2018 basel review
ARNOLD & SON
NEBULA LADY
With its polished steel or gold bridges arranged symmetrically around its wide open in-house Caliber A & S5101 , the Arnold & Son Nebula earned accolades as soon as it debuted two years ago at Baselworld . This year , Arnold & Son adds diamonds and red gold bridges to the red gold-cased version of the watch , places it on a white leather strap , and renames the result the Nebula Lady .
Dubbed the “ the skeleton watch just for her ,” the Nebula Lady simply amplifies what was already an attractive timepiece for anyone , male or female , who enjoys skeletonized and somewhat avant-garde design . Sized exactly like the original at 41.5mm in diameter , this new Nebula also fits a bit smaller on any wrist given its 8.7mm thickness and curved lugs .
Arnold & Son named the watch Nebula because of its bridges . They radiate from the perimeter of the dial toward the center to mimic an inverted , exploded star . Arnold & Son adds that this design also echoes its own brand history , much of it steeped in English movement architecture . These gold bridges , however , serve beyond their role as eye-candy because they support many of the in-house movement ’ s gears . Note that among those gears sit two mainspring barrels that together support a superior 90-hour power reserve .
Arnold & Son ’ s feminine enhancements focus on contrasting the silvery palladium-tone base plate with the gold bridges and case . Of course the latter also glitters now that it is set with ninety brilliant-cut white diamonds . In the Nebula Lady , the central hours and minutes hands as well as the small seconds hand are given a black treatment . Polished and faceted hour markers also nicely contrast against the palladium chapter ring . All of this color and contrast is then placed onto a white calf leather strap . The Arnold & Son Nebula Lady is a limited edition of fifty timepieces . Price : $ 35,000
96 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | SUMMER 2018