Arnold & Son has a long and storied past filled with ornate complications that herald fine watchmaking and elegant design. In their newest addition to the Instrument Collection, the new Golden Wheel is updated from the previous model with touches like black numerals on the sapphire discs, a new outer ring on the dial, and a black ADLC dial plate. The Arnold & Son Golden Wheel Ref.1HVAR.M01A.C120A carries over the tradition of the Golden Wheel line, which was the first watch to have both wandering hours and true beat seconds complications together. A unique piece in an 18k red gold case, this watch looks as cool as ever.
The mother-of-pearl arc reaching from 10 to 2 provides a backdrop to the current hour that is displayed as a numeral that moves along a minute track, while the true or “dead” beat seconds are indicated by the central hand. The hours make their way to the top via three floating sapphire crystals that seem to hover above the dial with a simple arrow above each numeral to indicate the minutes. Wandering hours as a complication originates as far back as the 17th century, when it could be found in table clocks or those commissioned by such figures as Pope Alexander XII in 1656. Eventually, the craft made its way into pocket watches and as a result to modern wristwatches, which is quite a technical feat. Arnold & Son place a lot of emphasis on the fact that the Arnold & Son Golden Wheel is the world’s first wandering hour complication with true beat seconds in a wristwatch. True beat seconds, of course, create an effect in which the second hand “ticks” or “beats” each second rather than the customary sweeping motion typical of mechanical watches.
The new Arnold & Son Golden Wheel is housed in a 44mm 18k red-gold case with a 30-meter water-resistance and cambered sapphire crystals on the front and back. That’s not the only sapphire at work here, though. This new version features black numerals on the three sapphire discs as well as an ADLC treated dial plate with Côtes de Genève finishing and a newly designed outer ring, all of which promises to increase readability. The previous version featured golden numerals, so the black will surely ease the wearer’s eye here.
At 12 o’clock is a day/night indicator for both GMT time and home time, using fitting skeletonized and filled hands to tell them apart. The bottom half of this indicator is darkened, which assists the visual representation of this “night” portion of this disk. I do want the Arnold & Son logo was located elsewhere though, as its place interrupting the moments monitor at 12 o’clock can make exact time-setting difficult. Another niggling issue I discovered was that the next hand counterweight closely emulates the look of the house time hands, which may occasionally cause a moment of confusion when you glance down and see three hands pointing towards that dial. In an ideal world, I’d have loved to see the moment hands on each dial stretched just a bit further to correctly reach the minute track, and the hour hands shortened a bit to not overlap the hour mark, but that is a little aesthetic qualm which doesn’t impact utility.On the reverse side of this Arnold & Son DBG Skeleton, the bottom plate of this manufacture bore A&S1309 is revealed. The motion is made of nickel silver (also known as German silver or Maillechort, an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc) which was rhodium-plated and decorated using C?tes de Genève. The wheels are satin-finished and provide a contrasting three dimensional texture to the base plate, and involving the chamfered edges of the bridges, the golden gear train can be viewed. The movement is hand wound obviously, which contributes to its thinness at a mere 3.9mm. It features 42 stones and offers a 40 hour power reserve while the double accounts oscillate at 21,600vph, or 3Hz. That is definitely a highly refined motion, but compared to the depth of detail offered by this skeletonized dial, the reverse side of the movement almost feels like a letdown.
The Arnold & Son Golden Wheel is powered by the Arnold & Son manufacture self-winding A&S6018 that runs at 28,800vph and offers a 45-hour power reserve. Featuring hand-chamfered bridges, the movement is treated with palladium and has Côtes de Genève rayonnantes. The skeletonized weight is also palladium-treated and has smooth, brushed surfaces to create a fluid experience.
The update to the Arnold & Son Golden Wheel definitely increases the contrast and legibility of an already beautiful timepiece. I much prefer this variant to the previous for the inclusion of the black numerals on the sapphire discs alone. A wandering hours complication is rare, and Arnold & Son has managed to keep improving. It is always nice to see a brand not only take on the more complex complications, but pair them with special features such as the true beat seconds we have in this instance.
The Arnold & Son Golden Wheel comes paired with a dressy hand-stitched alligator leather strap in either brown or black. Pricing is $47,500. arnoldandson.com