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With a timepiece that references its English watchmaking heritage, Arnold & Son unveils the TB88 featuring the hand-finished A&S5003 caliber. Conceived, designed and manufactured in-house, this superbly engineered wristwatch heralds a new collection – the Royal Collection that combines classical styling with leading-edge technology.

TB88

Timeless elegance meets innovative technology

John Arnold was an exceptional watchmaker, who excelled in the development and production of marine chronometers. With his son, he built up a company that established itself as one of the most reputable suppliers of timepieces to the Royal Navy as well as intrepid explorers like James Cook, Matthew Flinders and George Vancouver, to name but a few. By the early 19th century, he had several major patents to his name and created a minor storm in precision timekeeping with the Arnold No. 36, the first-ever watch to be called a 'chronometer' – a term used to this day for a supremely accurate timepiece. The Arnold No. 36 was considered so important that it was included in the collection of the National Maritime Museum in London, where it can be seen to this day.

The latest model from Arnold & Son, the TB88, is proof that the company has lost none of its appetite for innovative technology or precision timekeeping. The A&S5003 caliber brings together all the technical and aesthetic characteristics of a classical John Arnold chronometer. The letters 'TB' stand for 'true beat', a complication that alludes to the precision timekeeping required for navigation at sea. Unlike conventional mechanical watches, a true beat movement measures out time in complete seconds rather than fractions dependent on the balance frequency. This is useful for determining the exact time and, consequently, longitude, and makes it invaluable at sea.

The TB88 is also a tribute to John Arnold's earliest known pocket watch, of which the original case bears the number '88'. The number is replicated by the design of the movement in this latest model, with its perfectly symmetrical layout featuring the twin barrels at the top, the balance wheel between 4 and 5 o'clock and the true beat seconds indicator between 7 and 8. The watch movement is 'inverted', which simply means that the technically interesting features are on the dial side of the movement instead of being hidden away on the reverse. This showcases the two barrels, which generate a full 100 hours' power reserve when fully wound, and the Breguet overcoil balance spring. Bending and fitting the spring by hand is a delicate and highly skilled operation mastered by a precious few watchmakers.

But the feature that unquestionably sets Arnold & Son's new TB88 apart is its unique 'English' design, as expressed through features like the straight-cut bridges. Each of the pivoting elements in the movement is mounted on its own bridge, 16 in total. Further shining examples of watchmaking at its finest are the hand-chamfered edges of the bridges and other key parts of the movement, together with the fascinating juxtaposition of the black and brushed components.

The TB88 from Arnold & Son is housed in either a 18-carat rose gold case or stainless steel case measuring 46 millimeters in diameter, which is water-resistant to 30 meters and secured to the wearer's wrist by a hand-stitched black alligator leather strap.

TB88

Main technical characteristics:

Caliber : A&S5003

Exclusive Arnold & Son mechanical movement, hand-wound, 32 jewels, diameter 37.8 mm, thickness 5.9 mm, power reserve 100 h, two barrels, 18'000 vibrations/h, Breguet spring

Functions : hours, minutes, true beat seconds at 8 o'clock

Movement decoration :

18-carat rose gold case model:

nickel-silver movement, black ruthenium treated with Haute Horlogerie finishing: manually chamfered bridges with polished edges and brushed surfaces, mirror-polished screws

Stainless steel case model:

nickel-silver movement, NAC grey treated with Haute Horlogerie finishing: manually chamfered bridges with polished edges and brushed surfaces, mirror-polished screws

Case : 18-carat rose gold or stainless steel, diameter 46 mm, cambered sapphire with anti-reflective coating on both sides, case back see-through sapphire, water-resistant to 30 m

Strap : hand-stitched black alligator leather

References :
1TBAP.B01A.C113A 18-carat rose gold case

1TBAS.S01A.C113S Stainless steel case

Arnold & Son: a brief history

In a direct response to the British Government's search for an answer to the problem of calculating longitude reliably at sea, John Arnold founded a watchmaking company in London in 1764. He soon established a reputation as a specialist in marine timepieces, inventing both the detent escapement and the bimetallic balance, before emerging as one of four winners who shared the Longitude Prize in 1770. His son, John Roger, joined the firm in 1796, and Arnold & Son rapidly became the leading supplier of chronometers to the Royal Navy. John Roger worked closely with the French watchmaking genius Abraham-Louis Breguet, who paid tribute to John senior by integrating his first working tourbillon in an Arnold marine chronometer, which he presented to his son. The instrument, which must rank as one of the most extraordinary pieces in watchmaking history, can be seen to this day at the British Museum. Inspired by John Arnold's relentless quest for precision and innovative technology, the modern-day Arnold & Son company keeps this fine English watchmaking tradition alive at its headquarters in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the cradle of modern Swiss watchmaking.