The Latest Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon 41.5 Strikes With Stellar Ray Dials

In 2013, Arnold & Son freed the Moon from its traditional position in a small aperture at 6 o’clock and let it perform its cycle of waxing and waning in a very large 29mm window spanning the dial from 10 to 2 o’clock. Known as the Perpetual Moon, the realistic hand-engraved 11.2mm moon was accompanied in its cycles by constellations and a blue guilloché dial. Revisited with different dial textures materials, A&S revisited its Perpetual Moon with a beautiful golden-coloured Mexican obsidian dial two years ago. This year, the brand revisits this beauty in a smaller 41.5mm case size in red gold or platinum with stunning “Stellar Rays” dials in royal blue or salmon pink.

redesigned Case

The case of the Perpetual Moon has been redesigned and reduced its diameter from 42mm to 41.5mm, and its case height from 11.43mm to 11.30mm – not spectacular reductions, but the important thing is that they have not affected the size of the dial. The lugs have been simplified with a tauter profile and bevelled edges, and the width of the bezel has been reduced, giving precedence to the dial.

Stellar Rays

The fascinating pleated decoration on the dial – named Stellar Rays – is the result of engraving. However, to add more interest and volume to the composition, the width and depth of the rays are not uniform.  Available in salmon pink and blue, the colour is obtained with a PVD treatment and then treated with several layers of transparent lacquer. The irregular rays and the lacquer play with the light, adding depth to the dial and producing contrasting areas of shadow and light.

The red gold model flaunts the deep blue dial and echoes the case colour with golden faceted hands and hour markers, and a golden frame on the moon aperture. The platinum version features the salmon-pink dial and uses rhodium-plated details on the dial.

In a departure from former editions of the Perpetual Moon, the large moon is made of mother-of-pearl with hand-painted details to recreate the uneven surface of our neighbouring satellite. In addition, the mother-of-pearl discs are coated with Super-LumiNova producing a realistic glow in the dark. The blue PVD-treated and grained sky hosts the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia constellations. Hand-painted and coated with Super-LumiNova, the constellations chosen have been used by navigators to find their bearings at sea and are a reference to John Arnold’s marine chronometers.

Calibre A&S 1512

With a deviation of only one day every 122 years, the precision moon phase display has a novel adjustment system placed on the movement side. Traditional moon phases are usually adjusted by the crown, and it’s tricky to get the position of the moon just right on the dial. To counter this common problem, A&S has placed a second moon phase indicator with a precise scale and representations of the cycles on the caseback, allowing you to adjust the phases with extra precision.

Powered by calibre A&S1512, the double barrels provide a hearty 90-hour power reserve and attractive finishings, including polished and chamfered bridges, circular satin-finished wheels, blued chamfered screws with polished heads and Côtes de Genève stripes radiating from the centre of the bridge.

Availability & Price

Both the red gold and platinum models of the Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon 41.5 come with a blue hand-stitched alligator strap and a pin buckle in red gold or white gold for the platinum version. The red gold model, which retails for CHF 34,500 (incl. tax), joins the permanent collection, while the platinum is a limited edition of 28 and retails for CHF 46,500 (incl. tax).

For more information, please visit Arnold & Son.com.