SpotlightGolden Dragons Who Drank The Moon: Introducing Arnold & Son’s Tributes To The Year Of The Dragon

Arnold & Son released the most spectacular odes to the Chinese zodiac and lunar calendar in their Luna Magna Red Gold ‘Year of the Dragon’ and Perpetual Moon Red Gold ‘Year of the Dragon’ timepieces. Against a black onyx or marbled blue pietersite dial, a sculpted golden dragon wraps around an opal timekeeping dial to look at the oversized three-dimensional mineral and red gold moon. Meet the breath-taking Luna Magna Red Gold Year of the Dragon timepieces. As if the moon-phase display on the collection wasn’t exciting enough, the maison added a gorgeous golden dragon to the equation. The brand also released two Perpetual Moon dragon timepieces with aventurine glass dials in blue or black. There is a downside, though—each of these new watches are limited to eight pieces only.

The Dragon And The Luna Magna

The 44mm cases of the Luna Magna are made from 18 karat red gold, with a ‘box’ sapphire crystal glass protecting both dial and caseback. Super-LumiNova treatment on the opal timekeeping sub-dial at 12 o’clock, decorated with Roman numerals and blue arrow hands, makes for easy time telling. A red-gold dragon sculpted around the sub-dial is the showstopper—hand-carved, and with magnificent detailing on its scales, claws, whiskers and horns. A large three-dimensional moon at six o’clock is created from matching red gold and smooth, black onyx, or streaked pietersite, a rare gemstone from the quartz family. Looking as if it were just about to swallow the celestial body, the dragon watches as the moon-phase indicator changes every day.

The 44mm cases of the Luna Magna are made from 18 karat red gold, with a ‘box’ sapphire crystal glass protecting both dial and caseback

Super-LumiNova treatment on the opal timekeeping sub-dial at 12 o’clock, decorated with Roman numerals and blue arrow hands, makes for easy time telling

A large three-dimensional moon at six o’clock is created from red gold and smooth, black onyx

A red-gold dragon sculpted around the sub-dial is the showstopper

The dragon is hand-carved, and features magnificent detailing on its scales, claws, whiskers and horns

Looking as if it were just about to swallow the celestial body, the dragon looks on as the moon-phase indicator changes every day

01

Behind this exquisite three-dimensional artwork is the manual-winding A&S1021 calibre, with a power reserve of 90 hours. The dual-faced satellite is displayed on the caseback, along with a corresponding two-dimensional moon-phase indicator.

Behind this exquisite three-dimensional artwork is the manual-winding A&S1021 calibre, with a power reserve of 90 hours. The dual-faced satellite is displayed on the caseback, along with a corresponding two-dimensional moon-phase indicator

The Dragon And The Perpetual Moon

For the Perpetual Moon Red Gold ‘Year of the Dragon’ timepiece, the brand evoke a starry night sky, with a mother-of-pearl moon in an aperture on the upper half of the dial. Gazing longingly at this realistic looking moon, with its shadows painted on by hand, is a dragon crafted from red gold. The dragon seems like it is floating above trees in a garden against a blue or black aventurine glass night sky backdrop. This symbolic imagery is framed by a 41.5mm case crafted from red gold. The hand-wound mechanical A&S1512 powers the timepieces, and is visible through the caseback, complete with a secondary display of the moon’s phases.

Arnold & Son have presented some pretty stunning timepieces inspired by the Chinese zodiac in the past, but these latest iterations dedicated to the dragon are leaps ahead—possibly even as powerful as the mythical creature is believed to be.