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Key takeaways
• Arnold & Son introduced the DSTB Stop-Seconds, combining a dial-side true-beat complication with a stop-seconds mechanism for precise time setting.
• The watch is available in two 18-piece limited editions: 18-carat red gold with a Cliff Grey dial and 950 platinum with a Kingsand dial.
• Powered by the in-house automatic A&S6303 caliber, it features a 55-hour power reserve and traditional hand-finishing visible through the sapphire case back.
True to its founder’s spirit, one of the pioneers of marine chronometry, Arnold & Son continues to explore three defining fields: Astronomy, World Time, and Chronometry. The DSTB Stop-Seconds falls within the latter and is offered in 18-carat 5N red gold or 950 platinum, each in a limited edition of 18 pieces. The DSTB collection is distinguished by the precision with which the seconds can be read, thanks to the rare true-seconds complication, as on a marine chronometer. Its sophisticated mechanism is visible on the dial. The two limited editions of the DSTB Stop-Seconds also feature an additional function closely associated with chronometry: the stop-seconds function. Activated by pulling out the winding crown, this function stops the seconds hand, allowing the time to be set to the exact second, as was once the practice with chronometers carried aboard ocean-going vessels.
Pushing the Boundaries of Precision
A flagship model in the chronometry collection, the latest version of the DSTB, short for Dial-Side True Beat, adds a stop-seconds function to its signature true-seconds complication, combining tradition with technical sophistication. Each new 42 mm version is limited to 18 pieces: the red gold model features a grained dial with a Cliff Grey PVD treatment, while the platinum model has a grained dial with a Kingsand PVD treatment.
Building on Inspiration
The deadbeat-seconds, or true-seconds, function was a natural source of inspiration for Arnold & Son, as it was among the key features of the precision instruments John Arnold supplied to the Royal Navy. In his timepieces, the balance wheels, driven by a detent escapement, beat once every half-second (7,200 vibrations per hour, or two per second). For the DSTB collection, Arnold & Son made the complication visible on the dial, allowing the true seconds to be read accurately at a glance. With gold bridges and a release mechanism terminating in a fire-blued steel marine anchor, the complication creates a striking spectacle as the long, slender seconds hand jumps sharply and cleanly from one second marker to the next above the dial.
A Tribute to Marine Chronometers
Throughout the history of marine chronometry, accurate timekeeping was not a luxury, but a matter of life and death, particularly for sailors. At sea, precise timekeeping made it possible to determine longitude. A deviation of just one second from Greenwich Mean Time could result in a positional error of 463.8 meters. The DSTB Stop-Seconds pays tribute to these high-seas pioneers by adding a stop-seconds mechanism, allowing the seconds hand to be halted and the time set with exceptional accuracy.
The Art of Setting a Chronometer
During the era of great ocean voyages, marine chronometers were designed to keep time with exceptional precision. However, once wound, some could not start on their own. The mechanism had to be started manually. Sailors would therefore set the time in advance, then wait for a precise time signal from Greenwich before starting the chronometer. Once started, it would run continuously throughout the voyage.
Rather than correcting the time regularly, navigators monitored its “daily rate”, the number of seconds it gained or lost each day. For their sextant observations, they used a pocket watch synchronized with the reference chronometer, which remained safely stowed away, protected from shocks and moisture. The chronometer therefore ran uninterrupted, while the comparison watch provided the reference time on deck.
A Key Innovation
Today, the in-house automatic A&S6303 caliber, with a 55-hour power reserve, uses a Swiss lever escapement. Self-starting, the caliber lends itself naturally to adding a stop-seconds mechanism, allowing greater precision when setting the time. This stops the seconds hand so that the watch, with its deadbeat-seconds function, can be accurately synchronized with a reference time source.
Stop-Seconds: A Complex Mechanism
While the operation itself is simple to understand and perform, the mechanism that makes it possible proved considerably more complex to develop. Stopping a deadbeat-seconds mechanism, which is constantly under tension and stores and releases energy every second, required a dedicated stop lever designed to restart it instantly when the crown is pushed back in. Though visible neither from the dial side nor through the transparent case back, the mechanism is subtle and ingenious. It combines the originality of the seconds display with the rare pleasure of setting the time with absolute precision.
Exceptional Finishing
The case backs feature flat sapphire crystals that reveal components of the movement, which is entirely developed, machined, assembled, and regulated at the Chaux-de-Fonds manufacture. The watches are water-resistant to 3 bar. Also visible is the extensively openworked 22-carat gold oscillating weight, decorated with guilloché and bearing John Arnold’s cherished anchor ex-libris, the emblem of the company. The opening likewise reveals the traditional finishing applied to the main components of this modern, compact caliber. The bridges, embellished with radial Côtes de Genève, are hand-chamfered; the screws are blued and profiled; the main plate is circular-grained; and the Swiss lever regulating system beats at the now-standard rate of 28,800 vibrations per hour.
Colors to Honor John Arnold
The dial is often considered a watch’s face. For these new DSTB models, Arnold & Son chose a finely grained dial finish. For the 18-carat red gold model, the PVD treatment comes in a shade known as Cliff Grey, evoking the cliffs of John Arnold’s native Cornwall. A hand-stitched alligator leather strap in matching tones completes the model and is secured with a pin buckle. For the platinum version, the grained finish comes in Kingsand, a color inspired by the brass main plates of John Arnold’s movements, which he had gilded to protect them from oxidation. The strap is in ink-blue alligator leather and is also fastened with a pin buckle. In both references, the Roman-numeral sub-dials are cut from white opal and framed by a red-gold or platinum ring. Their subtly concave surface adds depth to the composition while discreetly recalling the white enamel dials of John Arnold’s watches, which likewise featured a raised profile.
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