Arnold & Son: Globetrotter

Arnold & Son reimagines the world-time complication in a magnificent, sculptural fashion with the Globetrotter.

Between the 18th and 19th century, Arnold & Son made a name for itself by creating some of the most precise marine chronometers of the epoch, which were used not just to tell the time, but as navigational instruments

Arnold & Son has created a timepiece for the modern-day navigator, always on the move from one time zone to the next: The Globetrotter, which reimagined the world-time function in a three-dimensional way. Held by a large central arched bridge spanning the entire diameter of the dial, the Globetrotter’s three-dimensional world-time display takes centre stage. At 45 mm wide and 17.23 mm at its highest point, the Globetrotter features one of the world’s largest rotating 3D world-time display on a wristwatch.

Depicting a view of the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere as seen from space as if directly above the North Pole the Globetrotter’s representation of our planet is exquisitely detailed. Starting with a rounded piece of brass, the different textures of the oceans and continents are brought out by chemical etching with a mask, followed by polishing the upper surfaces. The mountainous areas are then sandblasted to create a sense of visual depth, then the oceans are lacquered by hand with different blue tones. The entire world-time disk is then treated with a layer of clear lacquer, and finally the entire component is polished. The result is a hemispherical disk full of lifelike details.

Seemingly floating above a silvery-white opaline dial with Roman numerals for the hour hand and a circular brushed chapter ring for the minutes, the world-time display is surrounded by a 24-hour sapphire disk fixed to the same bridge that hold the hemisphere, transparent between 06:00 and 18:00 and with a translucent metallic treatment from 18:00 to 06:00, serving as a day and night indicator. The world-time makes one complete rotation every 24 hours.

Intuitive to read and adjust, the Globetrotter features a three-position crown system. The first position is used to manually wind the movement, the second position sets the local time and the final position is used to set the hour and minute hands and the world-time. The hour and minute hands are in blued steel, placed under the hemisphere, as if circling in its periphery. To enhance legibility, the hands are filled with red lacquer.

Entirely developed and manufactured in-house, the Globetrotter features an automatic winding system by means of a central, rotor, engraved with a hobnail motif with a black ADLC treatment. When fully wound, the movement provides a power reserve of 45 hours. (Price CHF 14.900 TAX excl)

By Valentina Della Costa