The Delightful Arnold & Son Constant Force Tourbillon 11

In haute horlogerie, few relationships have formed timekeeping historical past fairly like that of John Arnold and Abraham-Louis Breguet. Sure by shared respect and a deep dedication to mechanical innovation, their friendship helped lay the groundwork for contemporary precision watchmaking. Arnold & Son’s newest launch, the Fixed Power Tourbillon 11, is a tribute to that legacy and a residing embodiment of it. We loved spending time with this extraordinary timepiece, and listed below are our impressions.

Housed in a 41.5mm case of 18-carat yellow gold, a steel traditionally favoured by John Arnold for his best pocket watches, the Fixed Power Tourbillon 11 exudes quiet authority. The polished case is enhanced by a gently curved center part, a slim bezel, and a domed sapphire crystal up entrance, paired with a flat sapphire crystal over the again, each handled with anti-reflective coating. At 13.7mm thick, the watch strikes a considerate stability between technical substance and traditional class, subtly bolstered by the fluted crown. Water resistance is a modest 30 meters, simply sufficient for on a regular basis resilience.

The dial stands out for its three-dimensional magnificence and its layers of that means and craftsmanship. Constructed on a yellow gold base, the white Grand Feu enamel floor has that uncommon high quality of depth, and the inclined sub-dial in white opal shows the hours and minutes with distinctive readability, its concave kind catching the sunshine in refined, shifting methods. The aperture on the proper showcases the fixed pressure mechanism, partially uncovered and secured beneath a sculpted bridge in yellow gold. The true-beat seconds are marked not by a standard hand however by a flame-blued anchor, a visible and mechanical homage to the deadbeat seconds of marine chronometers.

Turning the watch over reveals the tourbillon in full view, rotating as soon as per minute beneath a finely polished linear bridge that holds the carriage with a variable inertia stability, once more a element impressed by the marine chronometers John Arnold was famend for. A T-shaped spring remembers Breguet’s revolutionary ‘pare-chute’ shock safety system, including historic depth and purposeful relevance. The motion’s ending is nothing wanting poetic. Most evocative is the hand-engraved dedication on the barrel bridge: “To the revered reminiscence of John Arnold and Abraham-Louis Breguet. Pals of their time, legendary watchmakers all the time.” It reads nearly like a manifesto, a declaration that centuries-old horological beliefs nonetheless have a spot in as we speak’s most refined watchmaking.

Although not a lot of the internal workings may be seen, the A&S5219 hand-wound calibre deserves a couple of phrases as it’s considerate in design and ideal in execution. This motion measures 33mm in diameter and 10.48mm thick, working at a frequency of 21,600 vibrations/hour. Its twin barrels work in tandem to make sure a 100-hour energy reserve, switching from one to the opposite to take care of optimum torque. Between the barrels and the one-minute tourbillon, the patented fixed pressure mechanism, seen from the dial facet, evens out the power delivered to the escapement, making certain the regular precision that Arnold and Breguet spent their lives pursuing. It’s a contemporary reply to the fusée-and-chain system of previous and a chic one at that.

The Arnold & Son Fixed Power Tourbillon 11 is worn on a hand-stitched alligator leather-based strap in a midnight blue, lined with black alligator for added consolation. It’s secured with a yellow gold pin buckle engraved with the Arnold & Son brand. The watch is a restricted version of 11; the worth is CHF 129,800. For extra data, go to arnoldandson.com.