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Registered: August 2004
Review: Arnold & Son HMS1 with Calibre A&S1001 Hand-Wound Movement
Mon, 26 May 2014 21:31
Background
In 1995, Les Monts S.A. acquired some of the finest historical names in English watchmaking, including Graham and Arnold & Son. In 1998, Les Monts S.A. co-founders Eric Loth, Pierre-André Finazz and Dr. Ernst Thomke revived Arnold & Son in La Chaux-de-Fonds. From its inception, Arnold & Son focused on being the British Breguet. However, it struggled to develop beyond a niche luxury brand since only a couple hundred timepieces were produced each year. In 2001, after Finazz left the firm, Les Monts S.A. changed its name to The British Masters S.A. In 2010, Arnold & Son separated from The British Masters as part of a joint venture with Swiss movement manufacturer La Joux-Perret. In 2012, Citizen purchased the Swiss holding company Prothor Holding S.A. and acquired its assets, Manufacture La Joux-Perret, component manufacturer Prototec and Arnold & Son.
Despite its rocky start, Arnold & Son has made tremendous strides over the past two years. Sébastien Chaulmontet is the head of movement development and responsible for creating several impressive and sophisticated movements. Today, Arnold & Son has two collections, the Instrument Collection and the Royal Collection. The HMS1 is an understated three hand watch in the Royal Collection. The timepiece is classical and elegant with a stainless steel case, anthracite dial, and a sapphire crystal display black that reveals a superbly finished manufacture hand-wound movement. The HMS1 is available in a range of dial colours and case metals; I chose to review the stainless steel model that retails for $10,095.
HMS1 with stainless steel case & anthracite dial, Ref. 1LCAP.S02A.C111S (LE of 250)
The Dial
The HMS1 is a three hand dress watch that indicates the hours, minutes and seconds. The domed sapphire crystal is treated with anti-glare on both sides for a clear view of the dial. The anthracite dial has a sunray finish. A laser engraved ring demarcates the minute track and creates a sunken effect. The faceted and polished hour markers are applied. The large seconds subdial is sunk at 6 o'clock with crisp printing, adding an elegance to the understated dial.
Overall, the dial is balanced and well-proportioned, which is a clear indication that the calibre was designed specifically for this timepiece.
Anthracite dial with sunray finish
Applied hour markers are faceted and polished
I'm uncertain whether Arnold & Son makes its own dials or outsources them. Regardless, the company made two mistakes. Its first mistake was manufacturing a timepiece with a flawed dial. The second mistake was sending the noticeably flawed dial to me for review. Given that the HMS1 was announced in 2012, and delivery of this timepiece did not take place until a year later in late 2013, I will give the company the benefit of the doubt that the oversight in quality control was a result of its acquisition and transition to new management. The dial is a matter that can easily be remedied by the manufactory; however, once I noticed the flaw above the minute track between 11 and 12 o'clock, it was something I could not help but notice from thereon.
The Case
The 40mm stainless steel case is perfectly proportioned to the dial. The voluptuous, double-shouldered bezel is inspired by an historical 19th century John Arnold pocket chronometer. The bezel and case sides are polished to a mirror shine. The curved lugs are beautifully finished with polished top surfaces, hand-bevelled and polished edges, and brushed sides. The lugs are also fitted with mirror-polished screws for the strap. The case is water resistant to 30 meters.
Oversized Crown
The oversized crown is well crafted and finished. It is bead blasted with a polished anchor logo at its center. The crown protrudes beyond the case back and I would prefer a smaller crown. However, the oversized crown does make time-setting and manual winding easier.
Oversized crown for time-setting & manual winding
The Movement
Turning the watch over, the sapphire crystal display back reveals the beautifully finished Calibre A&S1001 hand-wound movement. The 21-jewel, 2.7mm ultra-thin double barrel manufacture movement generates a 90-hour power reserve. Combining traditional craftsmanship with a modern aesthetic, the nickel-silver movement is treated with a grey surface treatment and decorated with straight Côtes de Genève guilloché on the bridges and balance cock, perlage mainplate, hand-chamfered bridges with hand-polished edges, fine circular grain wheels and mirror-polished screws.
Notably, the movement fills the case perfectly because it is designed and manufactured specifically for the HMS1 with the case proportions in mind. Even this base movement is developed, produced and assembled in-house in the Arnold & Son manufactory in La Chaux-de-Fonds. Arnold & Son never uses the same movement in a different model.
The precision movement also performed as good as it looks. Over four weeks, the HMS1 achieved an accuracy rate of +3/-2 seconds per day.
Beautifully finished Calibre A&S1001 hand-wound manufacture movement
The Strap
The timepiece is fitted with a hand-stitched black alligator strap and a fine finished tang buckle.
Hand-stitched alligator strap with signed tang buckle
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