Arnold & Son joins the fray of Rabbit Year issues with a new watch on their Perpetual Moon collection, with the huge moon phase display.
Press Release details with commentary in italics.
New: Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon Year of the Rabbit
The new Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon Year of the Rabbit has a retail price of CHF 57,000 inclusive of Swiss VAT. Limited edition of 8 pieces.
Commentary
Arnold & Son’s Perpetual Moon is one of the more interesting moon phase watches currently available. We wrote about the Perpetual Moon several occasions:
- Review: Arnold & Son HM Perpetual Moon in 2016
- The Arnold & Son HM Perpetual Moon Aventurine in 2020
- Arnold & Son introduces an 8 piece limited edition Perpetual Moon in an Japanese art themed “Year of the Ox”
Prices have increased steadily over the years. In 2021, The Year of the Ox Perpetual Moon had a retail price of CHF 49,900, but the new Perpetual Moon Year of the Rabbit for 2023 is now CHF 57,000. Both editions are in 5N red gold case.
The format remains similar to the Perpetual Moon for 2021 and 2022 *Year of the Tiger”), with the huge moon phase display occupying almost all the dial real estate of the top half, leaving the bottom half for the execution of the art work. The base material of the dial is now black aventurine instead of specular haematite. But the rabbit is hand engraved and burnished in 18k rose gold as was the ox. The background landscape is also hand-painted with gold powder enhanced with SuperLuminova.
The movement is also the same superb caliber A&S1512 used in all the Perpetual Moon watches.
Release details
Perpetual Moon “Year of the Rabbit”
A Lunar Rabbit
The year of the Water Rabbit has inspired a new artistic version of the Perpetual Moon. Arnold & Son has sculpted the animal in a calm yet watchful pose. It sits majestically against a backdrop of black aventurine, beneath a great mother-of-pearl moon. In Chinese Zodiac iconography, the water rabbit is the moon’s loyal companion. The sophistication of this dial, showcasing the artistic crafts, demonstrates Arnold & Son’s expertise. In addition to its fine watchmaking movement complete with large astronomic moon, the timepiece also displays masterful aesthetics. The Perpetual Moon “Year of the Rabbit” timepiece is at once powerfully symbolic, sophisticated and full of meaning.
Arnold & Son continues its celebration of the traditional Chinese calendar. To mark the dawn of the year of the Water Rabbit, the brand is releasing a new series limited to eight timepieces of its high-precision moon-phase model. The Perpetual Moon “Year of the Rabbit” timepiece features a sculpted golden rabbit set against a backdrop of black aventurine, posing next to a pagoda surrounded by waterfalls.
The year of the Water Rabbit begins on Saturday, 21 January 2023. In the founding legends of the Chinese Zodiac, the rabbit inhabits a white jade moon, to whom it serves as a pet. It embodies prudence and agility. When shown alongside the characteristic element of the year of the Water Rabbit, this animal promises longevity, peace and prosperity.
Celestial light
On the canvas offered by the dial of this exceptional timepiece, Arnold & Son has accommodated a large moon. In a large aperture, a turning disc reveals the waxing and waning of the night’s celestial body, the appearance of the crescent moon and its light. It is crafted from mother-of-pearl with painted elements in relief, all enhanced with Super-LumiNova.
Pale during the day, it shines brightly at night and is transformed, its face adorned with scintillating details. To add to the scene, the dial’s aquatic elements as well as the pagoda’s windows are also hand-painted with luminescent material. In the background, the disc bearing the star is made from deep black aventurine glass.
Artistic expression
The rabbit remains the dial’s key element. Sculpted in three dimensions, it is crafted from 18-carat rose gold. Its expression, its pose and the details of its fur are hand-engraved and -burnished to add depth and nuance. This painstaking work is worthy of the exceptional attention Arnold & Son has always paid to its limited series created in tribute to the Chinese Zodiac.
The same holds true for the dial. On a disc of black aventurine glass dotted with glittering inclusions, the foliage and pagoda decorations are hand-painted with gold powder. To complete this narrative tableau, the Perpetual Moon “Year of the Rabbit” model is mounted on a glistening black alligator leather strap with visible platinum stitching. It is lined with red alligator leather in a nod to the lucky colour of Chinese symbolism.
Expert watchmaking
Like all the movements used by Arnold & Son, the A&S1512 calibre was entirely developed, produced, decorated, assembled, adjusted and cased up at the brand’s Manufacture located in La Chaux-de-Fonds. This calibre is powered by a double barrel with an oscillation frequency of 3 Hz, delivering a 90-hour power reserve.
Last but not least, thanks to the Manufacture’s R&D efforts, the moon phase display of this movement is so precise that it will remain accurate for 122 years before deviating from the actual lunar cycle by one day. The Perpetual Moon “Year of the Rabbit” timepiece therefore works in perfect harmony with the astronomic, astrological and collection cycles. This sense of eternity is characteristic of all Arnold & Son creations.
Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon “Year of the Rabbit” Technical specifications
Functions hours, minutes, astronomical moon phases, second moon-phase indicator on the back
Movement
Calibre A&S1512, mechanical with manual winding
Jewels 27
Diameter 34 mm
Thickness 5.35 mm
Power reserve 90 hours
Frequency 3 Hz/21,600 vph
Finishes main plate: rhodium-plated, radiating Côtes de Genève stripes
bridges: polished and chamfered
wheels: circular satin-finished
screws: blued and chamfered, polished heads
second moon-phase indicator: rhodium-plated and circular-grained
Dial material: black aventurine glass
rabbit: 18-carat rose gold (4N), hand-engraved and -burnished finishes
landscape: hand-painted with gold powder, enhanced with Super-LumiNova
sky: black aventurine glass
constellations: hand-painted, enhanced with Super-LumiNova
moon: mother-of-pearl disc with hand-painted details, enhanced with Super-LumiNova
Case
Material 18-carat red gold (5N)
Diameter 41.5 mm
Thickness 11.67 mm
Crystal domed sapphire with an anti-reflective coating on both sides
Case back sapphire with an anti-reflective coating
Water resistance 30 m/100 feet
Strap
Materials glistening black alligator leather, red alligator leather lining, platinum thread (PT950), hand-stitched
Buckle pin buckle, 18-carat red gold (5N)
Reference 1GLBR.Z06A.C161A
Limited edition 8 timepieces
Swiss retail price CHF 57,000 including taxes (may be subject to modifications)
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