Description

Arnold & Son reimagines the world-time complication in a magnificent, sculptural fashion with the Globetrotter.

Between the 18th and 19th century, Arnold & Son made a name for itself by creating some of the most precise marine chronometers of the epoch, which were used not just to tell the time, but as navigational instruments to determine longitude and sail safely from one location to another. Arnold & Son chronometers have taken part in extraordinary voyages, including James Cook voyages to the Pacific Ocean, as well as Sir John Franklin’s ill-fated third and final expedition to the icy waters north of Canada in 1845.

Held by a large central arched bridge spanning the entire diameter of the dial, the Globetrotter’s three-dimensional world-time display takes centre stage. At 45 mm wide and 17.23 mm at its highest point, the Globetrotter features one of the world’s largest rotating 3D world-time display on a wristwatch. Depicting a view of the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere as seen from space as if directly above the North Pole the Globetrotter’s representation of our planet is exquisitely detailed. Starting with a rounded piece of brass, the different textures of the oceans and continents are brought out by chemical etching with a mask, followed by polishing the upper surfaces. The mountainous areas are then sandblasted to create a sense of visual depth, then the oceans are lacquered by hand with different blue tones. The entire world-time disk is then treated with a layer of clear lacquer, and finally the entire component is polished. The result is a hemispherical disk full of lifelike details.