ARNOLD & SON – Time PYRAMID Stainless Steel

ARNOLD & SON – Instrument Time PYRAMID Stainless Steel NEW

Instrument Collection – Time Pyramid

Arnold & Son unveils a new reference of its iconic Time Pyramid featuring the hand-finished A&S1615 calibre treated in NAC grey, housed in a stainless steel case. The A&S1615 movement with unique skeletonised pyramid-shaped architecture, was conceived, designed and developed in-house. The movement A&S1615 seemingly floats between two sapphire crystals, the Time Pyramid is a masterful rendition of technical prowess and unparalleled elegance. This superbly engineered wristwatch is part of the brand’s Instrument Co that combines instrument precision with classical styling.

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Time Pyramid
Arnold & Son skeletonised manufacture movement A&S1615, hand-wound, sapphire dial,
Stainless Steel case, decorated case back with a guilloché pattern on both sides, diameter 44.6 mm
© Arnold & Son

Inspired by the regulators created by John and Roger Arnold over two hundred years ago, and by antique British skeleton clocks, the new Arnold & Son Time Pyramid offers a highly cohesive and seductive blend of watchmaking feats that includes regulator, skeleton, vertical linear movement, pyramid-placement of components and multi-dimensional depth.

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Exclusive Arnold & Son  

skeletonized manufacture mechanical movement A&S1615

© Arnold & Son

The skeletonised calibre A&S1615 follows the original regulators from the brand with its component positioning and detailed 3D visual appeal. Movement parts and watch indications are built on three levels, with the subsidiary seconds dial on the bottom, the hour indications on a sapphire crystal dial in the middle level, and a silver top ring for the minutes indication.

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While the movement is extremely thin - at just 4.4 mm - the multiple levels bring amazing depth and detail to the watch. To further enhance the balance and symmetry of the Time Pyramid, the crown (with Arnold & Son’s eng six o’clock.

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British skeleton clock, chain driven fuse,
England, 1830-1845
© Arnold & Son

The gear train runs vertically in a linear format connecting the two barrels at six o’clocktothe balance wheel at twelve , ando’clockendowingthe movement with its pyramid structure. The bridges are designed so that all of the wheels, the two mainspring barrels, the escapement and balance wheel are all magnificently visible from the dial side.

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Additionally, the movement is fitted with two power reserve indicators –one each on either side of the linear gear train – to display the energy level for each barrel separately. The power reserve hands indicate the reserve level via graduated dots (that are printed under the top sapphire crystal) in an arc format, and demonstrate how one barrel transfers energy to the second one when needed. Essentially, as the first barrel winds the second one, the power reserve indicator of the first barrel goes down, while the second one goes up –making for an accurate and intriguing readout. The two mainspring barrels supply the hand-wound calibre with an amazing 90 hours of power reserve, and provide a more constant force to the wheel train.

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Time Pyramid
Arnold & Son skeletonised manufacture
movement A&S1615, hand-wound, sapphire
dial, Stainless Steel case, decorated case back
with a guilloché pattern on both sides,
diameter 44.6 mm
© Arnold & Son

As with every esteemed Arnold & Son watch, the movement of the Time Pyramid is magnificently hand decorated with manually chamfered brides and high-polished edges, Côtes de Genève, circular satin-finished wheels and blued screws, all yielding a striking masterpiece of decorative craftsmanship and brilliant execution.

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 Each Time Pyramid wristwatch measures 44.6 mm in diameter in its classically elegant stainless steel case. Viewed from the side, the housing is stepped and tapers from top to bottom, the widest section accommodating the extra-large glass with the lower part narrowing to fit snugly on the wrist. Each is finished with an exquisite hand-stitched alligator strap.

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Technical Characteristics

Ref. 1TPAS.S01A.C124S Time Pyramid Stainless Steel case

Calibre:                                  
A&S1615
Exclusive Arnold & Son skeletonized mechanical movement,
hand-wound, 27 jewels, diameter 37 mm,
thickness 4.40 mm, power reserve over 90 h,
21’600 vibrations/h
Functions:
Hours, minutes, seconds, double power reserve indication
Movement decoration:
skeletonised nickel-silver movement, NAC grey treated with Haute
Horlogerie finishing: manually chamfered bridges with polished edges,
Côtes de Genève, circular satin-finished wheels, blued screws
Dial:  
Sapphire, circular satin-finished dial frame with chamfered and
polished edge
Hands: blued hands, hours and minutes hands with white Super-LumiNova®
Case:   
Stainless steel, diameter 44.6 mm,
Cambered sapphire with anti-reflective coating on both sides,
Closed case back and decorated with a guilloché pattern on both sides,
Strap:
Hand-stitched black alligator leather
Water resistance: 30 Meters

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info@arnoldandson.com
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MB&F – LEGACY MACHINE Perpetual Limited Edition

MB&F – LEGACY MACHINE Perpetual Limited Edition NEW

LEGACY MACHINE Perpetual

Reinventing the perpetual calendar

Beginning with a blank sheet of paper, MB&F and independent Irish watchmaker Stephen McDonnell have completely reinvented that most traditional of horological complications: the perpetual calendar. The result is Legacy Machine Perpetual, featuring a visually stunning in-house movement – developed from the ground up to eliminate the drawbacks of conventional perpetual calendars.

The fact that the new complication looks sensational and can be fully appreciated dial-side is just one of the many benefits offered by the new movement, controlled by a mechanical processor (patent pending).

 
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LM Perpetual features a fully integrated 581-component calibre − no module, no base movement − with a revolutionary new system for calculating the number of days in each month. And it holistically reinterprets the aesthetics of the perpetual calendar by placing the full complication on dial-free display underneath a spectacular suspended balance.

The perpetual calendar is one of the great traditional complications, calculating the apparently random complexity of the varying numbers of days in each month − including the 29 days in February during leap years. But traditional perpetual calendars do have a few drawbacks: dates can skip; they are relatively easy to damage if adjusted while the date is changing; and the complications are usually compromises of modules powered by base movements.

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The fully integrated, purpose-built movement of Legacy Machine Perpetual has been designed from scratch for trouble-free use: no more skipping dates or jamming gears, and the adjuster pushers automatically deactivate when the calendar changes, so no problems there either!

Traditional perpetual calendar mechanisms use a 31-day month as the default and basically "delete" superfluous dates for the months with fewer days – by fast-forwarding through the redundant dates during changeover. A traditional perpetual calendar changing from February 28 to March 1 scrolls quickly through the 29th, 30th and 31st to arrive at the 1st.

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LM Perpetual turns the traditional perpetual calendar system on its head by using a “mechanical processor” instead of the conventional space-consuming grand levier (big lever) system architecture. The mechanical processor utilises a default 28-day month and adds extra days as required. This means that each month always has the exact number of days required; there is no fast-forwarding or skipping redundant days. And while the leap year can only be set on traditional perpetual calendars by scrolling through up to 47 months, LM Perpetual has a dedicated quickset pusher to adjust the year.

With its open dial revealing the full complication and suspended balance, it's the harmonious mechanical beauty of LM Perpetual that really steals the show. And in an interesting technical twist, that eye-catching balance hovering on high is connected to the escapement on the back of the movement by what is likely to be the world's longest balance staff.

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Using an innovative system developed especially for Legacy Machine Perpetual, the subdials appear to "float" above the movement with no visible attachments. The skeletonised subdials rest on hidden studs, which is technically impossible with traditional perpetual calendar mechanisms because they would block the movement of the grand levier.

Taking a clockwise tour of the dial, at 12 o'clock we see the hours and minutes nestled between the elegant arches of the balance; day of the week at 3 o'clock, power reserve indicator at 4 o'clock, month at 6 o'clock, retrograde leap year indicator at 7 o'clock, and date at 9 o'clock. 

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LM Perpetual: complexity simplified with integrity and beauty.

Legacy Machine Perpetual launches with a limited edition of 25 pieces in 18K red gold and 25 pieces in platinum 950.

Legacy Machine Perpetual in detail

Inspiration and realisation

The Legacy Machine collection was conceived when MB&F owner and creative director Maximilian Büsser started fantasising. "What would have happened if I had been born in 1867 instead of 1967? In the early 1900s the first wristwatches appear, and I would want to create three-dimensional machines for the wrist, but Grendizers, Star Wars, and fighter jets would not have been around for my inspiration. But I do have pocket watches, the Eiffel Tower, and Jules Verne, so what might my 1900s machine look like? It has to be round and it has to be three-dimensional." The result of this was Legacy Machine No.1, first launched in 2011 – followed later by LM2 and LM101.

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The LM Perpetual project began with a meeting between Maximilian Büsser and Northern Irish watchmaker Stephen McDonnell. McDonnell had been a long-time Friend of the brand and played an instrumental role in the realisation of MB&F's very first timepiece, Horological Machine No.1.

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As Büsser was thinking of developing a perpetual calendar for the fourth watch in the Legacy Machine collection, McDonnell replied that he had an idea for a perpetual calendar that addresses many of the drawbacks associated with conventional examples.

Three years and a great many sleepless nights later, Legacy Machine Perpetual was born.

Conventional perpetual calendars

Conventional perpetual calendars are generally modules comprising the complication, which is fitted on top of an existing movement. The calendar indications are synchronised by a long lever (in French: grand levier) running across the top of the complication and passing through the centre. As the date changes, this long lever transmits information to the appropriate components and mechanisms by moving backwards and forwards.

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The existence of the grand levier means that there can be nothing in the centre of the complication that might impede it – like a suspended balance with its staff running right down through the centre of the movement to an escapement on the back.

This lever also means that perpetual calendars require a full dial, which may have cut-outs or windows, as it is impossible to support subdials with studs because they would block the motion of the big lever mechanism.

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In the traditional grand levier system, perpetual calendars assume that, by default, all months have 31 days. At the end of months with less than 31 days, the mechanism quickly skips through the superfluous dates before arriving at the 1st of the new month.

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Any manipulation or adjustment of the date during changeover can result in damage to the mechanism, requiring expensive repairs by the manufacturer. The dates can also jump or skip during changeover, negating the whole point of the perpetual calendar in the first place, which is not requiring adjustment for years. Or decades.

"I call perpetual calendars boomerang watches because they come back for repair so often,” says Maximilian Büsser. “The mechanisms jam, block, break, or jump days when they shouldn't."

 

Mechanical processor

Legacy Machine Perpetual uses a patent-pending “mechanical processor” consisting of a series of superimposed disks. This revolutionary processor takes the default number of days in the month at 28 – because, logically, all months have at least 28 days – and then adds the extra days as required by each individual month. This ensures that each month has exactly the right number of days. There is no "skipping over" redundant days, so there is no possibility of the date jumping incorrectly.



Using a planetary cam, the mechanical processor also enables quicksetting of the year so that it displays correctly in the four-year leap year cycle, whereas traditional perpetual calendar mechanisms require the user to scroll through up to 47 months to arrive at the right month and year.

The mechanical processor also enables an inbuilt safety feature that disconnects the quickset pushers during the date changeover, eliminating any risk of damage while the date is changing.

 

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While the conception and development of this mechanical processor-controlled perpetual calendar complication is a noteworthy achievement in itself, Stephen McDonnell went even further by managing to place all 581 components of the movement in virtually the same-sized case as LM1.

Opening up a new world of perpetual calendar aesthetics

Doing away with the calendar’s big lever has allowed for completely new aesthetics not possible when conventional systems are in use. MB&F’s mechanical processor enables the centre of the complication to be used, thereby saving space and allowing design freedom as the full dial is no longer necessary.

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Legacy Machine Perpetual takes advantage of its fully integrated movement to place the perpetual calendar mechanism on top of the movement main plate so that it can be appreciated from above. Legibility is often an issue with perpetual calendars due to the sheer number of indications, and LM Perpetual addresses this by using skeletonised subdials (except for the time indication) that appear to float above the complication with no apparent support from below.

Balance above, escapement below

In yet another innovation, Legacy Machine Perpetual uses what is likely to be the world's longest balance wheel pinion to connect that elegantly suspended balance, hovering above the top of the movement, to the escapement on the back of the movement. Ensuring the practicality and reliability of this approach was essential before any other development work began.

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While the view through the display back is animated by the escapement, it's the spectacular hand-finishing of the bridges and plates that really captivates the eye.

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Model: LM Perpetual

LEGACY MACHINE Perpetual Limited launch editions of 25 pieces in 18K Red Gold and 25 pieces in Platinum 950.

Engine:
Fully integrated perpetual calendar developed for MB&F by Stephen McDonnell,
featuring dial-side complication and mechanical processor system architecture with inbuilt safety mechanism.
Manual winding with double mainspring barrels.
Bespoke 14mm balance wheel with traditional regulating screws visible on top of the movement.
Superlative hand finishing throughout respecting 19 th century style;
internal bevel angles highlighting hand craft; polished bevels; Geneva waves; hand-made engravings.
Power reserve: 72 hours
Balance frequency: 18,000bph / 2.5Hz
Number of components: 581
Number of jewels: 41
Functions/indications:
Hours, minutes, day, date, month,
retrograde leap year and power reserve indicators.
Case:
Material: launch editions in 18K 5N+ Red Gold or Platinum 950
Dimensions: 44 mm x 17.5 mm
Number of components: 69 components
Water resistance: 30 m / 90' / 3 atm.
Sapphire crystals:
Sapphire crystals on top and display back treated with anti-reflective coating on both faces.
Strap & Buckle:
Black or dark brown hand-stitched alligator strap with gold / platinum folding buckle matching case material.

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