he Longitude 5°W watch, in titanium with a red gold 5N bezel ring, is inspired by the marine chronometers produced in a small series by John Arnold from 1775. It pays tribute to the key role they played in the conquest of the seas by the British navy thanks to the ability to calculate longitude easily. This piece, issued in a strictly limited edition of just 38, is driven by an in-house automatic calibre certified as a chronometer by the COSC. It features a power-reserve indicator and a large seconds counter on the Lizard Point Grey dial. This shade evokes the colours of the ocean as seen from Lizard Point, the southern-most tip of mainland Great Britain, situated at 5° longitude west and almost 50° latitude north.

You can hear tales of the high seas told by sailors in the taverns of the ports there. They tell of nautical adventures, with vivid descriptions of the wild wind whistling through the rigging and waves thundering against the hulls of the great sailing ships of yesteryear, creating a tense narrative that stirs the imagination. Amongst all these tales, certain ocean-swept locations return again and again – places sailors either dread or remember as defining moments in a life shaped by the sea.

Long-distance sailors speak of the legends of Cape Horn and its mighty waves. Others tell of the Cape of Good Hope which, at the tip of Africa, looks out onto the boundless oceans. Closer to home, English sailors are stirred by Lizard Point in Cornwall. This last stretch of land at the southern tip of Great Britain – nautical coordinates 49° 57′ 32″ north by 5° 12′ 23″ west – is not just the gateway to the trade winds of the southern seas, but also a place feared by sailors, who know it points towards the Isles of Scilly, a scattering of islets where, on 22 October 1707, an English fleet was wrecked due to a lack of precise navigational instruments. To avoid a repeat of this tragedy, in 1714 the British admiralty offered a prize of £20,000 to the first person to solve the challenging problem of calculating longitude at sea. As a homage to the iconic Lizard Point, located in the region where John Arnold was born, Arnold & Son present the Longitude 5°W watch in a limited edition of just 38.

True to the stylistic tradition initiated by John Arnold, the designers of Maison Arnold & Son have expertly crafted the 42.5-mm diameter case of the Longitude collection in grade 5 titanium. Its softly rounded shape, associated with sharper angles to capture the light, is inspired by the lines of modern sailing boats. The case band, like a waterline, is taut. The case back, like a keel, is concave. To highlight the exclusive character of this sport-chic model, an 18-carat red gold notched ring has been inserted between the case band and the slender bezel securing the slightly domed sapphire crystal. This delicate detail, reflecting the shape of the removable bezels of old marine chronometers, reinforces the refined luxury of this timekeeping instrument, certified as a chronometer by the Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute (COSC).

Around the 49th parallel, the North Atlantic often takes on a metallic grey hue as autumn storms approach. For this limited edition of 38 pieces, the dial of the Longitude 5°W watch imitates this colour in which the sea seems to meet the cloudy sky. To underscore the nautical allusion, Arnold & Son have applied a vertical satin finish to the dial, recalling the rolling waves that sweep across these wind-lashed stretches of ocean. Like a cluster of islands emerging from the mist, a reminder of the Isles of Scilly off Lizard Point, the power reserve indicators are displayed at 12 o’clock. Opposite, the watchmakers have placed the subdial, in which the small seconds hand makes its precise rotation. Restrained and harmonious, the ensemble is traversed by the skeletonised hour and minute hands, which, like the hour markers, are coated with luminescent material to ensure they can be seen in the dark.

The Longitude 5°W is driven by a mechanical self-winding calibre with the reference A&S6302. This movement, entirely developed, machined, assembled, finished and adjusted in the Arnold & Son workshops, can be seen through the titanium screw-down case back fitted with a sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating. It reveals the palladium-plated bridges, which are polished and chamfered, then adorned with a decorative pattern known as the “Rayons de la Gloire”, radiating from the centre to the rim. In this design, the 22-carat gold oscillating weight features a motif combining the profile of a noble ship with the shape of a sextant, the instrument used by sailors to determine their position in latitude and longitude. In this complex assembly where nothing is left to chance, the visible areas of the main plate are circular grained, the screws with mirror-polished surfaces are blued and chamfered, and the wheels are gilded and rimmed. The ensemble is driven by a Swiss lever escapement, whose balance oscillates at the now-standard rate of 28,800 vibrations per hour (4 Hz) and provides a 60-hour power reserve.

Although traditional in its design and construction, the Longitude 5°W is nevertheless a watch of its time. To ensure optimal comfort, Arnold & Son have opted to make the strap of this model, which is water-resistant to 100 metres, easily removable. This allows the watch to be styled as a dress piece with an alligator leather strap or fully adapted for sports use thanks to the option of pairing it with a flexible titanium bracelet.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Longitude Titanium 5°W Edition

• Functions hours, minutes, small seconds, power reserve

• Movement Calibre A&S6302, mechanical self-winding, COSC-certified Jewels 36 Diameter 33.00 mm Thickness 6.65 mm Power reserve 60 hours Frequency 4 Hz/28,000 vph Finishes main plate: palladium finish, circular-grained bridges: palladium finish, polished and chamfered, Rayons de la Gloire motif wheels: golden finish, rimmed screws: blued and chamfered, mirror-polished heads oscillating weight: 22-carat red gold (5N), skeletonised, chamfered, engraved

• Dial Lizard Point Grey vertical satin finish power reserve: gilded, mirror-polished small seconds: snailed hour markers: golden finish, coated with Super-LumiNova hands: golden finish, skeletonised, coated with Super-LumiNova

• Case Material titanium, bezel ring in 18-carat red gold (5N) Diameter 42.5 mm Thickness 12.25 mm (with crystal) Crystal sapphire, anti-reflective coating on both sides Case back sapphire crystal, anti-reflective coating Water resistance 10 bar (100 m/330 ft)

• Interchangeable strap titanium, folding clasp anthracite grey alligator leather, titanium pin buckle

Reference 1LTAT.N01A.N0262U

• Limited edition 38 pieces

• Swiss retail price CHF 25,900 incl. VAT (subject to change)