Swiss watchmaker Arnold & Son has revealed two new Ultrathin Skeleton timepiece models ahead of Watches and Wonders 2024. The exceptionally thin skeletonized ultrathin flying tourbillon timepieces, offered in red gold and platinum, feature new cases measuring a mere 8.4 mm thick and 41.5 mm in diameter – and housing one of the world’s thinnest flying tourbillon movements.
The finesse of curves
With its graceful curves and wide apertures, Ultrathin Tourbillon Skeleton also stands out for its slimness. Its new case, with a diameter of 41.5 mm and a thickness of 8.4 mm, presents the flying tourbillon calibre in its purest expression. The Ultrathin Tourbillon Skeleton collection, adorned in red gold or platinum, is issued in two limited series featuring 28 watches apiece.
Arnold & Son continues its tour of the Ultrathin Tourbillon collection. The A&S8320 calibre unveils its curves, apertures and details within a 41.5 mm case in either red gold (5N) or platinum (PT 950), each released in a run of 28 timepieces. Encased in this precious housing, Arnold & Son’s flying tourbillon stands out for its finesse and precision.
Finesse, because at just 3.3 mm thick, it is one of the slimmest skeleton tourbillon calibres in existence. Precision, because this one-minute flying tourbillon is assembled with a variable-inertia balance for enhanced calibration stability.
Radiating originality
The purpose of a skeleton is to convey a message, be it geometric, generic or minimal. For Ultrathin Tourbillon Skeleton, the skeletonisation of the calibre reveals pronounced curves and numerous inflection points that are highlighted by an original finish. On both the Ultrathin Tourbillon Skeleton Red Gold and Platinum, the bridges are treated with rose-gold PVD (4N) after being decorated with radiating Côtes de Genève stripes.
The flange around the calibre adopts this same finish, clearly revealing the Arnold & Son signature at 6 o’clock and enabling the off-centred white opal dial to be displayed in its purest form.
Golden carriage
At the heart of Ultrathin Tourbillon Skeleton beats the A&S8320 calibre, whose architecture and slimness are its principal protagonists. Designed without an upper bridge to minimise its thickness, the calibre is classed as a flying tourbillon.
The variable-inertia balance with inertia blocks ensures more precise calibration over time. The slender triangular carriage is supported by a double arrow, which is actually a counterpoise. The arrowhead on the staff of the escape wheel serves as a seconds pointer, as the carriage completes one rotation per minute.
Performance reserve
The changes to the tourbillon carriage and regulating organ give the A&S8320 calibre a power reserve of 100 hours. While this is a larger power reserve than for standard tourbillons, particularly slim ones, it is entirely in line with the performance regularly achieved by Arnold & Son calibres.
Arnold & Son Ultrathin Tourbillon Skeleton Red Gold & UltraThin Tourbillon Skeleton Platinum Technical Specifications
References
- red gold: 1UTBR.Z01A.C246R, 28 timepieces – CHF 74,400 incl. tax (subject to change)
- platinum: 1UTBX.Z01A.C245X, 28 timepieces – CHF 86,200 incl. tax (subject to change)
Functions
- hours, minutes
Movement
- Calibre A&S8320, 1-minute flying tourbillon, manual winding
- Jewels: 29
- Diameter: 32.00 mm
- Thickness: 3.30 mm
- Power reserve 100 hours
- Frequency: 3 Hz / 21,600 vph
- Finishes:
- mainplate: skeletonised, rose-gold PVD treatment (4N), Côtes de Genève stripes radiating from the centre
- bridges: skeletonised, rose-gold PVD treatment (4N), polished and chamfered by hand, Côtes de Genève stripes radiating from the centre
- wheels: circular satin-finished
- screws: blued and chamfered, mirror-polished heads
- tourbillon carriage: ‘Arnold & Son’ signature, polished, satin-finished and chamfered by hand
Case
- Material: 18-carat (5N) red gold or platinum (PT 950)
- Diameter: 41.50 mm
- Thickness: 8.40 mm (with crystal)
- Crystal: domed sapphire with an anti-reflective coating on both sides
- Case back: sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating
- Water-resistance: 3 bar (30 metres/100 feet)
Dial
- White opal
Strap
- Red gold: blue alligator leather, black alligator leather lining, hand-stitched
- Platinum: brown alligator leather, black alligator leather lining, hand-stitched
- Clasp: folding clasp in titanium with cover in 18-carat (5N) red gold or platinum (PT 950)
About Arnold & Son
Arnold & Son is named after John Arnold, a renowned English watchmaker of the 18th century. The golden age of maritime explorations and discoveries ushered this precision into a new technical ideal – determining longitude at sea. Its immediate corollary was the identification of local time, which changed constantly as the observer moved along an east-west axis. Astronomy, chronometry, and what we now call world time are thus inextricably linked within one and the same question, to which John Arnold and his son devoted their lives, their art, and their genius.This is how these three dimensions – Astronomy, Chronometry and World Time – have come to be embodied in the House’s contemporary timepieces. Echoes of John Arnold’s inventions and preoccupations, these principles represent the foundations on which the Arnold & Son collections are based. The twenty-plus calibers presented to date by Arnold & Son have all been designed and developed in-house and produced by its sister manufacturer, La Joux-Perret in La Chaux-de-Fonds (Switzerland). This independence and creativity demonstrate the House’s ability to perpetuate John Arnold’s exceptional inventions.
For more information, visit arnoldandson.com.