Two Arnold Son Icons Return in Gemstone and Hand-Engraved Yellow Gold

Before Arnold Son became known for sculptural complications and absorbing architecture, it was a name etched into the history of navigation itself.

Founded by 18th-century English watchmaker John Arnold—whose high-accuracy marine chronometers proved vital during an era of global naval expansion—Arnold Son lay dormant for more than a century before being revived in 1995 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.

After its acquisition by Citizen Group in 2012, the brand made an immediate impression with the visually arresting Time Pyramid unveiled at BaselWorld 2013, a statement piece that signaled its ambition to push horology’s technical and aesthetic boundaries.

Buoyed by strong demand during the Covid years, Arnold Son has since scaled up production and organized its signature creations into three pillars: Astronomy (Perpetual Moon and Luna Magna), Chronometry (Longitude, Nebula, DSTB, Ultrathin Tourbillon, Time Pyramid, Constant Force and HM) and World Time (Globetrotter and Double Tourbillon).

Arnold Son Luna Magna Steel Turquoise Edition

While brands like Blancpain and Sarpaneva have gained international acclaim for their smiling moonphase displays that rise and set along two-dimensional sectors, Arnold Son has charted a different, and more radical, course: the three-dimensional moon. A few independent watchmakers, such as Christiaan van der Klaauw and De Bethune, have also produced sculptural moons, but none as large as Arnold Son’s 12mm Luna Magna.

After the aventurine glass Luna Magna received a warm reception in 2021, the brand created a diamond-paved moon in 2022, then a meteorite moon followed by a gold moon encircled by a dragon sculpture, both in late 2023.

The brand has just unveiled the Arnold Son Luna Magna Steel Turquoise Edition, arguably the most vividly colored addition to the series. Limited to 18 pieces, this 44mm steel timepiece features Arizona turquoise—a nod to its North American audience—while the hours-and-minutes dial and half of the moon are crafted from opal. In many Native American cultures, turquoise is a sacred stone symbolizing healing and well-being.

Creating a functioning spherical moonphase out of any precious or semi-precious stone is no simple task. The drill speed, drilling diameter, and tolerances must be calculated with extreme precision so that the axis can be fitted with a rod of the exact diameter. Even with meticulous planning, the failure rate remains high.

And the million-dollar question: What does it feel like to wear one of watchmaking’s largest sculptural moons? Arnold Son didn’t mention the weight of this watch, but in short, the Luna Magna Steel is surprisingly wearable and not overly heavy. It will always attract attention, but it’s not a watch that you can hide under your sleeve. Its 12mm moon, housed beneath a large sapphire dome, brings the total thickness to 15.9mm, secured to the wrist by a steel bracelet, or a black or turquoise alligator strap.

The watch is priced at USD 53,400. And if you prefer to contrast this turquoise dial with red gold, check out the five-example red gold version that was released on November 6th.

Arnold Son Constant Force Tourbillon 11 Platinum Edition

Another celebrated Arnold Son creation, the Constant Force Tourbillon 11, is famously based on John Arnold’s No. 11 chronometer. This historic timepiece—believed to be the first tourbillon-regulated watch made by Abraham-Louis Breguet—is housed in the British Museum and symbolizes one of the Enlightenment era’s most touching friendships.

The Englishman John Arnold and the Swiss-French watchmaker Abraham-Louis Breguet held such deep mutual admiration that each sent his son to apprentice with the other.

Their bond is immortalized on the back of the Arnold Son Constant Force Tourbillon 11, engraved with: “To the revered memory of John Arnold and Abraham-Louis Breguet. Friends in their time, legendary watchmakers always.”

The Arnold Son Constant Force Tourbillon 11 Platinum Edition marks the final instalment of the series. Its 41.5mm platinum case is paired with an 18k yellow-gold dial hand-engraved in the tremblé style, intended to evoke the fern-covered moors of Cornwall where John Arnold was born. As it is a time-consuming and lesser-known traditional art, tremblage has only been applied to a handful of modern timepieces, such as the Moritz Grossmann Tremblage and A. Lange Söhne’s Handwerkskunst series.

An early adopter and developer of the constant-force mechanism, also known as le remontoire d’égalité, Arnold is honoured through the A&S5219 movement, developed by La Joux-Perret—Arnold Son’s sister company under the Citizen Group.

Beneath an 18k gold bridge, the mechanism can be seen fastidiously delivering constant force to the tourbillon cage, while a hand-blued anchor doubles as a small-seconds display.

In classic Arnold Son fashion, the off-center dial is rendered in concave white opal, and the partial openworking reveals a cornucopia of hand-finishing techniques applied to the A&S5219.

Limited to 11 pieces, the Constant Force Tourbillon 11 Platinum Edition retails for CHF 140,600 including VAT.