Arnold & Son pays a special tribute to one of the nation’s most valued institutions – the National Museum of the Royal Navy by unveiling the Special Limited Edition of the TB Victory. This timepiece was created to pay homage to that most famous English warship, HMS Victory, which carried Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson to victory and death at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The TB Victory is inspired by the distinctive instrument-like chronometers produced by John Arnold and his son, John Roger Arnold, some 250 years ago. Their chronometers enabled 18th-century navigators to determine longitude at sea and helped establish the Royal Navy as the dominant force on the world’s oceans.
As Philippe Boven of Arnold & Son explains: “We are keenly aware of the close links between our company and the Royal Navy, and are presenting this special edition of the TB Victory to the National Museum as an expression of our respect and admiration for the Museum which keeps that unique heritage alive.” His sentiments are mirrored by those of Dr Dominic Tweddle, Director-General of the National Museum of the Royal Navy: “I am delighted and honoured to accept this unique timepiece from Arnold & Son on behalf of the Museum. It is an acknowledgement, exquisitely executed, of the significant role that HMS Victory has played in a long and glorious history.”
The 18 carat rose gold 44mm case contains a cream dial with a hand-engraved duplicated 22 carat solid gold appliqué image of the Victory, with all sails set, gracing the right side of the dial, with a distinctive off-centre subdial that tells the time of the day.
The timepiece’s complication is a modern rarity – a central true beat seconds that is made possible in a modern automatic winding system by the use of a patented system. Power for the TB Victory comes from an in-house A&S6103 calibre with ceramic ball bearing, 30 jewels and 50-hour power reserve -the first automatic movement with an integrated true beat system to be developed, designed and manufactured entirely at Arnold & Son’s workshops in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The exquisite decorations of the movement includes manually chamfered bridges and polished edges, fine circular graining and Côtes de Genève rayonnantes, a brushed and skeletonized rotor, and blued screws.
This unique edition of the TB Victory will be restricted to the single timepiece presented to the National Museum of the Royal Navy.
