Ancient And Alive
Baltic amber, formed over millennia through fossilisation, captures the fiery hues of autumn conifers and the luminous translucency of resin. This rare and complex resin is showcased in all its splendour on the Arnold & Son HM Steel Amber, adorning the almost bare dial framed within an ultra-thin steel case.
Arnold & Son continues its exploration of extraordinary materials, following timepieces featuring charoite, specular haematite, and meteorite. A one-of-a-kind creation from the Double Tourbillon collection was the first to showcase Baltic amber’s distinctive pale yellow glow. Difficult to source and challenging to work with, the brand took several months securing the precious amber needed for this exclusive series of 38 timepieces.
By Chance
A 1.6-kilogram block of amber, fossilised over 30 million years ago, was chosen. Its rarity was only part of the challenge — each nodule carried an inherent risk, as the quality of its interior remained unknown until cut. There was no certainty that the material would be suitable for crafting the dial.
Cylinders were carefully extracted from the amber block, cut, and inspected individually. Imperfect bases and fragile sections were set aside, with only the most robust and visually refined pieces selected. No two dials are identical, each distinguished by delicate streaks and subtle variations in tone.
Rare
Baltic amber is rarely seen in watchmaking. Fossilised over thousands of years from conifer resin, it is light, almost laminated, fragile yet resilient. Exposure to air and light deepens its surface to a brownish red, while the core retains a distinctive pale yellow — selected by Arnold & Son for this edition.
With no complications, the timepiece is simply drilled at the centre to accommodate the hour and minute hands, allowing the organic splendour of the dial to take center stage. The HM collection holds a special place in the Arnold & Son repertoire, reserved for exceptional pieces. This edition introduces a refined new direction, housed in a very thin 39.5mm steel case.
Beautifully Constructed
To complement the richness of the dial, Arnold & Son selected one of its most iconic movements. The A&S1001 calibre, like all of the brand’s movements, is entirely developed, produced, decorated, assembled, adjusted and cased up by the manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
This calibre presents an ultra-thin architecture, with a total thickness limited to 2.7 mm, allowing for a case that is just 7.82 mm deep. Combined with an oscillation frequency of 3 Hz, it offers an impressive 90-hour power reserve.
The caseback side of the A&S1001 calibre is also decorated in its entirety. Its surface is adorned with radiating Côtes de Genève stripes that emanate from the balance staff: the nerve centre of the movement. Finally, the corners are lowered and polished, contrasting with the entirely circular-grained mainplate underneath.
Discover Arnold & Son timepieces at Sincere Fine Watches and SHH boutiques across Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Locate our boutiques here.