“You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.” Cheery stuff, right? But stick with us – it’s not all doom and gloom. These are the words of Mr Marcus Aurelius, from his stoic work, Meditations. And, at the time he wrote this, he was the most powerful man in the world (he ruled over the Roman Empire from 161 to 180). The message: remember your own mortality, even if you may lead a continent-spanning civilisation.

It’s a theme, commonly truncated as “memento mori”, from the Latin for “remember you will die”, that has remained popular throughout cultures the world over. Today, its most famous expression is the Mexican festival Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), a recognition that death comes to us all, and a celebration of those we have lost. When watches were invented in the 1600s, the symbolism was immediately apparent – here was a device that with every tick shaved another fraction of a second off your time on Earth. Skull-shaped pocket watches quickly became quite the thing among rulers and nobles. Macabre creations where the jawbone flips open to reveal the face of the watch inside the skull – there’s a solid silver example in the British Museum, engraved with mottos including “vita fugitur” (life is fleeting). Mary, Queen of Scots is reported to have owned a particularly decorative example, although the actual watch thought to have been hers has since been proved to date from much later.

In more recent times, the memento mori watch has enjoyed something of a resurgence. Some skull-shaped watches, such as those created by Scottish artisan watchmaker Ms Fiona Krüger, lean hard on the day-of-the-dead connection. Others, including the HYT Soonow, have seen the motif incorporated into indie brands’ existing design language.

Bell & Ross began making skull watches in 2009, and while it might have seemed an odd change of pace for the modern, minimalist, military-inspired brand, they have become a sort of sub-collection in their own right, appealing to a very specific customer. The majority have been traditional takes on the BR01 shape, with engraved skulls set into the dial, but the latest addition, the BR01 Cyber Skull, moves things on by a leap.

Cased in black ceramic, the skull itself – also ceramic – is suspended by the “crossbones”, which double as supporting struts. There’s undoubtedly a visual pun at work as this technically just about qualifies as “skeletonised” watchmaking. The faceted skull is described by the brand as taking inspiration from stealth aircraft. Blending in Bell & Ross’ more traditional oeuvre might have run the risk of diluting the message, but when we’re looking at just about the most emphatic watch I’ve seen in a long time, it feels like that’s not an issue. And if you were worried that the whole thing takes itself too seriously, the skull’s jaw is actually able to move when you wind the watch.

To add to that, the hands and hour markers – on the underside of the sapphire crystal – are painted with Super-LumiNova, meaning there’s a reasonable chance this watch is actually more legible at night. Whether that’s likely to coincide with your ruminations on your own mortality is a private matter, but do note that you’ll be following in the footsteps of Roman philosophers and European monarchs. After all, there’s one thing you’re guaranteed to have in common…