New York (May 5, 2022) – Arnold & Son takes celestial inspiration to new heights with two new interprations of the Perpetual Moon 41.5. The dials of the new platinum and red gold timepieces present a unique new lacquered “stellar ray” dial motif known as befits this astronomical complication. The two new Perpetual Moon editions take advantage of the watchmaker’s recent developments in the fields of cases, dials, and finishes. These references further enhance the collection of giant moons by this most British of Swiss brands. Perpetual Moon 41.5 Red Gold joins the permanent collection, while the platinum version is produced in a limited edition of just 28 timepieces.
Frame of light
The Perpetual Moon 41.5’s cases in 18-karat (5N) red gold or 950 platinum have been redesigned. The lugs have been simplified so that instead of their original cross shape, they now present a tauter form with plunging bars and bevelled edges. The case, previously measuring 42 mm, has been reduced to 41.5 mm without affecting the size of the dial. This also reduced the width of the bezel, drawing attention to the dial, its finishes, and its vast moon.
Furrows of light
The dials on these new creations present a unique finish known as Stellar Rays, its aesthetic obtained through skilfully irregular engraving. Several depths and widths of rays coexist and interact with each other, creating their own rhythm, each generating a fluctuating interplay of light and a depth obtained by applying several layers of transparent lacquer.
This unique effect is employed in two forms. Perpetual Moon 41.5 Red Gold is combined with a dense, deep blue adorned with gold edging on the moon aperture, together with golden hands and hour markers. Perpetual Moon 41.5 Platinum is coupled with a salmon pink whose soft metallic radiance complements the rhodium-plated details on the dial.
Circles of light
Realistically depicted with hand-painted shadows, the large moon is enhanced with a luminescent material that is particularly intense in darkness yet invisible in daylight, giving way to the white mother-of-pearl disc. It is set against a blue PVD-treated grained sky and is surrounded by the constellations of the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia, also hand-painted and coated with Super-LumiNova.
The constellations have been chosen as a direct reference to John Arnold’s history as a maker of naval chronometers. The Big Dipper and Cassiopeia have been used by navigators in the northern hemisphere since time immemorial to find their bearings and locate the North Star (Polaris). The position of the latter defines the North and its angular altitude, or position in the North-South plane, and allows the distance to the equator, i.e., latitude, to be estimated.
Accuracy of light
On the case back, a secondary indicator allows the moon phase to be adjusted quickly and precisely. The hand-wound caliber that powers it, reference A&S1512, can track the development of its segments with exceptional precision. The duration of a complete lunar cycle is 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 2.8 seconds. Arnold & Son has succeeded in representing it in such a way that it would take 122 years for this movement, if regularly wound, to accumulate a day’s difference between its display and celestial reality.
Like all Arnold & Son movements, the A&S1512 caliber has been entirely developed, manufactured, decorated, assembled, and adjusted at the manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The caliber features two barrels and an oscillation frequency of 3 Hz, providing a power reserve of 90 hours.
About Arnold & Son
Named after John Arnold, English watchmaker of the 18th century renowned for his ingenuity and work on marine chronometers, Arnold & Son perpetuates today his legacy, exploring contemporary ways to interpret traditional watch craftsmanship. From its Manufacture based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, cradle of the Swiss watchmaking industry, Arnold & Son develops its timepieces in-house including its complicated calibers. The House established iconic collections such as the Time Pyramid with its unique architecture, the Nebula featuring a fully skeletonized movement, the HM Perpetual Moon displaying one of the biggest moon phases on the market or the Globetrotter, impressive three-dimensional worldtimer. The twenty plus calibers presented to date by Arnold & Son have all been conceived, designed, developed, machined, decorated, assembled, and adjusted by its sister Manufacture, La Joux-Perret. This independence and creativity demonstrate the House’s ability to perpetuate John Arnold’s exceptional inventions. arnoldandson.com
