The beauty of many millennia of fossilisation. The fiery shades of conifers in autumn. The radiant translucency of resin. Baltic amber reveals the richness of life, the complexity of nature and the magic of the passing of time. This rare and challenging fossilised resin is showcased in all its splendour on HM Steel Amber. It adorns the almost bare dial, framed by an ultra-thin steel case. Arnold & Son plays a new hand and continues to innovate in the field of exceptional materials.
The house settled on a block weighing 1.6 kilograms, fossilised more than 30 million years ago. Not only is this amber rare, but there is a risk associated with any nodule, as it is impossible to know the quality of the contents in advance. The material may not have been suitable for making the dial.
Cylinders were extracted from the block, cut and then inspected one at a time. The imperfect bases were rejected, as were the most fragile portions. Only high-quality specimens that met the criteria for solidity and appearance were kept. Amber’s visual characteristics are one of its unique assets: no two pieces have exactly the same pattern of streaks. The combination of colours is even more refined, with the hue of the amber reflecting and subtly blending with an ‘imperial green’ alligator leather strap.
Baltic amber is a little-known material in watchmaking. Formed by thousands of years of fossilisation of conifer resin, it is light, almost laminated, fragile yet resilient. The colour changes on contact with air and light, bordering on a brownish red at the surface. The heart, meanwhile, is a pale yellow, and it is this distinctive shade that has been selected by Arnold & Son.
The HM Steel Amber dial takes up all the space. As it has no complications, the timepiece is simply drilled in the centre to accommodate the hour and minute hands that give it its name. The HM collection has a special place in the Arnold & Son catalogue. Only used on an exceptional basis, this edition takes it in a new direction. The house has given it a very thin steel case with a diameter of 39.5 mm.
To echo the density of the dial, Arnold & Son chose one of its most iconic movements. The A&S1001 calibre, like all the house’s movements, is entirely developed, produced, decorated, assembled, adjusted and cased up by the manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds.
This calibre presents an ultra-thin architecture, with a total thickness limited to 2.7 mm, allowing for a case that is just 7.82 mm deep. Combined with an oscillation frequency of 3 Hz, it offers a remarkable 90 hours of autonomy.
The case-back side of the A&S1001 calibre is also decorated in its entirety. Its surface is adorned with radiating Côtes de Genève stripes that emanate from the balance staff: the nerve centre of the movement. Finally, the corners are lowered and polished, contrasting with the entirely circular-grained mainplate underneath.
