The DBG Skeleton

This is another pre-BaselWorld release from Arnold & Son -

Courtesy of Arnold & Son

A dual time (GMT) model.

Here are the pertinents straight from Arnold & Son -

Main technical characteristics: 
DBG Skeleton

Calibre: 

A&S1309
Manufacture Arnold & Son calibre, skeletonized and symmetrical, hand-wound, 42 jewels, diameter 35 mm, thickness 3.90 mm, power reserve 40 h, 3 Hz / 21,600 vph 

Functions:

Local hours, minutes and seconds, GMT hours and minutes, local time 24 h indicator, GMT 24 h indicator

Movement decoration:
Nickel-silver movement, rhodium treated bridges and NAC grey treated main plate with Haute Horlogerie finishing: chamfered bridges with polished edges and satin finish surfaces, fine circular graining and Côtes de Genève, satin finished wheels with three- spoke design, blued screws 

 

Dial:

Silvery-white and silvery opaline, metallized sapphire 

Case: 

Rose gold (4N), 44 mm diameter, 9.89 mm height, 
cambered sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating 
on both sides, sapphire crystal display case back, 
water resistant 30 m /100 ft

Strap:

Hand-stitched brown or black alligator leather 

 

Limited edition: 

30 pieces

Reference: 

1DGAP.S10A.C120P

 

 

UTTE Novelty BASELWORLD 2013

This just in from Arnold & Son

Arnold & Son releases world’s thinnest tourbillon watch and demonstrates the brand’s technical prowess

Courtesy of Arnold & Son

The UTTE is a masterful demonstration of elegant design and superb technical prowess. The A&S8200 movement – and the ultimate UTTE watch – is the result of several years of research and development, and boasts important features and functions, including a double barrel that makes it possible to offer 80 hours of power reserve. In fact, when the brand embarked on the creation of an additional tourbillon, Arnold & Son’s team of watchmakers and engineers determined that the end result should possess unique features that would set it apart in the watch world. Utilizing the most cutting-edge technology, Arnold & Son pushed the creative envelop to achieve this goal – thus developing a record-setting timepiece. The UTTE is the thinnest tourbillon wristwatch on the market today – with the case thickness at 8.34 mm and a movement that is just 2.97 mm thick. Additionally, while the movement diameter is 32 mm, the tourbillon cage is a massive 14 mm in diameter – thus occupying almost half of the movement space for impressive clarity. To ensure a long power reserve of at least 80 hours, the brand implemented two barrels to offer more constant force and unprecedented power reserve for an ultra-thin tourbillon.

Finally, to add further dramatic beauty to this already impressive watch, Arnold & Son created a totally spherical tourbillon cage – one devoid of any flat surfaces – for a magnificent three-dimensional aesthetic effect. In fact, the flying tourbillon cage is not inset into the calibre, but instead rises out of the movement, through the dial, and achieves the same height as the hour and minute hands. With an eye toward every detail, and the desire for harmonious appeal, the watchmakers removed all visible screws so the spherical tourbillon cage appears beautifully balanced. The only visible screws are on the regulator. In typical Arnold & Son style, the exquisite movement is crafted in nickel-silver, and all components are hand chamfered, polished and decorated.

Courtesy of Arnold & Son

The UTTE is part of Arnold & Son’s Instrument Collection, wherein timepieces are easily identified by their dial design, with off-center position of the hours and minutes to allow for the display of other complications without one overlapping the other. The new UTTE follows this design aesthetic, with the spherical tourbillon occupying the lower portion of the dial.  The alluring, timeless lines of the stepped case, which tapers from the top to the bottom, imbue this watch with an austere elegance. Two distinct models, with superbly different dial designs, each with a 42 mm diameter case – the first such size in the Instrument Collection.

UTTE is created in either 18-carat red gold or palladium (a rare alloy in the watch world). Each movement is finished in a color to complement the case color, and each features a different Côtes de Genève pattern. The 18-carat red gold case watch houses the movement treated in rhodium and decorated with Côtes de Genève rayonnantes. The tourbillon bridge of the 18-carat red gold UTTE is entirely hand-engraved by Arnold & Son’s master engraver. The palladium UTTE version houses a grey NAC treated movement decorated with a straight Côtes de Genève pattern for a bold, contemporary appeal. Because of the amount of time it takes Arnold & Son’s vigilant watchmakers to build each one individually by hand, production is limited to just 50 timepieces of each of the two models.

www.arnoldandson.com

Arnold & Son Unveils Its Time Pyramid

This just in from Arnold & Son -

Inspired by the regulators created by John and Roger Arnold over two hundred years ago, and by antique British skeleton clocks, the new Arnold & Son exclusive mechanical Calibre A&S1615 was conceived of, designed and developed in-house at the company’s La Chaux-de-Fonds workshops, Switzerland.

To reflect the spirit of the brand’s rich history, yet with a vigilant eye to the future, Arnold & Son has created a highly cohesive and seductive blend of watchmaking feats in this timepiece that includes regulator, skeleton, vertical linear movement, pyramid-placement of components and multi-dimensional depth. The Time Pyramid is part of the Instrument Collection, wherein timepieces are easily identified by their sophisticated dial designs, off-centered hours and minutes indication and visual display of complexities.

Courtesy of Arnold & Son

The skeletonized caliber A&S1615 is built in a unique format, with balance wheel at twelve o’clock, situated directly beneath the palette and the anchor wheel (which is shaped in typical Arnold & Son’s majestic “X” form).  At the opposite end of the movement, at six o’clock, lay two mainspring barrels that supply the hand-wound caliber with an amazing 80 hours of power reserve, and provide a more constant force to the wheel train.

The gear train runs vertically in a linear format connecting the two barrels at six o’clock to the balance wheel at twelve o’clock, and endowing the movement with its pyramid structure. The bridges are designed so that all of the wheels, the two mainspring barrels, the escapement and balance wheel are all magnificently visible from the dial side.

Additionally, the movement is fitted with two power reserve indicators – one each on either side of the linear gear train – to display the energy level for each barrel separately. The power reserve hands indicate the reserve level via graduated dots (that are printed under the top sapphire crystal) in an arc format, and demonstrate how one barrel transfers energy to the second one when needed. Essentially, as the first barrel winds the second one, the power reserve indicator of the first barrel goes down, while the second one goes up – making for an accurate and intriguing readout.

As if all of this technical ingenuity were not enough, Arnold & Son continued to push the creative envelop in the making of this caliber with its placement of the escapement and seconds indicator at twelve o’clock, and with its three-dimensional construction that replicates the historic Arnold & Son regulators.

This Time Pyramid follows the original regulators from the brand with its component positioning and detailed 3D visual appeal. Movement parts and watch indications are built on three levels, with the subsidiary seconds dial on the bottom, the hour indications on a sapphire crystal dial in the middle level, and a silver top ring for the minutes indication. While the movement is extremely thin - at just 4.4mm - the multiple levels bring amazing depth and detail to the watch. To further enhance the balance and symmetry of the Time Pyramid, the crown (with Arnold & Son’s engraved logo) is artfully positioned at six o’clock.

As with every esteemed Arnold & Son watch, each component in the Time Pyramid is magnificently hand decorated with manually chamfered brides and high-polished edges, all yielding a striking masterpiece of decorative craftsmanship and brilliant execution.

Each Time Pyramid wristwatch measures 44.6 mm in diameter in its classically elegant 18-carat rose gold case. Viewed from the side, the housing is stepped and tapers from top to bottom, the widest section accommodating the extra-large glass with the lower part narrowing to fit snugly on the wrist. Each is finished with an exquisite hand-stitched alligator strap.

British skeleton clock, chain driven fusee – England, 1830-1845

© Arnold & Son

www.arnoldandson.com