Round-UpPresenting The Most Exclusive Arnold & Son Timepieces
Swiss watchmakers Arnold & Son, named after one of the greatest English inventors, are known for their precision and symmetry. Be it their lunar complications or their world-timers, tourbillon timepieces or watches with a whopping eight-day power reserve, their executions are as stunning as their in-house calibres. Here’s a look a some of their most noteworthy timepieces
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Known for their accurate and highly symmetrical timepieces, Arnold & Son show no signs of ageing or slowing down. The brand goes back to 1764, named as it is after celebrated 18th-century English watchmaker John Arnold. The modern-day maison have beautifully-designed and extremely accurate watches in their repertoire. As mechanical complications go, the moon phase display is perhaps the most romantic—certainly the most beautiful—execution of a complication available today. To their credit, Arnold & Son have the largest moon on watch dials—on those of their Luna Magna timepieces, but their Perpetual Moon timepieces may be just as stunning in their oversized lunar displays and constellations in the upper half of the dial in both 41.5mm and 38mm versions. The ‘Swiss watch brand with an English heart’ take precision very seriously, and while the precision may technically be Swiss, the designs and symmetry are as British as perfectly-brewed tea served in a traditional English cup and saucer.
Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon 38 Mintnight
Arnold & Son’s Perpetual Moon 38 Mintnight, released this year at Geneva Watch Days, features a 38mm white gold case, set with 80 brilliant-cut diamonds, framing a dial made from ruthenium crystals and mother-of-pearl in shades of mint green, turquoise, teal, and sky blue. The dazzle of the ruthenium moon phase display against the diamonds on the case are only enhanced by the light reflected by the different hues on the mother-of-pearl showcased on the dial. The A&S1612 manufacture calibre behind this beautiful display is a slim movement that accurately shows the moon phase without the need for manual correction for 122 years, and has a power reserve of 90 hours. This GPHG nominee is a good example of the brand’s precision displayed marvellously.
Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon 41.5mm Celestial Blue & Salmon
In a larger 41.5mm platinum case, with two dial options in ‘celestial blue’ and ‘salmon pink’, the Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon timepieces feature an oversized moon, made from mother-of-pearl and treated with Super-LumiNova, displayed in an aperture in the upper half of the timepiece. The grained, PVD-treated sky that forms the background for the moon also displays star constellations, making the moon and stars look as close to the real thing as possible. Outside this display, the dial features a ‘stellar rays’ decoration in a light ‘celestial’ blue or a salmon pink. These rays have been achieved through irregular engravings, their varying depths and widths playing with the light on the dial, enhanced further by transparent lacquer. Visible through the caseback is the A&S1512 calibre, with a two-dimensional moon phase indicator for quick reference.
Arnold & Son Ultrathin Tourbillon Gold Opaline
Another 2023 release and GPHG nominee is the Arnold & Son Ultrathin Gold Opaline timepiece. Its 41.5mm 18-karat red gold case is only 8.3mm thick, and houses a silver-toned opaline dial. Two fine red gold bands frame the off-centred timekeeping sub-dial at 12 o’clock and the window displaying the flying tourbillon at six. Roman numerals decorate the genuine-opal dial while blued, openworked arrow hands tell the time. Undoubtedly, the highlight of this timepiece is the tourbillon, which also serves as the small seconds sub-dial. Constantly in motion, this tourbillon is powered by the A&S8300 manufacture calibre, among the slimmest movements designed by the brand with a thinness of only 2.97mm. The tourbillon’s bridges on the mainplate aperture are hand-engraved with designs from John Arnold’s pocket watches—a beautiful and symmetrical ode to the founder.
Arnold & Son Ultrathin Tourbillon
The A&S8300 calibre, first released in 2013, was revolutionary at the time for being among the thinnest tourbillon escapements. Although it is no longer the thinnest, it is still noteworthy for being among the slimmer tourbillon escapements. Before the Ultrathin Tourbillon Gold Opaline, in 2022, the brand released two timepieces in 41.5mm platinum and red gold cases. The Ultrathin Tourbillon Platinum features an off-centred mother-of-pearl timekeeping dial and flying tourbillon set against a green ‘cosmic grené’ dial. This technique involves mixing gold powder with aluminium sparkles to create a sparkling dial that resembles a starry sky—like aventurine, but different for how closely the ‘stars’ are packed. The Ultrathin Tourbillon watch with Gold Blue features a rich blue ‘cosmic grené’ dial against a red gold case and highlights. Matching alligator leather straps in green and blue are stitched with platinum and red gold thread respectively.
Arnold & Son Double Tourbillon Anniversary Edition
The dual-time watch with two exposed tourbillons on the dial was released to mark 250 years of the brand. In a 43.5mm 18-karat red gold case, two enamel sub-dials at 12 and six o’clock—different only in the Roman- and Arabic-numeral style markers—balance the dial vertically, while horizontal symmetry is offered by two large tourbillons at three and nine o’clock, held together by a gilded bridge. Each time zone can be set independently via two signed crowns at two and eight o’clock. The background of the dial is made up of the mainplate of the in-house movement A&S8513, its côtes de Genève engraving offering uniform and uncluttered decoration. Its 90-hour power reserve is courtesy of the manually-wound, double-barrel system.
Arnold & Son Globetrotter Platinum
A stunning world-timer, complete with a large model of the earth’s northern hemisphere as viewed from the North Pole, the Arnold & Son Globetrotter features a 45mm case made from the highest quality 950 platinum. The dial is made from mother of pearl in blue, its shades and sheen suggestive of oceans. Decorated with an 18-karat rhodium-plated gold bridge, the miniature globe features a rhodium-plated gold landmass, outlined with lighter blue, hand-painted shorelines that are treated with Super-LumiNova. Around this three-dimensional globe is the 24-hour world-time scale. Overall, the beautiful blue-grey aesthetic of the timepiece is disturbed only by red arrows that tell the time. This is likely the most beautiful rendition of the Globetrotter the brand have released thus far. At the heart of this timepiece is the automatic A&S6022 calibre, with a 45-hour power reserve.
Arnold & Son Eight-Day Black
As homage to the marine chronometers that John Arnold supplied to the Royal Navy in the eighteenth century, the Arnold & Son Eight-Day series offers enhanced precision and a whopping 192-hour power reserve. This is indicated via a sub-dial at 12 o’clock on a beautiful guilloche dial in a wave pattern evoking the sea and the marine inspiration of the timepiece. The black lacquer on the patterned dial of the Eight-Day Black timepiece is suggestive of the sea at night, its waves both stormy and calm, depending on one’s perspective. To balance the power reserve indicator, at six is a sub-dial housing the small seconds and the date aperture. The eight-day power reserve is made possible by the brand’s manually-wound A&S1016 calibre.
Arnold & Son Constant Force Tourbillon
John Arnold’s quest for precision was well documented. He was the first to use the term ‘chronometer’ in its modern sense—for accurate and precise timekeeping. The brand carry this legacy forward in the Arnold & Son Constant Force Tourbillon. This time-only watch offers precise timekeeping courtesy of a very complex A&S5119 calibre. The 46mm red-gold case displays the movement’s perfectly symmetrical components on the dial. The tourbillon between four and five o’clock takes one rotation in a minute, prompting the seconds hand attached to the winding wheel at 7.30 to ‘tick’ or ‘jump’ instead of a mechanical watch’s characteristic sweeping movement. Time is told through red gold hands and indexes arranged on a ring around the periphery of the dial.
The symmetry and precision offered by Arnold & Son timepieces are just some of the reasons why the brand are still relevant, over 250 years after John Arnold first created his marine chronometers. Traditional decoration techniques, the use of elegant materials, contemporary designs and beautiful displays make these watches even more desirable.
