Arnold & Son Unveils Double Tourbillon White Gold, Charoite Edition

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (September 17, 2024) – Arnold & Son continues its exploration of rare and unprecedented materials in watchmaking with the new Double Tourbillon White Gold, Charoite Edition. Charoite, a delicate mauve mineral with fine white veins, brings its noble shade to the Double Tourbillon grand complication. Set off by the white gold case, skeletonized bridges, and pure white opal subdials, charoite imparts a unique elegance to this one-of-a-kind timepiece.

In the watchmaking language of Arnold & Son, the double tourbillon is a rare construction, making the eponymous collection a fitting vehicle for unique pieces. Double Tourbillon White Gold draws on the richness of the natural materials that Arnold & Son explores with method and originality. Charoite is the newest member of the Double Tourbillon White Gold mineral dial timepieces – following the Swiss manufacturer’s imperial jade, malachite, and Baltic amber editions.

RARE EARTH

Parma violet, mauve, lavender, lilac… There are many words to describe the shifting color of charoite. Like lapis lazuli, it is the product of a rich and textured coalition of different minerals. In fact, it is one of the most complex stones ever formed by the Earth’s crust since its chemical formula is a silicate containing traces of aluminum, iron, manganese, barium, and strontium.

Charoite is made up of an interweaving of complex textures. It was in these strata that Arnold & Son sought the surface for the dial of Double Tourbillon White Gold, finely cutting the stone without breaking it, opening up two large spaces for the subdials and tourbillon carriages, and polishing it to reveal a mauve peppered with white.

DUALITY

In historical terms, Double Tourbillon White Gold draws on the fundamental vocation of John Arnold’s work: chronometry. His production of marine chronometers sought to simplify and augment the perfect reliability of time measurement. The aim was to keep track of the time at the point of departure. By comparing it with that of the place where the measurement was taken, based on observing true solar noon, ocean navigators were able to calculate their position on an east-west axis, or their longitude. 

Double Tourbillon White Gold perpetuates this duality by displaying local time on the subdial at 12 o’clock, punctuated by Roman numerals. It is complemented by a display of the time in another location at 6 o’clock, using Arabic numerals. These two dials display hours and minutes that are completely independent, and accurate to the minute.

CRAFTSMANSHIP

In terms of pure watchmaking, Double Tourbillon draws on the manufacturer’s design, production, finishing, and adjustment capabilities. Its sapphire crystal is convex to accommodate the depth of its two tourbillons, which are in turn each secured to a three-dimensional, skeletonized, cantilevered bridge in white gold. They are also at the end of a double-gear train. The A&S8513 caliber is thus equipped with two barrels, two crowns and two time zones. They can display the same time, two different times, or one can be configured to tell the time while the other times a long event. Unlike the majority of so-called travel watches, Double Tourbillon can thus adapt to time zones that are offset by 15, 30, or 45 minutes.

FINISHES

The structure of this movement is underscored by sophisticated finishes. From the radiating Côtes de Genève stripes to the circular-grained main plate, the double-snailed barrels, the sunray-brushed crown wheels, and the polished gold chatons, everything about the A&S8513 caliber exudes elevation, craftsmanship, and excellence.

The beveled, satin-finished, and mirror-polished tourbillon bridges in white gold are the highlight of an exceptionally elegant display in relief. Double Tourbillon White Gold offers a mechanical and ornamental counterpart to the symbolic aesthetic that reigns on its dials.

ABOUT ARNOLD & SON

Arnold & Son is named after John Arnold, a renowned English watchmaker of the 18th century. The golden age of maritime explorations and discoveries ushered this precision into a new technical ideal – determining longitude at sea. Its immediate corollary was the identification of local time, which changed constantly as the observer moved along an east-west axis. Astronomy, chronometry, and what we now call world time are thus inextricably linked within one and the same question, to which John Arnold and his son devoted their lives, their art, and their genius.

This is how these three dimensions – Astronomy, Chronometry and World Time – have come to be embodied in the House’s contemporary timepieces. Echoes of John Arnold’s inventions and preoccupations, these principles represent the foundations on which the Arnold & Son collections are based. The twenty-plus calibers presented to date by Arnold & Son have all been designed and developed in-house and produced by its sister manufacturer, La Joux-Perret in La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland). This independence and creativity demonstrate the House’s ability to perpetuate John Arnold’s exceptional inventions.

For more information, visit arnoldandson.com.