Demonstrating its rich British history and quality Swiss craftsmanship, the Arnold & Son Eight-Day Royal Navy brings the best from this manufacture in a stainless steel piece at a very nice entry level price point for this calibre of watch. This watch is a testament to Arnold & Son's tradition of building marine chronometers. With a stunning new eight-day power reserve movement, it is part of the sophisticated Royal Collection that took its inspiration from the timepieces commissioned by King George III. Measuring 43 mm in diameter, the watch is available in royal blue, black anthracite or silver grey polished lacquer guilloché. As we go hands-on with this elegant and classic looking timepiece, all we need to say before hand is that the pictures don't do justice when it comes to the intrinsic beauty of these three watches.
The polished lacquered guilloché dial, features a very well balanced layout with power reserve indicator at 12 and subsidiary seconds with date aperture at 6 o'clock. To further enhance the elegance of this dial, the calendar wheel matches the color of the dial to maintain an even flow of color. Applied markers and sword-shaped hands round out the design.
Fitted with a 43 mm x 10.7 mm stainless steel case with a superb classical design, the watch features a stepped case construction with cambered sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides and a sapphire display case back. The case is highly polished all round with the exception of the lug inserts that are exquisitely satin brushed finished. These inserts can be dismantled during servicing and refinished if necessary, making the process way easier than if they were not independently attached to the case.
Powered by the new Arnold & Son A&S1016 calibre, the watch features an eight-day power reserve and has a fully integrated power reserve display and date function. Despite all these features, this manual wound movement is only 4.7 mm thick. To further underscore this technical excellence and in typical Arnold & Son tradition, the 242-part, 33-jewel A&S1016 calibre is meticulously finished. The entire palladium-treated nickel-silver movement features hand finishing indicative of the finest haute horlogerie timepieces, including skeletonized and chamfered bridges with polished edges, Côtes de Genève rayonnantes and fine circular graining, circular-grained wheels, and blued screws with polished and chamfered edges. The main jewels are set in solid 18K gold chatons.
The Arnold & Son Eight-Day Royal Navy features an exquisitely hand-aged calfskin strap matching the color of the dial —with the exception of the silver grey reference sporting a brown strap. The strap is fitted with a stainless steel pin buckle.
On the wrist, the watch wears slightly bigger than its actual size and more like a 44 mm watch. The wrist presence is unparalleled and mesmerizing thanks to its elegant look rounded out by the lacquered ultra glossy dials on this watch. Our absolute favorite of these three watches is the one fitted with the Royal Blue dial. This is one of those timepieces where you get a lot of watch for the money.
Sticker Price $12,950 USD. For more info on Arnold & Son click here.
