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Arnold & Son is a brand known to distort the conventions and reimagine the art of watchmaking with each of its timepieces. This legacy of whimsical, highly-technical watches started with the master horologist — John Arnold, after whom this Swiss brand is named. John Arnold was one of the most renowned watchmakers of the 18th century who held several patents, awards, and grants to his name. The creator of some of the most complex in-house calibres and the ingenious three-dimensional construction, Arnold & Son continues to create timepieces that push the envelope and make watches more than an instrument of time reading.
Arnold & Son's genesis can be traced back to John Arnold, who was not only a great watchmaker but a passionate inventor too. From the creation of a half-quarter repeater watch set in a ring to the invention of the detent escapement and the conception of terminal curves for the helical balance spring, his contributions to horological advancements during the 1770s are momentous. Of course, his most significant offering was the development of the pocket watch No 1/36, the first timepiece to be called a chronometer. He officially founded Arnold & Son in 1787 with his son, John Roger Arnold, who helmed the house for over half a century after the founder's retirement in 1796. Later in 1843, the ownership of the brand was transferred to Charles Frodsham — another renowned English watchmaker. However, despite all the success and laudable ingenuity, the house saw an unfortunate shutdown in the mid-19th century.
After lying dormant for several decades, Arnold & Son was revived in 1995 as a fully-integrated Swiss watch brand that took the legacy of John Arnold and his British roots forward. Currently, it is owned by the Citizen Watch Group and is based in La Chaux-de-Fonds in the Swiss Jura region.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Arnold & Son watches might not be for everyone. They delight only the most discerning enthusiasts who can appreciate watches for functions beyond mere time-telling and designs that are nothing close to conventional. By incorporating subjects like chronometry, astronomy, and world time, the maison is writing its own precepts of watchmaking, painting a contemporary horological landscape.
Collections like Tourbillon Chrono 36, Time Pyramid, and Nebula boldly eschew the conservative display of time, presenting unique skeleton dials and even more unique movement construction. On the other hand, lines like Metier D'Arts, Luna Magna, and Globetrotter manifest the maison’s adeptness in presenting watch complications in the most imaginative design forms. Each collection embodies Arnold & Son’s core philosophy of creativity, authenticity, aesthetics, and exclusivity. In addition, all Arnold & Son watches are powered by in-house-developed calibres that give way to the most intricate complications spanning an ultra-thin flying tourbillon, moon phase, dual time, world time and more.