ARNOLD & SON WATCHES
Arnold & Son is a fine Swiss watchmaking brand with English heritage. Named after the 18th century English watchmaker John Arnold, the company perpetuates today his legacy, exploring contemporary ways to interpret traditional watch craftsmanship.
From its Manufacture based in La Chaux-de-Fonds, cradle of the Swiss watchmaking industry, Arnold & Son develops its timepieces in-house including its complicated calibres.
John Arnold
Renowned for his ingenuity and work on marine chronometers, John Arnold (~1736 – 1799) is one of the very few watchmakers to have achieved legendary status by revolutionising his field of study.
Born in Cornwall, he learnt from his watchmaker father before training in the Netherlands. He obtained complete watchmaking proficiency at a time when the Kingdom of Great Britain dominated the production of precision timepieces. He was later joined by his son John Roger Arnold, who eventually took over from his father.
Arnold also produced some of the most accurate marine chronometers of the 18th century and won several awards from the Bureau des Longitudes, spurring him on in his research into timekeeping. He also filed a number of patents, including one for a compensation balance featuring a bimetallic balance-spiral (1775) and another for a helical balance spring with terminal curves (1782).
He also produced simplified chronometer design principles that permitted mass production of these timepieces, a number of which were made available to His Majesty’s Royal Navy, making John Arnold one of its principal suppliers.
One of his most significant contributions was the modern definition of the term ‘chronometer’, which today refers to a high-precision timepiece driven by a movement that has passed an accuracy inspection carried out by an official neutral body.
Arnold & Son SA
Arnold & Son was revived in 1998 by Les Monts SA along with other iconic English brands like Graham London. Co-founded by Eric Loth and Pierre-André Finazzi, this La Chaux-de-Fonds based company became The British Masters S.A. in 2001.
In 2010, the Swiss movement manufacturing firm La Joux-Perret acquired Arnold & Son brand. Subsequently, The British Masters SA changed its name to Graham SA.
In 2012, the Citizen Watch Group of Japan purchased the Prothor group, the holding company of Manufacture La Joux-Perret SA, Arnold & Son and component maker Prototec SA.
Arnold & Son Watch Collections
The flagship collections of the brand are Ultrathin Tourbillon, Luna Magna, Perpetual Moon, Nebula, Globetrotter, Tourbillon Chrono 36, Time Pyramid, DSTB and Eight-Day. Arnold & Son also offers exclusive timepieces from its Grandes Complications and Métiers D’arts ranges.
