one aperture onto the balance, not an openworked dial.

It is here because it is the only one of the three whose maker publishes a service price: Tissot's US list is $210 for a complete mechanical service. Neither Hamilton nor Orient publishes anything.

40mm, 100m and 80 hours makes it arguably the most practical of the three. Our best skeleton watches page ranks all of them together.

The quick-release bracelet is the detail worth paying for: this is one of the few Swiss automatics at this level you can re-strap in thirty seconds without a tool.

Manufacturer specifications for the Tissot Gentleman Open Heart 40mm T127.407.11.041.01
MovementSwiss automatic, Nivachron balance spring
Power reserve80 hours
Case40mm 316l stainless steel
Lug-to-lugNot published
Thickness11.5mm
Lug width21mm
Crystalsapphire
Water resistance100m
Warranty2 years

Specifications read from Tissot product page, T127.407.11.041.01.

Side by side

Read from the Hamilton product page for H42535141 and the Orient Watch USA product page for RE-AV0005L00B.
Hamilton Jazzmaster SkeletonOrient Star Modern Skeleton
MovementHamilton H-10-S, skeletonizedOrient F6N44, hacking, hand-winding, power reserve indicator
Power reserve80 hours50 hours, shown on the dial
Case40mm, 11.05mm thick43.2mm, 13.7mm thick
Lug-to-lug42mmNot published
Lug width20mm21mm
CrystalSapphireSapphire
Water resistance50m100m, screw-down crown
Warranty2 years2 years stated
Published service priceNone in the USNone
Keep Score8.1 / 107.8 / 10
Read from the Hamilton product page for H42535141 and the Orient Watch USA product page for RE-AV0005L00B.

A 42mm lug-to-lug on a skeleton is the real headline

Lug-to-lug, not diameter, decides whether a watch overhangs your wrist. 42mm is shorter than almost everything on this site — shorter than the 44mm Orient Bambino Version 7, which is a 38.4mm dress watch.

For a category where most entries are 44mm cases with 52mm of lug-to-lug, that is the difference between a watch you wear and a watch you admire in a box. Our watches for small wrists page explains why the measurement matters more than the diameter.

Why 100m on a skeleton is unusual

An openworked dial does not make a case less sealed — the gaskets and the crown do that. But skeletons are built as display pieces, so makers rarely bother with a screw-down crown, and 30m or 50m is the norm.

Orient fitted one, and the result is the only watch on this site that is both openworked and genuinely wearable in water. If the appeal of a skeleton is seeing the movement every day rather than on special occasions, that is the deciding fact. Our water resistance guide covers what each rating permits.

Neither maker tells you what it costs to keep

Both drop points on our cost-to-keep line for the same reason: no published service price. A skeletonized movement is more labor to service than a closed one, which makes the absence more significant here than it would be on a plain three-hander.

Tissot publishes $210 for a complete mechanical service and Seiko publishes $176 for a 4R, which is the standard both of these fall short of. See cost of ownership for the full published list.

Which to buy

The Hamilton if it is going on a wrist under about 175mm or under a shirt cuff. 11.05mm and a 42mm lug-to-lug are the numbers that make a skeleton watch wearable, and an 80-hour reserve means it is still running when you pick it up.

The Orient Star if you want the openworked dial to be an everyday thing rather than an occasional one. It is bigger, thicker and saddled with a 21mm strap size, and it is the only one you can swim in. Best skeleton watches ranks both against the rest.

Questions people actually ask

Hamilton Jazzmaster Skeleton or Orient Star Modern Skeleton?

The Hamilton as a dress watch: 11.05mm thick with a 42mm lug-to-lug and an 80-hour reserve, scoring 8.1 against 7.8. The Orient Star if you want to wear an openworked watch daily, because it is rated 100m with a screw-down crown where the Hamilton is 50m.

Can you swim with a skeleton watch?

With the Orient Star Modern Skeleton, yes — it is rated 100m with a screw-down crown, which is unusual for an openworked watch. The Hamilton Jazzmaster Skeleton is rated 50m, which covers rain and hand-washing only.

Which skeleton watch fits a smaller wrist?

The Hamilton, by a wide margin. It is 40mm with a published 42mm lug-to-lug and 11.05mm thick. The Orient Star is 43.2mm and 13.7mm thick and publishes no lug-to-lug figure at all.

What strap size does the Orient Star Modern Skeleton take?

21mm, which is an uncommon size. Expect fewer options and higher prices for the life of the watch. The Hamilton takes a standard 20mm strap.

Sources

Every specification and figure on this page came from one of these documents. Where a manufacturer does not publish something, the page says so rather than filling the gap.

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