Celestial brilliance is brought to life as 8 limited edition pieces exhibit spectacular diamonds & precision
August 26, 2021: The illuminous new limited series of the Luna Magna Ultimate I by Arnold & Son illustrates truly exceptional light and astronomical precision. With a watch face that features ruthenium crystals, a dial made of white opal and a bezel set with baguette-cut diamonds, it also features a three-dimensional moon paved with blue sapphires and diamonds.
Displaying superlative jewel-setting ability, both in the stones and techniques used, this piece was created as a series of high-end jewellery interpretations of the three-dimensional moon model after the presentation of the Luna Magna. This collection reveals a rare poetic and outstanding level of detail as a mechanical star measuring 12 mm is placed inside the watch.
This limited series of eight watches has been made using the most precious of metals. With a case measuring 44mm in diameter, made of white gold and set with 7.62 carats of the highest quality diamonds, these watches include 20 baguette-cut diamonds on the case’s lugs, which have been cut one by one to fit the unique shape of each mount.
With a fine ring constituting the bezel and orbiting the case of the CHF 169,000 Luna Magna Ultimate I, bearing a resemblance to the ring around the Saturn, it also contains 112 baguette-cut diamonds totalling 5.90 carats. The dual-row invisible setting that allows for radiance beyond comparison, it allows light to enter freely, as it would an open prism.
Making this watch exceptional is the material used to make the watch face - hundreds of pure ruthenium crystals making up a sparkling blue façade. This extremely hard metal belongs to the platinum element group, which means that they are found together in the same ore. Because the process to separate them is a complex one, it makes the ruthenium ten times rarer. In this limited-edition timepiece, it has been reshaped into crystals which are placed on the face plate before being blued.
A standout feature of the Luna Magna watches is the three-dimensional moon beneath the timepiece. The entire white hold sphere is coated by the gem-setting of the utmost intricacy, divided into 161 brilliant-cut diamonds for daytime and as many blue sapphires for night-time. A ripple of blue and white forms the lines between the two colours, along the outline of the stones.
The A&S1021 calibre - entirely developed, manufactured, assembled and adjusted in-house at Arnold & Son - has a power reserve of 90 hours and a regulating organ at a frequency of 3 Hz, designed around the lunar globe. The movement provides a second display for the lunar phase which also features easy-to-read graduations for utmost precision when correcting the lunar globe.
The astronomical accuracy of this timepiece enhances its sophistication. The length of a full moon cycle is 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes and 2.8 seconds, and with the Luna Magna Ultimate I, Arnold & Son has produced a likeness such that it would take 122 years for the movement to accrue a one-day interval between the watch display and the true celestial cycle. Nevertheless, this error is easy to correct, given that the lunar function on this timepiece is directly accessible from the crown.
Post your comment