Review: Less is More – The Arnold & Son Nebula 38

DEPLOYANT - the watch magazine for collectors, by collectors

Arnold & Son Nebula 38

Arnold & Son are best known for their well-finished, contemporary take on watchmaking Some of the manufacturer’s best work include the Constant Force Tourbillon and the Tourbillon Chronometer No 36.

It isn’t just about the sophisticated nature of the movements of these watches that impresses; it also has plenty to do with their symmetrical, openworked design Of course, being tourbillon timepieces, their accessibility is limited In Baselworld 2016, Arnold & Son introduced the Nebula, a pared down analog of its tourbillon watches.

The Nebula features the beloved openworked symmetry of the Constant Force Tourbillon and Tourbillon Chronometer No 36 minus the technical complication(s) With the stainless steel variant priced under USD15,000, the Nebula remains one of the brand’s most desirable watches.

This year, the brand reintroduces the very same watch, but in a smaller form Here, we bring you the details and our thoughts on the new Nebula 38

The Case, Dial, and Hands

Watch case sizes, on average, have never been bigger than at any point in the past.

But recently, there have been plenty of calls for smaller case dimensions – a return to the golden days of watchmaking when watches were mostly elegant The folks at Arnold & Son have apparently heard our cries and have reworked the popular Nebula into a smaller 38 mm case To achieve this, the chapter ring has been remade narrower and fitted at a steeper slope.

This way, it takes up fewer millimeters of case diameter, only at the expense of an extra 0.21 mm in thickness compared to the original Nebula The change to the chapter ring also means that the various elements on it – the applied hour markers, the printed minute track, and the printed marquee – have been downsized to fit

No other alterations were made to the watch.

The case remains the same in design, nuanced and beautifully polished, with a large crown for enhanced grip The dial – though technically there is no dial – still looks the same with its skeletonised, balanced design The signature sword (for the hours and minutes) and lancet (for the seconds) hands are unchanged as well

Watches with modern designs hardly come in classic sizes these days.

The reduced case size will mostly benefit those with average to small wrists

The Movement

Driving the Nebula 38 is the same Calibre A&S5101 found inside the seminal Nebula Worth noting is how well the movement fits in the case, utilising 83% of the case diameter compared to 76% in the first Nebula Two mainspring barrels, each located at the 10:30 and 1:30 positions, respectively, provide a superb 90-hour power reserve to the movement, which beats at a traditional 3 Hz.

To balance out the two barrels at the top, the small seconds display and the balance wheel are placed on the opposite sides With four round components in each corner, symmetry is attained.

Every nook and cranny of the Calibre A&S5101 is superbly finished The seven bridges seen on the dial-side are []

The post Review: Less is More – The Arnold & Son Nebula 38 appeared first on DEPLOYANT

. Source