NAVIGATORS' favourite
Exquisite, legendary timepieces from Arnold & Son
Accompanying the likes of Captain James Cook, George Vancouver, Matthew Flinders and John Franklin on their historical expeditions, Arnold & Son timepieces helped solve the problem of determining longitude at sea.
Today, the marine chronometers inspire the brand’s 21st-century high-precision watches under the Instrument Collection, now made in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the cradle of modern Swiss watchmaking.
The marriage of British heritage and Swiss craftsmanship shines in 2017 novelties, the skeletonised Tourbillon Chronometer No. 36 and DBG (an acronym for “double balance’’ and “GMT’’). In addition, a steel version of DSTB (Dial Side True Beat) uniquely showcases a traditional complication on its dial.
The Tourbillon Chronometer No. 36 is a commemorative model leading up to next year’s 240th anniversary of the John Arnold pocket chronometer No 1/36 — the first watch to be defined as a “chronometer”, due to its precise timekeeping.
One of the world’s greatest watchmakers, John Arnold had an early interest in precision engineering and metalwork, which was influenced by his father, a watchmaker and his uncle, a gunsmith. The 18th-century horologist rose to fame, in his 20s, after inventing the smallest repeater of that time and presenting his mechanical creation set in a ring to King George III.
In 1764, he and his son cofounded the company, which later focused on developing marine chronometers, supplying them to the British Royal Navy.
The DNA of Arnold & Son’s chronometer movements is passed on to the Tourbillon Chronometer No. 36, whose main pivoting elements — such as wheels, barrels and tourbillion — are each mounted on their own bridge.
The triangular, multi-level bridges are mostly skeletonised, providing a three-dimensional depth to the entire timepiece housed in a 46mm case
The heart of the watch, the tourbillion, features a traditional construction composed of a top bridge and a mirror-polished cage with the signature three-spoke design, making a complete turn in 60 seconds.
Prominently positioned on the dial, it can also be viewed from the see-through sapphire caseback, from an opening in the main plate treated with a golden coating that echoes the aesthetics of John Arnold’s pocket watches.
Haute horlogerie finishes and decorations further enhance the beauty of the in-house manufactured movement, whose double barrels provide a 90-hour power reserve.
As COSC certified chronometers, the exceptional limited editions are available in red-gold and stainless steel versions, 28 each.
With a 40-hour power reserve, the 44mm rosegold DBG Skeleton is also a limited edition of 30 timepieces.
On creating the DBG dual-time model, Arnold & Son referred to the “captain’s watch” with a double barrel and escapement — the separate mechanism allowing the operation of different complications without one influencing the accuracy of the other by draining its energy.
The skeletonised interpretation presents two time displays, each running by its own barrel and gear train with its own escapement and balance.
The open dials featuring Arabic numerals for one time zone and Roman numerals for the other are made of “smoked” metal-treated sapphire crystals, lending transparency as well as legibility to both.
The left time zone is set using the crown at 9 o’clock and its right counterpart by the crown at 3 o’clock.
Beyond the standard setting of hour hands, the minute hands can also be set, which means that the display can show the precise time in zones differing from Greenwich Mean Time by a fraction of an hour, such as a quarter or a half.
Additionally, at 12 o’clock a subdial indicates the time difference between the two zones and whether it is day or night in the second zone.
The lower half of the dial is occupied by two triple-armed balances symmetrically secured in position by two balance cocks facing one another and fused together to create a circle.
DBG Skeleton’s aesthetic, in particular the symmetry, is largely determined by the positioning of the elements in the dual movement, visible from both sides of the watch.
The newly developed movement was actually designed to enhance its visual appearance when skeletonised, for an unimpeded view of the mechanism and its decorated parts.
The third new model from the Instrument Collection, the 43.5mm DSTB doesn’t have the openwork appeal but stands out as a blue beauty with a large sapphire dial as a backdrop for Arnold & Son’s traditional complication, the “true beat seconds’’.
Its mechanism — hands, lever, wheels and three palladium-treated bridges — are seen in motion on the face of the stainless steel timepiece. The lever is shaped like an anchor, as an homage to the brand’s maritime achievements.
At the 4 o’clock position, an overlapping domed and white-lacquered subdial indicates the hours and minutes while adding a three-dimensional effect.
Providing a 45-hour power reserve, the self-winding and palladium-treated movement features haute horlogerie finishing and a skeletonised oscillating weight, revealed through the sapphire-crystal caseback.
John Arnold rose to fame, in his 20s, after inventing the smallest repeater of the 18th century and presenting his mechanical creation set in a ring to King George III