The new Arnold & Son website chapter Métiers d'Art ~
Decorative Arts gives you a hands-on experience of traditional
English-style watchmaking featuring beautiful Métiers d'Art
techniques. Each Métiers d'Art timepiece isan eloquent expression
of elegance and sophistication in the inimitable English style and
demonstrates the brand's traditional prowess in the classical
decorative arts.Browse through the fascinating stories around
Arnold & Son's Métiers d'Art timepieces. Explore for yourself
the new Métiers d'Art chapter at www.arnoldandson.com
John Arnold and, later, his son John Roger established towering
reputations for the innovation and state-of-the-art technology that
went into their timepieces. But from the start, the intricacy and
exquisite workmanship of their movements was mirrored in the purely
decorative elements of their timepieces. The foundations of John
Arnold's reputation were laid when he presented his elaborately
ornamented half-quarter repeater ring to George III. Among his work
were pocket watches with hand-engraved movements andchamplevéenamel
cases. Even his marine chronometers had hand-engraved balance cocks
with the floral motifs typical of the English style.
True to its founder, Arnold & Son today carefully preserves
and cultivates the skilled creative craftsmanship in the form of
hand-finished engravings and miniature paintings that have been
characteristic of the brand throughout its history. Today, the
company has its own qualified hand-engravers, who specialize in a
traditional art form involving the use of hardened steel tools
called burins in combination with other special tools. These create
cuts, lines and texturing that build up entire images, often with a
breathtaking richness of detail, and are featured in several
watches in the Royal and Instrument collections, either on the dial
or as exquisite details on the movement itself. Examples include
the HMS Victory set featuring three scenes of the renowned HMS
Victory battleship, the TE8, which has a spectacular entirely
hand-engraved movement with unique motif, the HMS Lady, which has
also an entirely hand-engraved movement with English-style floral
motifs and the UTTE in the Instrument collection with its
hand-engraved tourbillon bridge.
Further evidence of the brand's commitment to traditional
craftsmanship is furnished by the delicate hand-finished miniature
paintings featured on the Hornet James Cook set and depicting
scenes from the famous explorer's three voyages, or the filigree
East India Company set, where the hand-finished miniatures stand
out almost transparently against the mother-of-pearl
background.
We believe the best way to find out what the new Métiers d'Art
website chapter has to offer is to pay us a visit. To do that and
stay connected with the world of Arnold & Son, simply go to: www.arnoldandson.com