Arnold & Son: history, models and value

Founded

1764 (London); relaunched 1995

Founder(s)

John Arnold

Headquarters

La Chaux-de-Fonds

Owner / group

Citizen Watch Co.

Arnold & Son: origins and founding

The story starts in London. John Arnold set up as a watchmaker in Devereux Court on the Strand in 1762, helped by a loan from William McGuire, whose repeating watch he had repaired. In 1764 he presented King George III with a ring set with a tiny half-quarter repeating watch, which brought him royal favor. The brand today uses 1764 as its founding date.

Arnold's real field was the marine chronometer: a very precise clock that let ships find their longitude at sea. His chronometers sailed with Captain James Cook on his second Pacific voyage (1772–75).

Founders and family

John Arnold (1736–1799) trained in England, spent time in the Netherlands and became one of the leading English chronometer makers. He patented a compensation balance and a helical balance spring in 1775, and the "terminal curves" of the balance spring in 1782.

His son John Roger Arnold (1769–1843) studied in Paris with Abraham-Louis Breguet. He joined the business, which then traded as Arnold & Son, and took it over when his father retired in 1796. Breguet later mounted one of his first tourbillons in an Arnold chronometer as a tribute to John Arnold.

Arnold & Son history and milestones

• 1830–1840: John Roger Arnold works in partnership with John Dent (Arnold & Dent).
• 1843: After John Roger Arnold's death, Charles Frodsham takes over the firm; it later becomes Charles Frodsham & Co.
• 1995: The name is revived in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, by the Swiss company The British Masters, which also launched the sister brand Graham.
• 2010: The British Masters sells Arnold & Son to the movement maker La Joux-Perret.
• 2012: Citizen Watch of Japan buys Prothor Holding, the parent of La Joux-Perret and Arnold & Son, for CHF 64 million.

So there is no unbroken line from the London workshop to today's watches. The modern Arnold & Son is a Swiss brand that uses the English name and its chronometer heritage as its theme.

Famous Arnold & Son models

Modern Arnold & Son watches are mostly made in small series with complicated, open dials. Names you are likely to see:

• HM – simple hand-wound hours-and-minutes watches, often the entry point.
• Time Pyramid – skeleton watch with the gear train stacked in a pyramid.
• DSTB and other True Beat models – a seconds hand that jumps once per second, like an old deadbeat seconds clock.
• Luna Magna and Perpetual Moon – large moon-phase displays.
• Globetrotter and older Hornet World Timer – world time.
• Longitude, Nebula and Ultrathin Tourbillon.

Earlier references you may still find include the Grand Tourbillon, Longitude, Timekeeper, True North and TB88.

Movements and technique

Early modern Arnold & Son watches used movements from Jaquet (later La Joux-Perret) and modified Valjoux, ETA or Sellita bases. Since joining La Joux-Perret, the brand presents itself as an integrated manufacture that develops its own calibres, numbered with the prefix "A&S". Signature features are the True Beat jumping seconds, double escapements and double tourbillons.

Arnold & Son today

Arnold & Son is based in La Chaux-de-Fonds and belongs to the Citizen group, alongside La Joux-Perret. It sits in the luxury and haute horlogerie segment, with small production runs and many complications.

Arnold & Son prices on the pre-owned market

Arnold & Son is a niche brand, so pre-owned watches usually sell well below their original retail price. Simple time-only models such as the HM are the most common and the easiest to sell. Complications like the Time Pyramid, True Beat and tourbillon pieces attract collectors, but the buyer pool is small, so sales can take time. A full set (box, papers, warranty card) and a recent service history make a clear difference. Antique chronometers and pocket watches signed by John Arnold or John Roger Arnold are a separate market handled by specialist auction houses.

How to recognise a genuine Arnold & Son

Check that the dial and caseback are signed Arnold & Son and that the movement calibre (marked "A&S" on modern pieces) matches the model. The caseback usually shows a reference and an individual number; these should agree with the papers. Finishing on such small-series watches should be clean and even. Fakes of this brand are less common than for mass brands, but antique "Arnold" pocket watches deserve care: signatures were sometimes added later. Our guide on how to spot a fake watch covers the general checks.

What is your Arnold & Son worth?

Upload a few clear photos of the dial, caseback and movement (if visible) and get a free watch value estimate in minutes. If you need a written document for an estate, a divorce or insurance, we also offer a watch appraisal.

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