Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. Arnold & Son Enters the Integrated Sports Watch Game with the Longitude Titanium
Arnold & Son launches its first luxury sports watch collection with subtle allusions to John Arnold’s precision maritime chronometers in a contemporary key.
No brand, it seems, is immune to the allure of the luxury sports watch, sporty-chic watches with integrated bracelets. The latest brand to dip its toe into the highly infested luxury sports watch waters is Arnold & Son, which introduces its first integrated sports watch at Watches and Wonders 2024. Christened the Longitude in honour of John Arnold’s historical marine chronometers, the layout of the first model echoes these historical pieces with its power reserve display at noon and small seconds at 6 o’clock. Not only does the layout evoke the marine chronometers of its famous ancestor, but the new automatic movement is a COSC-certified chronometer.
While luxury sports watches have long been the domain of high-end watch brands, – with the Royal Oak, the Nautilus and the Overseas or VC 222, and the Laureato being the main names to come to mind – many high-end independent watchmakers have taken on the challenge – names like Czapek with its Antarctique, Laurent Ferrier with the Sport Auto or H. Moser & Cie. with its Streamliner, signal this trend.
Playing the nautical card for its new Longitude Titanium, Arnold & Son explains that the inspiration behind the profile and curves of the case is taken from contemporary sailing boats; the case middle “is taut like a ship’s waterline” and the caseback is basin-shaped like a keel. Crafted in titanium, the case has a diameter of 42.5mm and a thickness of 12.25mm (incl. the sapphire crystal). Not the smallest neither the thinnest on the market… The screw-down crown flanked by crown guards and the screwed back guarantee the 100m water-resistance of the case.
Like John Arnold’s marine chronometers, the base of the bezel is graduated with 60 notches. The Longitude is decorated with polished bevels and satin-finished flat surfaces extending to the integrated titanium bracelet with rounded edges and slightly domed, H-shaped rounded links. In tune with today’s expectations for a luxury sports watch, the Longitude Titanium is equipped with an interchangeable strap system and is delivered with an additional textured rubber strap.
The sloping bezel allows for an expansive view of the dial, which is available in three colours inspired by John Arnold’s birthplace in Cornwall. The PVD colours – Kingsand Gold, Ocean Blue, and Fern Green – are decorated with a vertical brushed finish that matches that on the bezel and case surfaces. Adopting the layout of a classic John Arnold marine chronometer, the indications are aligned vertically with a power reserve indicator revealed by cutouts in the dial at noon, the central hour and minute hands and the small seconds at 6 o’clock. Graduated in size, the cutouts of the power reserve are indicated by a small hand. In contrast, the small seconds dial is slightly recessed and snailed, matching the texture of the peripheral minutes track.
Similar in shape to the rounded bracelet links, the applied hour markers and hour and minute hands are treated with Super-LumiNova. The Fern Green dial differs from the Kingsand Gold sandy-coloured and Ocean Blue dials in that its hour markers and hands are golden, while the other two have rhodium-plated hands and indices.
The new A&S6302 calibre, an automatic movement with COSC chronometer certification, powers the Longitude Titanium. Sticking to its maritime heritage, the 22k gold openworked rotor is reminiscent of the prow of an 18th-century English frigate and engraved with the graduations you might once have found on a sextant. Visible through the sapphire caseback, the movement is richly decorated, and the chamfered bridges display the brand’s signature Rayons de la Gloire striped finishing. The large barrel and oscillation frequency of 4Hz provide a 60-hour power reserve.
Availability & Price
The Longitude Titanium in Kingsand gold is a limited edition of 88 pieces and retails for CHF 22,600 (incl. VAT); the Ocean Blue and Fern Green are not limited and retail for CHF 21,500 (incl. VAT).
For more information, please visit arnoldandson.com.
3 responses
“The Kingsand Gold sandy-coloured dial differs from the Fern Green and Ocean Blue dials in that its hour markers and hands are golden, while the other two have rhodium-plated hands and indices.”
Actually no, the green dial has gold coloured hands and indices the sand and blue dials have rhodium plated hands and indices. The photographs make this clear.
Great to see a further upgrade in terms of movement finishing – there are some very nice interior angles on the rotor! This watch would look even better if they would utilise the movement of the Nebula watch.
I was initially quite excited by this move by A&S into integrated’s. Then I read the size and thickness of the thing. That’s pretty huge for a new watch of this type. And it’ll likely wear huge too, as IBSW’s usually do. This is more akin to an Overseas than a RO in girth! Very early 2000s.
I’m not keen on the notches at the base of the bezel either. It may be a historical trait of A&S marine chronometers. But here just gives the impression of a rotatable bezel that doesn’t rotate! I’m afraid this might have been a missed opportunity for A&S. It should have been smaller and considerably thinner. Maybe next time…