Winner, Mechanical Watches of the Year 2014.
We do often wish that Arnold & Son would give it a rest with their claims to British history. In a time when names of repute are bought and traded like cattle, why claim something which is clearly not true at a time when you’re producing some of the finest watches on the planet? Innovative, technical and beautifully implemented mechanisms have poured out of the La Chaux-de-Fonds manufacture in recent years.
To celebrate the company name’s 250th anniversary, Arnold & Son’s incredibly gifted technical department looked to revive the complicated True Beat movement and display the entire solution on the dial, with DSTB standing for Dial Side True Beat.
Few have taken the time to present the true (or dead) beat complication since the advent of quartz for the simple reason that the second hands tick and may be mistaken for entry level quartz at a time when sweeping second hands indicated luxury.
The Arnold & Son DSTB is presented on an elevated sapphire crystal seconds dial that dominates the dial, overlapping the hours and minutes dial. The dial also shows off the lever, wheels and three True Beat seconds bridges. The lever was even fashioned in the shape of an anchor to pay homage to Arnold’s maritime achievements. Beautiful, inspired watchmaking.
