Home » Baselworld - World Watch and Jewellery Show » Baselworld 2014 Preview: Arnold & Son Instrument CTB – The First Wristwatch with Central Chronograph & Dead Beat Seconds
As Arnold & Son has announced, the Baselworld 2014 Watch & Jewelry Show will be the place to see the brand’s latest novelty, Instrument CTB. The watch is named after the acronym of its unusual combination of complications which was never before seen in a wristwatch– it brings together a chronograph and true beat seconds, which is why the watch features two central seconds hands. As it is the brand’s practice, the self-winding movement that was necessary for this is entirely designed and made by Arnold & Son. Another trait of the watch that results from the manufacturer’s policy is the fact that its movement also includes haute Horlogerie finishes. Arold & Son Instrument is enclosed in a stainless steel case and has a nice off-centered dials, one for hours and minutes and the other one for chrono minutes, which gives it a neat regulator-type appearance.
Baselworld 2014 Preview: Arnold & Son Instrument CTB Watch Side
Two Different Paced Second Hands on the Same Axis
Stemming from the Instrument collection, the latest newcomer is only the second chronograph made by the brand. However, that didn’t stop the British-Swiss watchmaker to create an original mixture of features for it. Not only that it has two second hands – one for a chronograph and the other for true beat seconds, but they are also mounted on the same axis. This sort of placement of two second hands that move in an entirely different fashion was quite a challenge in a technical sense, which is why Arnold & Son had to come up with two registered patents.
By the way, dead beat seconds which are also referred as true beat or secondes mortes in French is a complication which requires that the seconds hand of the watch moves in one second increments. Among the watches with the same complication we have previously covered there is another model by the same manufacturer named DSTB. While this seconds hand makes a single movement every second, the chronograph hand moves eight times (since the movement features the frequency of 28,800 vph). Once the chronograph is activated, two hands begin their little dance and even though it appears that chrono hand will catch up with the other one since it moves eight times more often, this of course never happens since it also moves in eight times smaller increments.
In-House Automatic Movement with High Horology Embellishments
The entire functioning of the watch, including these two central second hands of different nature is orchestrated by its proprietary A&S7103 caliber with 31 jewels. It is a mechanical self-winding movement with a column-wheel chronograph with another trait that will please the purists and those inclined toward traditional horological solutions. The in-house caliber is 30.4 mm wide and 8.5 mm thick. Thanks to the use of ball bearings made of ceramics, caliber A&S7103 features winding in both directions. As for its power storage, it lasts for 50 hours without the use of the chrono feature.
Baselworld 2014 Preview: Arnold & Son Instrument CTB Watch
Apart from the premiered set of features, the NAC gray treated caliber is embellished with abundance of high horology finishes, as it is the manufacturer’s custom. For starts, its bridges are manually chamfered and with polished edges. Next, we have circular graining and the radiating Geneva striping motif. Its wheels are with circular satin finishing, whereas screws are with beveled and highly polished heads. Finally, the oscillating weight utilized to power its automatic movement is skeletonized and made with brushed surfaces.
A Steel Medium-Sized Housing with a Transparent Back
Arnold & Son Instrument CTB timekeeper features a mid-sized (44 mm wide) round housing made of stainless steel. Surrounded with a fixed steel bezel there is the watch’s domed sapphire crystal with glare-proof treatment on both sides. The same material is likewise used for the transparent section on the case back of the watch which possesses only basic waterproofness to 30 meters. Beneath the cambered glass of the timekeeper with the reference number 1CHAS.S02AC121S lays a harmonious multi-layered light gray face with two silvery opaline off-centered dials and three different types of finishes for improved overall appearance. The main hour and minute dial is with Roman numerals and blued hand, while the chrono chronograph’s 60-minute counter features Arabic numerals and the same kind of pointer. For the attachment, the brand has chosen a leather strap in either brown or black color.
