BOUTIQUE
ARNOLD & SON
Globetrotter
This new 45mm steel watch is perfect for world
time fans who prefer dial maps to less graphic
displays of multiple time zones. The three-dimen-
sional map is actually a hemispherical dome that
appears to float over most of the dial and is held
into place by a large arched bridge that spans
almost the entire diameter of the dial.
The disk supported by that bridge offers the
wearer a view of the northern hemisphere that
rotates once every 24 hours and serves as the
generalized world-time display as well as the
night-day indicator. For the latter purpose, the
surrounding bezel-like sapphire disc is transpar-
ent between 6:00 and 18:00, and translucent from
18:00 to 6:00, making daytime and nighttime easily
evident. Still, determining world times with this
globe will always be approximate, given the lack of
city indications and marks to align them with.
With world time precision not a strong point
on the Globetrotter, one should instead enjoy the
artistry here. Arnold has excelled in that regard. To
create the highly detailed globe display, Arnold and
Son starts with a rounded piece of brass,
chemically etches the oceans and continents,
sandblasts it to create the mountains, and then
hand-lacquers in the blue oceans.
Red-lacquered-filled local time hands contrast
nicely with all the blue, black and silver on the dial,
making local time easy to see while retaining the
eye’s focus on the globe. Both the main time display
as well as the world-time function can be adjusted
forward and backward.
This is a fairly large watch, measuring 45mm in
diameter and 17.2mm thick, or 10.4mm without the
crystal. At $16,995, the Arnold & Son Globetrotter
won’t be the least expensive globe-focused world
timer out there by any means, but at this level of
in-house craftsmanship, and with its apparently
one-of-a-kind artistic display, it’s one of the most
unusual. Price: $16,995.
IW RATING
Design: 8 (out of 10)
Detailed globe takes center stage.
Innovation: 6
Exceptional torque conversion and use.
Finissage: 8
Black & grey finishes over traditional movement
décor is superb.
Legibility: 7
Easy enough to read the local time.
Rarity: 6
Production not limited.
Value: 7
Reasonable initial price.
Overall iW rating: 42 (out of 60)
38 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | FALL 2018