Arnold & Son Adds “Year of the Ox” Edition to Perpetual Moon Collection


With the growing prominence of the Chinese consumer, and increased interest throughout the world in the Chinese Zodiac Calendar, recent years have seen a growing proliferation of luxury watchmaker developing special editions in celebration of the Chinese New Year. The “Year of the Ox” in 2021 (which begins on February 12) has been no exception; we’ve already shown you the Petite Heuer Minute Buffalo models from Jaquet Droz, and today we’ll take a look at another prominent timepiece that embodies the theme, Arnold & Son’s “Year of the Ox” Perpetual Moon, which brings together precious metals, high grade finishing, and meticulously detailed dial artwork to its now-familiar Perpetual Moon collection.

As in all of Arnold & Son’s modern watches, with this one we find a clear effort toward refinement, from its case to its core. The case itself is constructed of 18k rose gold and features a relatively wide diameter, at 42 mm, along with a thickness of just 12.16 mm. Its lugs and bezel have a stepped appearance, while the crown is executed in an unusual, almost flattened-onion style, complementing the wider style of the case. Offering 30 meters of water resistance, the case has a fine polished finishing throughout.

Under the anti-reflective, domed sapphire crystal lies the centerpiece of the new model, its finely executed and multi-textured dial. Foremost among its talking points, of course, is the artistry seen on its bottom half, with a hand-engraved yellow-gold buffalo taking center stage against a background of hand-painted pink-gold-powder pagodas and silver-powder constellations in a black guilloché sky. Each of the powders is laced with Super-LumiNova, lending the model an extra artistic intrigue in all lighting conditions. Then, opposite the buffalo motif, the Perpetual Moon’s namesake moon phase slowly rotates near the top of the dial, the moon itself constructed of mother-of-pearl with hand-painted shadows and additional luminous accenting for its own constellation.

Interestingly, the dial is primarily composed of the mineral hematite, demonstrating Arnold & Son’s commitment to using uncommon materials in the Perpetual Moon family — the most recent member of which used obsidian for its dial. We see the watch’s traditional timekeeping elements in the applied hour markers along its edge, and the matching, stylized sword hands for the hour and minute; no additional seconds hand is present to draw attention away from the dial’s artistry.

Powering the “Year of the Ox” model is Caliber A&S1512, an in-house-developed, hand-wound mechanism executed by Arnold & Son. It features a 90-hour power reserve and a frequency of 21,600 vph, and is visible behind a sapphire exhibition caseback. Its various lavishly finished elements include the main plate, rhodium-plated with côtes de Genève stripes radiating from its center; the polished and chamfered bridges; the wheels with circular brushed finishing; and the individually polished and chamfered blued screws.

The Arnold & Son “Year of the Ox” Perpetual Moon will be limited to eight total editions, each priced at CHF 49,900 (or about $55,245) and available through Arnold & Son boutiques and authorized retailers.

To learn more or inquire for purchase, visit Arnold & Son’s website, here.

No Responses to “Arnold & Son Adds “Year of the Ox” Edition to Perpetual Moon Collection”

Show all responses
Leave a Reply