Let’s Wax Lyrical about the Latest Perpetual Moon 41.5 Platinum Watch from Arnold & Son

There has been a deep emotional connection between humans and the moon for centuries. And we can never stop waxing eloquent about the beauty of the moon. So, if you are a true-blue selenophile (a person who loves the moon), you’d like Arnold & Son’s latest offering, Perpetual Moon 41.5 Platinum ‘Celestial Blue’ (Ref. 1GLBX.U01A.C200X). With a Stellar Rays dial, the collection is limited to only 38 pieces.

The new Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon Platinum watch is quite similar to the salmon pink and blue models released last year. But there are differences. For instance, the earlier models came in rose gold cases along with rose gold crowns while the latest one is housed in a platinum case with a platinum crown. It should also be noted here that in 2015, Arnold & Son changed the position of the moon, which was originally placed at 6 o’clock. Now, on the new watch, a window, stretching from 10 o’clock to 2 o’clock, displays the lunar cycle. The case of the Perpetual Moon has been redesigned and the size reduced from 42 mm to 41.5 mm. This is not particularly a staggering reduction — the dial still looks significantly big. The lugs get a tauter profile and bevelled edges, that are also less wide, compared with the previous models. 

The new watch has a pleated decoration on the dial, named Stellar Rays, which is a result of engraving. However, to add more heft and volume to the composition, the width and the depth of the ‘rays’ have not been made uniform. The colour is obtained with a PVD treatment and then treated with several layers of transparent lacquer. The irregular rays and the lacquer add more depth to the dial, producing contrasting areas of shadow and light. 

Arnold & Son crafted the large moon in mother-of-pearl with hand-painted details to recreate the uneven surface of the earth’s satellite. Also, the mother-of-pearl discs are coated with Super-LumiNova, ensuring a realistic glow in the dark. Even the constellations are hand-painted and coated with Super-LumiNova. There is no second hand but only sword-shaped hour and minute hands, and trapezoidal hour markers. The main plate on this timepiece gets Côtes de Genève stripes; the screws are blue in colour and chamfered, and the second moon phase indicator gets rhodium plating. The blue PVD-treated and grained ‘sky’ hosts the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia constellations. 

With a deviation of only one day every 122 years, the precision moon phase display has a novel adjustment system placed on the movement side. Usually, most of the complications can be adjusted via the crown, but getting the position right can be delicate. So the timepiece maker has placed a second moon phase indicator with a precise scale and representations of the cycles on the caseback. 

Powering the watch is the automatic, manual winding Calibre A&S1512 that delivers 90 hours of power reserve through a double barrel system. Turning the watch over showcases the sapphire skeleton caseback with the engraving of the individual watch number. Finishing the watch is a blue alligator leather with an 18 ct white gold pin buckle clasp.