Arnold & Son – TBTE Tourbillon

Timeless elegance and innovative technology

True to English watchmaking heritage, Arnold & Son unveils the TBTE Tourbillon, featuring the hand-finished A&S8503 calibre with True Beat Seconds complication. This defining timepiece is part of the Royal Collection which combines classic styling with leading-edge technology.

The tourbillon movement, one of the most elegant complications in the world of horology, has played a crucial role in Arnold & Son’s history. An exceptional watchmaker, John Arnold was an active participant in one of the most extraordinary partnerships in the world of innovative horology. Indeed, both he and A.-L. Breguet worked closely, sharing both their knowledge and passion. Evidence of their partnership is A.-L. Breguet’s first ever tourbillon mounted in John Arnold’s No. 11 movement, a watch that can be found today in London’s British Museum.

The TBTE not only boasts a tourbillon but also a true beat seconds mechanism. The true beat seconds is a traditional complication of Arnold & Son, a complication that alludes to the precision timekeeping required for navigation at sea. Unlike conventional mechanical watches, a true beat seconds movement measures out time in complete seconds rather than fractions dependent on the balance frequency. This watch thus pays tribute to the watches produced by John Arnold and his son, when they were the first to develop marine chronometers that could be produced in quantity at reasonable prices. Those technically superior, widely distributed chronometers reflected Arnold & Son’s commitment to exceptional precision and solved the problem of determining longitude at sea.

Upholding that legacy, Arnold & Son’s master watchmakers and engineers thrive on creating new complicated movements for exquisite timepieces. Such is the case with the TBTE watch, a truly innovative, technical and architectural achievement. While the true beat seconds are displayed by a large central hand on the dial side, the mechanism itself is located in all its beauty on the reverse of the movement. Thus, having the tourbillon located dial side, the movement has an intriguing complication to admire on each side. Making the true beat seconds complication even more alluring is the fact that the true beat seconds bridge is shaped like a Celtic battle axe and the lever like an anchor – paying homage to Arnold’s maritime achievements.

Aesthetically what sets Arnold & Son’s new TBTE Tourbillon apart is its modern take on the distinguished “English” movement design: The main pivoting elements in the movement are mounted on their own bridge. The tourbillon and motion-work bridges are classically triangular but are skeletonised. The combination of multilevel bridges and open-worked main plate gives an incredible depth and three-dimensional effect to the watch and thus a modern look. The unique Arnold & Son design is also reflected by the three-spoke wheels. This same three-spoke design can also be found in the tourbillon cage and the openings in the main plate. The decoration of the main plate is a reminiscence of an old guilloché pattern found on the cases of antique Arnold & Son pocket watches. The main plate is also skeletonised around the barrel and the tourbillon carriage allowing to look through the movement and therefore through the watch itself.

When compared to more conventional tourbillons found today, the TBTE model is said to be “inverted”, that is to say most technical elements and visually interesting features are shown on the dial side, when those would normally be hidden on the reverse of the dial. Other typically English technical idiosyncrasies will seduce even the most demanding watch connoisseurs. Take, for instance, the solid gold chatons or the symmetrical layout of the movement; to achieve such a feat requires overcoming a number of technical challenges. Thus the barrel spring and the tourbillon cage are centred along the watch’s longitudinal axis. When examining the gear train and the winding system, one notes the traditional construction used in high-end pocket watches that involves the use of “wolf-teeth”, an asymmetrical tooth system featuring curved teeth used primarily to improve the smoothness of the overall movement and to enhance its elegant design.

It goes without saying that every finishing touch on this striking piece, with such movement decoration as hand-chamfered bridges and, even more demanding, hand-chamfered wheels with polished edges has been done by hand by Arnold & Son’s master watchmakers, hence bringing more brilliance and depth to each decorative element.

This unique timepiece will be produced in a limited edition of 28 pieces, in a 44 mm 18-carat red gold case.

Pre Baselworld 2015 - Moser & Cie Concept Watch

To introduce the new model that Moser & Cie has previewed ahead of Baselworld 2015, I decided to cite the writer Seth Godin and his famous book “Purple Cow”, a sort of mantra for those who have decided to create their own brand and to set up their marketing campaign, in a way that will allow their product or service to really stand out. This result, if applied to high-end watchmaking, is hard to achieve if not impossible, since it's not easy for new luxury brands to stand out and attract customers who are often loyal to a small bunch of strong and renowned brands. Moser & Cie, which has a longstanding tradition in watchmaking and was founded in 1828 in Schaffausen (I suggest you read the brand's history on their website by clicking HERE), has been very brave (as well as smart) mainly for two reasons: it has given up massive ad campaigns and has followed a path that is opposite to today's trend in fine watchmaking, that is often all about making super-complicated, overdesigned and sometimes bizarre timepieces, just to attract new potential customers. The outcome is a Concept Watch, laconically referred to as Reference 343-0XXX.

Moser & Cie has therefore occupied an area that most fine watchmakers have actually abandoned, and has managed to capture the most difficult thing to communicate today: simplicity, a place where many connoisseurs actually live, though taken to the extreme in order to declare its vision: it's the product and the product only to market itself. The Moser & Cie Concept Watch is a three hands mechanical timepiece, where the power reserve indicator is placed on the movement side (the brand realizes the neatest and purest timepieces when it comes to design: a few years ago I had to actually read one of their timepieces’ technical sheet, to realize that it was in fact a perpetual calendar). No logo and indexes on its dial because, if a product is recognizable, you need nothing but functionality (you would recognize a 991 from a distance even without its logo or emblem). A clear reference to the brand's design is its fumé dial, a hallmark of any Moser & Cie.

The case is white gold and is 40,8mm wide and 10,9mm thick; the movement, caliber HMC 343, is made in-house, in a manufacture that employs just 50 people and produces just 1000 watches a year, made for those who appreciate the core of fine watchmaking and are not buying one after having seen an ad campaign with their favourite sports athlete (I associate the Moser & Cie's intimate approach to watchmaking to that used by some fine Japanese watchmakers). While waiting to get my hands on this beauty, here is a live photo of the timepiece which I found on the brand's official Instagram account, that you can reach via this link.