Description

Updated Jan 2, 2008

Arnold & Son was a premier British watchmaker that specialized in navigation timepieces for longitude location back when the Brits were assembling an empire and networking the world via sailing ships. Now a Swiss watchbuilder co-habiting the same tent with Graham (another once-British specialist in chronographs) under Swiss parent The British Masters, Arnold & Sons continues the brand's traditional navigation focus.

The Scout is an arresting watch, though not for being loud but for being beautiful and functionally interesting. Using an Arnold-modified commodity Swiss automatic movement, the Scout displays primary time, plus a second time zone. The second time zone display doubles as a solar compass and the circumference bezel permits easy and precise triangulation for fixing your unknown position at sea, referencing the known position of at two mapped features. The orange and black color scheme on the face is enhanced by the craft of the compass point markers. All the navigation graduations are precisely rendered.

This watch has a polished stainless steel case with a coin-edged outer bezel. The casework is at Jaeger levels and the best I've seen for anything not made by Jaeger than has a street price under $5000. At 44.5mm diameter, the Scout isn't small, but it doesn't wear like a pie plate either. The case contours and its relative thinness for a multi-function watch, plus the beauty of its face, make it tasteful yet loaded with presence.

The Scout has a sapphire display back, and the movement elements in view are nicely decorated. The watch is not made in high volume and the dealer network is small. You won't see it on every wrist. It's not a known icon; Arnold is a brand in-the-making in the modern watch world, and the Scout won't broadcast status other than that which derives from taste, imagination and an appreciation for the distinctive. The Scout comes on a synthetic rubber black or yellow strap with polished and signed buckle. A stainless steel bracelet is an option. (via Arnold & Sons)