Starking AM0509 Review – A Skeleton Watch With Strong Lume

The Starking AM0509 is the rare skeletonized watch that I actually find useful as a watch, not just as a mechanical display. It has the exposed gears, bridges, and open-worked drama you expect from the style, but it also keeps the time and date readable.

At just over $100 before tax, the specification is also more interesting than expected. The AM0509 uses a black PVD-coated stainless steel case, red rubber strap, Hardlex crystal, exhibition caseback, and a Japanese Miyota 6015 high-beat automatic movement with a date function.

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Design & Case

The AM0509 is built around an angular tonneau-style case with a black PVD-coated stainless steel construction. It measures 43mm across, 14mm thick, and 51mm lug-to-lug, with the strap meeting the case at 24mm wide.

This is still a larger watch, but for a skeletonized tonneau design, the proportions do not feel completely out of control. It has presence, but the overall shape remains wearable for the style.

The side profile has a graphite grey, almost black tone, with mostly brushed finishing. Red side accents run along both sides of the case, almost acting like four structural pillars, and they tie directly into the red strap, red dial accents, red crown sleeve, and red hands.

Those side elements appear to be screwed into the case from the top. The lugs also have polished screws, giving eight visible screw heads when viewed top down. The result is rugged, industrial, and slightly motorsport in character. If the proportions and surface finishing stand out to you here, there are several skeleton watch alternatives built around a similar philosophy, for example the Shanghai SH023.

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Movement & Crown

Inside the AM0509 is the Japanese Miyota 6015 automatic movement. This is one of the strongest technical points of the watch because it gives the AM0509 a high-beat automatic caliber rather than a basic low-cost movement.

The movement runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour, or 4Hz. That gives the seconds hand a smoother sweep than a standard 3Hz automatic, moving at eight pulses per second rather than six.

The Miyota 6015 has 21 jewels, around 40 hours of power reserve, and an accuracy rating of minus 20 to plus 40 seconds per day. It also includes a calendar date function, which is why the AM0509 has the date window at 3 o’clock.

The crown is a large red-sleeved push-pull unit measuring 7.8mm across. It is tall, wide, and easy to grip, with broad notchy threading. The red sleeve also fits naturally into the broader color scheme of the watch.

Bezel

The AM0509’s front profile is shaped by the black PVD-coated tonneau case, the red structural side accents, and the boxy curved Hardlex crystal above the open dial.

The crystal is hardened mineral rather than sapphire, but it does have an electroplated anti-fingerprint coating. Its shape is one of the more interesting details of the watch. It curves from the lower part of the display toward the top, almost following the shape of the wrist while still keeping a slightly boxy profile.

That upper structure works well with the mechanical nature of the design. The watch does not try to hide its thickness or industrial personality. Instead, the case, crystal, screws, red accents, and exposed movement all lean into the same aggressive visual language.

The front of the watch feels like a framed mechanical display, with the crystal and case architecture giving the skeletonized dial enough depth and presence. For readers considering a versatile everyday watch, our Comparison Tool offers a simple way to compare models side by side across dimensions, movements, materials, and pricing.

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Strap

The AM0509 comes with two strap options on the listing: red or black. The reviewed configuration uses the red rubber strap, and it works well with the case and dial accents.

The strap has an integrated-style fit, with the edges sitting very close to the head of the watch. That makes the whole package feel more cohesive and avoids the look of a generic rubber strap simply attached between the lugs.

The perforation setup is also useful. Beyond the standard pin buckle holes, the strap has additional perforations higher up near the case head, with six openings on either side. For a larger, sportier rubber strap watch, that should help with wrist ventilation.

The buckle is black stainless steel with PVD coating, matching the black PVD-coated case. The tip of the buckle is signed with the Starking logo.

Flip the watch over and the exhibition caseback makes sense for a fully skeletonized watch. The rear window is mineral crystal, and through it the Miyota 6015 movement is visible inside the larger tonneau case.

Crystal & Dial

Under the boxy curved mineral crystal, the AM0509 uses a completely open dial. The gears, cogs, bridges, and movement architecture are all visible through the front, so this is less a conventional dial and more a mechanical display with timekeeping elements layered above it.

Around the outside is an inward-sloping black rehaut that also acts as the minute chapter, with white printed markings. The Starking name is printed just above 12 on the rehaut, keeping the branding away from the center.

The hour markers are applied Arabic numerals positioned around the edge, almost floating over the open movement. They have white lume plots edged in red, and that red outline helps separate them from the busy skeletonized background.

The hands are semi-skeletonized, chrome-edged, and finished with red tips and white lume plots at the ends. The seconds hand is a red pointer with a luminous lollipop, giving the dial a useful moving reference point.

Skeletonized watches often sacrifice legibility, but this one handles the contrast well. The dial is still visually busy, but the white numerals, red framing, chrome-edged hands, and red seconds pointer make the time readable. At 3, the date window is framed in red and stays within the color scheme.

In darkness, the lume glows bright green on the hands, hour numerals, and seconds lollipop.

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Summary

The Starking AM0509 works because it gives the skeletonized format some actual usability. The exposed movement remains the main visual attraction, but the numerals, hands, date window, and lume are clear enough to make the watch practical.

The case has real presence at 43mm wide, 14mm thick, and 51mm lug-to-lug, but the angular tonneau shape, black PVD coating, red structural accents, exposed screws, and integrated-style rubber strap all suit the design language.

The Miyota 6015 is another important part of the package. A Japanese high-beat automatic movement with 21 jewels, around 40 hours of power reserve, and a date function gives the AM0509 more technical interest than many budget skeleton watches.

The Hardlex crystal and mineral exhibition back show where some cost control remains, but at just over $100 before tax, the AM0509 is a surprisingly cohesive and legible skeletonized automatic. This sits within one of the most competitive, sub $200, price brackets in the current watch landscape.

Starking AM0509 Specifications

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