Judging by the latest launches seen at the SIHH 2019, aventurine seems to be a popular choice for dials, particularly for astronomically themed watches. Arnold & Son confirms this trend with its brand-new Perpetual Moon with a midnight blue aventurine dial paired with a 42 millimetre 18-carat rose gold case.
The new model joins two existing HM Perpetual Moon versions in the collection, which is available in steel with a black dial or rose-gold with a cream dial. A similar model is available with two separate moon phase displays, called the “Double Hemisphere”. The aventurine dial, with its inclusions that reflect the light and hint at the night sky, underscores the astronomical theme of this watch, which has one of the biggest moon phase displays available on the market (the moon alone is over one centimetre in diameter) and also one of the most precise, requiring a correction only once every 122 years!
The moon is also three-dimensional, which imposes strict tolerance requirements for the clearance around the moon phase disc and is an exact duplicate, in 18-carat rose gold, of an intricately hand-engraved moon. In this model it is housed on an engine-turned disc featuring sparkling gold stars.
Aside from its size and precision, the Arnold & Son HM Perpetual Moon Aventurine has other features that set it apart from other moon phase watches. The moon phase complication itself is not simply a module added to a base movement, it is fully integrated into the A&S 1512 hand-wound calibre. Thanks to two mainspring barrels, this movement offers a highly respectable power reserve of 90 hours. A more practical feature is a second moon phase indication that is visible on the back of the movement through the sapphire crystal case back. This moon phase has a graduated scale showing the eight main phases of the moon and has a pointer hand that allows precise setting of the current moon phase.
The view through the case back also shows off the fine decorations on the movement that are typical of a high-end mechanical watch. The movement bridges are chamfered by hand and their edges are polished, the upper surfaces of the bridges are decorated with a distinctive Côtes de Genève rayonnantes pattern and the gear wheels are circular grained. All screws are blued with polished and chamfered edges. The ensemble is completed with a hand-stitched brown alligator leather strap.
