Born out of a temporary need to come together during the pandemic, the Geneva Watch Days has become very popular – the fifth edition was organised end of this summer, August 29 – September 2, 2024. Arnold & Son occupied its usual space in a suite at the Fairmont Grand Hotel Geneva and presented novelties on the sunny terrace.
Arnold & Son dates back to 1764, with the story of the 18th century British watchmaker John Arnold (1736-1799). He produced some of the most accurate, award-winning marine chronometers of the era, one of his pieces, the No. 3 accompanied James Cook, the famous British naval captain, navigator and explorer on his second voyage. From 1796, his son, John Roger Arnold (1769-1843) continued his work and in 1830 went into business with Edward John Dent. After the death of John Roger Arnold, Arnold & Son is continued by Charles Frodsham, a renowned English watchmaker, until the middle of the 19th century.
Arnold & Son brand was relaunched in La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1995, with the aim to carry on the tradition and craftsmanship of quality English watchmaking – as they articulate, ‘Swiss watchmaking with English roots’.
In 2012 the Japanese Citizen Watch Group has acquired Prothor, the holding company for Arnold & Son SA, Manufacture La Joux-Perret and Prototec SA.
Inspired by the maritime heritage, Arnold & Son establishes its creation around three founding principles embodying John Arnold’s legacy: Astronomy, Chronometry and World Time.
In the Chronometry collection you can find complications, such as the Ultrathin Tourbillon, the Time Pyramid with a skeletonised movement in the shape of a pyramid; the ‘Dial-Side True Beat’ with true-beat seconds’ function (also called dead-beat seconds or jumping seconds: the seconds hand ticks once a second, as opposed to the more common sweep seconds); the fully skeletonised Nebula pieces in 38 and 41.5 mm and the latest, the Longitude Titanium. It is a COSC-certified chronometer with a power-reserve display, seconds counter at 6 o’clock and with an integrated titanium bracelet.
The Globetrotter from the World Time line depicts the northern hemisphere, which is held from side to side by an openworked bridge. The Double Tourbillon displays the local time at 12 o’clock with Roman numerals. It is complemented by a remote time at 6 o’clock and presented in Arabic numerals.
The Astronomy line includes the Perpetual Moon and the Luna Magna models with the largest three-dimensional rotating moon ever built into a wristwatch. Both model families opt for special dials and some amazing artistic techniques.
The board of the company has appointed Pascal Béchu as the general manager of Arnold & Son and Angelus this spring, who has been working with the firm in other positions since 2021. He is a seasoned executive with great experience in the industry; for example at Tag Heuer, Movado, Harry Winston Timepieces or at the MCH Group (as Commercial Director Watch & Jewellery Division). He showed us the latest novelties of both brands (more coming soon).
Perpetual Moon in red gold
The Perpetual Moon collection has pieces with 41,5mm and 38mm case sizes. The company released two new dial variations in the smaller size, both with the astronomical moon phase of the A&S1612 caliber.
The first version is a limited edition of 88 pieces with blue aventurine glass dial, mother-of-pearl moon and constellation made from metallic particles, overlaid with Super-LumiNova and hand-painted details.
The second model comes only in a 28-piece edition. It has a slightly unusual combination of ‘cliff grey’ dial, in a warm, sunray-brushed grey with the 5N red gold case. Here the mother-of-pearl is contrasted with a grained matte midnight blue sky. The piece is completed with a warm grey alligator leather strap.
Double Tourbillon Charoite Edition
The latest haute horology launch of the brand is the Double Tourbillon Charoite Edition. This one-of-a-kind timepiece features a charoite dial – with that it joins the collection of extraordinary dials created by the house.
Charoite is a rare purple stone, a silicate mineral, which is a rock-forming minerals made up of silicate groups. It has a distinctive hue from translucent lavender to purple with a pearly luster and it could be often adorned with swirling patterns of white, grey, and brown. Charoite is primarily found in a specific region of Siberia, Russia, known as the Murunskii Massif.
The 43,5mm white gold piece enhances two fundamental principles of John Arnold’s work – chronometry and world time. The watch displays the local time at 12 o’clock with Roman numerals and the remote time at 6 o’clock, presented in Arabic numerals. The A&S8513 calibre features two barrels and two crowns for the two time zones. They can display the same time or two different times, and one can even display the time while the other measures the duration of a long event. The Double Tourbillon can display the time in zones offset by 15, 30 or 45 minutes.
Photo credits: Loupiosity.com
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