Arnold & Son releases a trio of new creations

A British name that is synonymous with Fine Watchmaking and innovation, Arnold & Son’s over two centuries of history attests to the well-honed quality and considerable value of its creations. This year, at Baselworld, Arnold & Son has introduced a fresh set of remarkable timepieces that add to its iconic collections

Highly distinguished with more than 250 years of quintessentially British heritage, the renowned manufacturer of fine watches, Arnold & Son, has remained a strong force in innovation and development since the days of its founder, John Arnold. Owing its rich history from the young clockmaker in Cornwell, England who gained reputation upon the recognition of King George III, John Arnold joined his courts, where his inventions were widely-lauded and he garnered a following of wealthy clientele and achieved numerous notable patents including the detent escapement, bimetallic balance and helical balance spring.

From then until now, Arnold & Son has never ceased in surprising the watch connoisseurs with its continuous showcase of the finest complicated movements and exquisite timepieces in-house. Each year, the company, with its state-of-the-art development and production facilities in La Chaux-de-Fonds, crafts movements and watches that are superb manifestations of its illustrious past, inventive present and sturdy future.  

This 2016, Arnold & Son unfurls a trio of new creations that add to its ever-growing and dynamic legacy.

UTTE Skeleton

Falling under the kinship of the Instrument Collection, a series of superbly engineered wristwatches that combine outstanding precision with classic styling and reference the 18th-century marine chronometers designed to assist navigation at sea, Arnold & Son adds to this family an exciting revelation: The UTTE (Ultra-Thin Tourbillon Escapement) Skeleton, which has been exquisitely designed as a breathtakingly beautiful, three-dimensional mechanical sculpture.

Measuring merely 8.34mm in thickness, the new A&S8220 movement makes for this piece the thinnest skeleton tourbillon watch on the market. In order to realise a skeleton version of the UTTE, the A&S8200 movement had to be redesigned and re-engineered from scratch while retaining its large, three-dimensional tourbillon cage and long power reserve of at least 90 hours. In keeping with the overall exclusivity of the timepiece, the movement is ensured with Haute Horlogerie finishing where the main plate and bridges are made of nickel silver and decorated with Côtes de Genève rayonnantes with chamfered and polished edges.

Boasting the hallmark dial design of the UTTE family, it features the distinctive and clear-cut eight-shaped arrangement of time display and tourbillon.The three-dimensional tourbillon occupies the bottom half of the dial while the hour and minute display, made of sapphire with white printed numerals, takes up the space between 12 o’clock and the centre of the watch. The hour and minutes hands are golden with white lacquered tips.

Housed in an elegant 42mm 5N red gold case, this exquisite creation is available in a limited edition of 50 pieces only.

Arnold & Son Nebula

Inspired by the stunning beauty of the harmoniously symmetrical space creatures, Arnold & Son creates a sculptural movement that looks like an inverted, exploded star: The Nebula.

Rather than being an assembly of disparate components – case, dial, and movement – Nebula was designed from the ground up to be completely holistic, with all components blending harmoniously into one. The "dial" actually acts as a bridge in supporting some of the intricate gearing. The movement bridges − there are no less than ten in this complex calibre, compared to four in a standard watch − form the dial.

The three-dimensional, openwork movement and dial of the Nebula offer views into the very heart of the in-house manufacture calibre including the barrels, gear train, balance and escapement, and winding mechanism. Two mainspring barrels, providing a healthy 90 hours power reserve at the top, find near-mirror symmetry with the small seconds display and dial-side balance below.

The Nebula is available in a 41.50mm, 5N red gold or stainless steel case, with a sapphire crystal display back for viewing the superbly hand-finished movement.

Eight-Day Royal Navy

Aptly named based on its new eight-day power reserve movement, the Eight-Day Royal Navy as a testament to Arnold & Son’s tradition of building marine chronometers. Part of the sophisticated Royal Collection that took its inspiration from the timepieces commissioned by King George III, this piece’s A&S1016 calibre combines these historic features with a high-performance movement and two of the hallmarks of the antic Arnold & Son chronometers: The power reserve display at 12 o’clock and the “large” small seconds at 6.

To further underscore this technical excellence and in typical Arnold & Son tradition, the 242-part, 33-jewel A&S1016 calibre is meticulously finished, and even main jewels are set in solid 18-carat gold chatons. Curved in 43mm classically elegant stainless-steel case, this watch flaunts an anti-reflective sapphire crystal and case back to view the intricate details.

Available with a choice of three guilloché dials in different colours – silver grey, black anthracite or the shade of royal blue typical of the brand – the play with colour continues to the date disc and the exquisite hand-aged calfskin strap, both of which match the colour of the dial.