Before I get started going through the watches I came across during Baselworld, starting with those from my “Top 20” list, I’d like to apologize for the hiatus on TheHorophile.com ever since the show ended. With over 150’000 visitors from 70+ countries I was bound to catch a virus. What I wasn’t expecting was the worst respiratory infection I’ve gone through since my pre-adolescent years. But anyways, let’s get back to watches.
The first watch I’d like to talk about here is the Arnold & Son DSTB, one of the pieces from the brand’s 250th Anniversary collections.
Now I know what some of the skeptics are thinkings: how could a brand that’s only been on the market for a decade (and less than half of that under the management of its new owners) celebrate a 250-year anniversary? Isn’t that just the kind of marketing we don’t need more of?
I however tend to see things slightly differently. The watch industry is certainly not short on brands with revived (read acquired) histories. Sure, it means such brands have an old story to tell and identity to refer to. But where I believe we should make the distinction is brands using such a heritage purely as part of the package, while others draw from past accomplishments to create original yet historically inspired watches. Arnold & Son fall in the latter. And let’s face it, how many of us even heard of Arnold & Son before the modern brand came along?
The DSTB (Dial Side True Beat) is an excellent example of Arnold & Son’s commitment to reinterpreting some of John Arnold’s horological accomplishments from centuries past. While the 250th Anniversary refers to the time when John Arnold presented his first pocketwatch to King George III of England in 1764, the DSTB draws inspiration from the second part of John Arnold’s illustrious watchmaking career, where he and his son produced highly accurate marine chronometers.
One of the outstanding features of such marine chronometers were the True Beat or “dead” seconds hands, which served not only as part of the time instruments but also as navigation tools. Since traditional sweeping seconds hands fail to indicate the closest whole second at any moment, the True Beat seconds hand is advantageous in enabling navigators to determine the exact longitude position, derived from the exact time to the closest second.
And while one could consider the True Beat seconds to be Arnold & Son’s signature complication seen in many of their recent creations like the TB88, TBR and more recent CTB, the DSTB is the only watch I know of that’s put this complication in center stage.
The design and layout of the True Beat mechanism on the dial is as much a work of architecture as mechanical creativity. The dial doesn’t suffer from a cutout aperture to allow a view onto a portion of the movement the watchmakers want us to focus on. Instead, the entire True Beat seconds mechanism is built onto the dial side of the watch (hence the name). Three beautifully finished gold-tone bridges sit above the anthracite radial sunburst finished “Côtes de Genève” dial plate, highlighting the gears and single-lever pallet that makes the second hand tick-tock. The blued arrow-shaped seconds hand makes for the highest point on the dial, indicating the seconds on a seemingly floating glass disk. The counterweight of the pallet is fashioned in the form of an anchor, part of the brand’s logo and a nod to John Arnold’s legacy. Judging from the way the anchor is hand-beveled and polished around the edges, you can tell that Arnold & Son take finishing very seriously indeed.
The hours and minutes are indicated on an off-centered small white dial at 4 o’clock, slightly domed and raised on a golden ring held by three screws add even more depth to the front of the watch.
The case itself measures 43.5mm in diameter, made in polished red gold. What I like about Arnold & Son’s cases is how they taper down towards the case back, making them wear more comfortably than the stated diameter would indicate. What really sets this particular Arnold & Son apart however is the raised and cambered sapphire crystal, which reinforces the sculptural appearance of the watch by providing even more volume to the dial.
Unfortunately as the piece I handled (a week before Baselworld by the way) was just a prototype without the proper finishing, I couldn’t photograph the back of the watch, where a display back offers a view of the A&S6003 in-house designed and manufactured automatic movement. I think we can all agree however that the most interesting part of the movement on the DSTB is the True Beat seconds mechanism on the dial. So instead, I offer you this amateur video of the watch in action:
As you can imagine, the DSTB has tremendous presence on the wrist. It’s a combination of the generous proportions, the raised crystal and the three-dimensional dial that make it a statement piece without being overly flamboyant. It’s one of those watches with a strong design that you either love or hate, and to me that’s a good thing.
Aesthetics aside, what I particularly like about the DSTB is the visual animation the True Beat mechanism provides. Between the dead seconds hand and the retrograding anchor, I find the motion so much more hypnotic than your average tourbillon.
The 250th Anniversary edition of the Arnold & Son DSTB will be limited to only 50 examples, with a price tag just under 45’000 CHF. Something tells me however that this won’t be the only version of the DSTB we’ll be seeing. My fingers are crossed for a white metal version!
More information on www.arnoldandson.com
