Arnold & Sons is a brand I’ve been keeping tabs on, as they’ve brought some rather interesting designs to the table (and we’ve written about them previously). One of their latest, the Time Pyramid, is literally an award-winning piece (2nd place in the Watch of the Year by Swiss magazine ‘Montres Passion’). And frankly, even if it wasn’t, you’ve got to admit that this is one of the more interesting watches you’ve seen.
The star of this show, and rightfully so, is the movement. It’s the A&S1615 calibre, which in this model we see appearing in grey color (to match the 44.6mm steel case). The skeletonized movement is stacked in such a way that the shape evokes a pyramid. It also makes it look like the movement is floating in space, and has barely enough components to actually function as a watch.
But, function it does. The main time is displayed in the lower half of the watch, where a third piece of sapphire crystal shows up in the form of the dial. The hour markers are etched into this surface, and the minute track appears courtesy of the silver ring on it’s edge.
While it’s keeping time, you’ll be able to see the movement train at work, as it stretches from the 6 o’clock position (where the two barrels reside) up to the 12 o’clock position, where you have the balance wheel. Oh, and with those barrels – you actually have separate power reserve indicators – one for each barrel. These are indicated via the squiggly hands on either side of the case.
You might be think that this would be redundant information, as each hand should indicate the same level. In actuality, you’ll be able to see as the first barrel transfers power to the second. As the first barrel winds the second, you’ll see the second indicator rise as the indicator for the first barrel falls. This should prove rather interesting to watch as you top off the 90-hour power reserve.
There is one last surprise waiting for us with this piece. In many ways, it’s firmly a luxury dress piece. Or, another way of looking at it, it’s sort of an anti-sports watch. The surprise, then, is that the hands are actually luminous filled. Now, they’re small, so they won’t be lighting up the night, but it’s a nice, practical, add to an already intriguing watch.
All told, this is a seriously impressive watch – both in terms of technical ability A&S has demonstrated creating this timepiece, as well as in the visual display you’ll have on your wrist, should you pick one up. While the original gold version of the Time Pyramid came in at a price of $40,350 (and is currently available), the steel variant brings the price down a bit, coming in at $29,850 (availability hasn’t been formally announced yet). No, I’ll likely not see one of these anytime soon – but it’s fun to dream, isn’t it? arnoldandson.com
