Arnold & Son Longitude Titanium

I remember in the mid 2000s spending a lot of time with both Arnold & Son and Graham timepieces. While both were part of the British Masters group each honoring a legendary British watchmaker in John Arnold and George Graham, the brands were completely different from each other. The watches from Arnold & Son were more classic in design while the pieces from Graham were brasher and really played into the bigger is better design of the time, most having extremely oversized crowns as well.

Today the watches released by Arnold & Son look nothing like the models I remember so well from two decades ago which is actually for the better. Modern Arnold & Son watches have a level of finish that is leagues above the previous models. The brand is also now well known for the development of high complications. Having covered a lot of new releases from the brand, I thought it would be fun to get a new release from Arnold & Son in and see how far the brand has come in the time since I last wore one of their watches so many years ago.



Before we look at the watch that Arnold & Son recently sent us, let's first take a look at the history of the brand. Arnold & Son is named after John Arnold and his son John Roger Arnold. John Arnold was born in Cornwall, England in 1736 and was the pivotal figure in the development of the marine chronometer, which was essential for naval navigation. Arnold was most well known for his invention of the detent escapement as well as a bimetallic compensation balance which improved the reliability of timepieces over long voyages.

Arnold was known for simplifying watchmaking and in turn increasing both accuracy and reliability of his creations. John Arnold was so respected at the time that everyone from the British Royal Navy to famed explorer Captain James Cook used his marine chronometers on their ships. Arnold also has a close friendship with the other titan of early horology in Abraham-Louis Breguet. The two masters would constantly exchange ideas and their sons even apprenticed for the other.



Speaking of Arnold's son, John Roger Arnold would join his father's business in 1787. John Roger continued the legacy created by his father and produced exceptional timepieces. The younger Arnold would focus his skills on pocket chronometers as well as complicated watches. When John Roger Arnold passed away in 1843, the business eventually ceased to exist for an eternity.

After over a century of being dormant, Arnold & Son was resurrected by a Swiss company named Les Monts SA, later renamed The British Masters SA in 1995. As spoke about earlier, along with Arnold & Son, the British Masters also added Graham to their group of brands. The British Masters, led by watchmaker Eric Loth, looked to combine the history of fine British watchmaking with Swiss manufacturing expertise in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland.



In 2010 Arnold & Son was sold to Swiss movement manufacture La Joux-Perret and soon after both were acquired by the Japanese Citizen Watch Group, who currently owns the brand. Graham on the other hand remains an independent brand. While Citizen isn't really known for their fine watchmaking, they allow Arnold & Son to operate as they see fit. Also being part of such a large group allows Arnold & Son to have a budget and resources that could never have been dreamt about while being part of the British Masters. This has allowed Arnold & Son to develop the incredible watches and movements you see from the modern version of the brand.



Initial Thoughts

Now that we've gone over the history of both John Arnold as well as Arnold & Son we can now take a look at the watch Arnold & Son sent us. I had the good fortune to be able to pick any watch from the current catalog to review and ended up going with the Longitude Titanium. While the Longitude isn't the most complicated watch, it shows what Arnold & Son can do in the sports watch market, even more so in the crowded integrated segment.



When the watch arrived the first thing I noticed about it was the excellent titanium bracelet. This is strange for me since I typically can't stand bracelets on watches. The benchmark of a fine bracelet is the one found on the Royal Oak from Audemars Piguet which is a bracelet I'm very familiar with. The execution of the bracelet on the Longitude might just rival that of the Royal Oak though. The finishing is mostly brushed with some parts of the middle links being done in high polish. When on and off of the watch the bracelet is just stunning, and while on wrist it is extremely comfortable and really catches the light. The bracelet also integrates perfectly with the case and doesn't come off looking like a copy or clone of other popular integrated sports watches.

The next thing I noticed about the Arnold & Son Longitude was the stunning fern green dial. The watch is offered in two other dial colors as well being kingsand gold and ocean blue, with the green and gold being my favorites. The green is very subtle and relaxing and is more of a pastel especially in direct sunlight. Contrasting nicely with the green dial are the gold finished hour markers and hands. The two hues play off each other perfectly and really make the dial cohesive.



The last thing I noticed about the Longitude Titanium during my initial time with the watch was just how lightweight the watch was. Quickly after the watch arrived I swapped out the titanium bracelet for the included rubber strap. Being crafted fully out of grade 5 titanium and paired with a rubber strap featuring a titanium pin buckle made the Arnold & Son Longitude extremely light. On our scale the watch weighed in at just 79 grams. I'm a huge fan of lightweight watches, so anything under 100 grams I love. The Longitude Titanium is way under that and really disappears on your wrist.



Technical Specifications

Having gone over my initial thoughts of the Arnold & Son Longitude Titanium, now let's take a look at the technical specifications of the watch. The watch is crafted out of grade 5 titanium and has a case diameter of 42.5 mm and a lug to lug length of 47 mm. If you include the first center link which is visible when using the rubber strap, the lug to lug is 51.2 mm, which is actually more in my comfort zone for watch sizing. On the rubber strap and titanium pin buckle the Longitude weighed in at 79 grams and at its thickest point is 12.6 mm tall.



The Longitude Titanium uses a raised and slightly domed sapphire crystal that has an anti-reflective coating on both sides. Underneath the super clear crystal is the fern green PVD dial with a brushed satin finish. The dial transitions between a deep forest green to a pastel tone when viewed in different lighting conditions. In direct sunlight the dial just sparkles and the fern green of the Longitude titanium might be the nicest green I've seen on a watch dial.

Around the outside of the dial is a white printed minute track comprising of small hash marks to represent each minute along with "Swiss Made" at 6 o'clock. The hours are marked with applied gold finished bar markers coated with Super-Luminova which glows a bluish green in low light. There is no hour marker at 6 o'clock where the sub-dial for the running small seconds resides. This sub-dial is finished with concentric circles and breaks up the dial nicely. Each 10 minute interval on the sub-dial is marked with a white Arabic numeral and the remaining seconds are done with a small white hash marks. The small seconds hand is gold finished and matches the hour markers perfectly.



At 12 o'clock is a very elegant power reserve indicator which uses six dial cutouts of varying length to signal the amount of power reserve left. Underneath the cutout is a gold background that once again matches the other dial elements. Think of this as a two layered sandwich style dial. A gold hand is used to point to the current level of power reserve left in the movement. Overall this is a very effective and subtle execution of the power reserve complication.

There are two centrally mounted hands on the Arnold & Son Longitude Titanium which are the hour and minute hands. Once again the hands are gold finished and match all the other markers on the dial. The hands are somewhat skeletonized with the top portions being solid and coated with the same bluish green Super-Luminova that appears white in normal lighting. Finishing off the dial is the Arnold & Son branding printed in white at 3 o'clock.

Moving on from the dial is the static brushed bezel which has 60 notices in it, which is meant to represent the fluted ring around some of John Arnold's marine chronometers. Looking at the profile of the case you can see there is a nice downward turn to the lugs that follows the shape of your wrist. The mid-case also slightly bows out and is fully polished.



While the top of the case is brushed in finish, the large crown guards on the right hand side of the case are high polished. The crown is nicely scalloped and has a mixture of brushed and polished finishes. The top of the crown also has an engraving of the Arnold & Son logo. The screw-down crown helps aid with the 100 meters of water resistance and offers ample amounts of grip. Once unscrewed, you can manually wind the automatic movement in the resting position. Since there is no date or other calendar complications, there is only one position on the crown. Pulling the crown out to position one allows you to set the time and does not stop the small seconds hand. Pushing the crown back in causes no jump in the minutes hand either. I really like how the crown screws back in as well. When you are putting pressure on the crown while screwing it back in, all of the sudden you hear the movement stop winding and the crown gets a different feeling to it. This signals the crown has caught and you can now just screw it in. I can't really think of other movements that have this feeling to them when screwing the crown back in.

When you flip the watch over you can see the screw down case back complete with a massive sapphire crystal display window. The small bezel of the case back has all the important information about the watch engraved on it including the case number. Through the display back you can see the stunning in-house A&S6302 automatic movement. Instantly you can see the skeletonized winding rotor which is crafted out of 22 carat gold and resembles the prow of a classic English frigate. The rotor is brushed in finish and features Arnold & Son branding along the weight.



The movement is something to behold with Arnold & Son's Rayons de la Gloire (Rays of Glory) taking center stage. Instead of the commonly seen Cotes de Geneve (Geneva Stripes), Arnold & Son uses Geneva stripes that radiate outwards from the center of the movement and resemble sunbeams. This draws attention into the central rotor bearing of the movement. There is also nice usage of chamfering and polished anglage which brightly outline every edge of the bridges. You can also see a gracious amount of perlage on the mainplate which contrasts well with the Rayons de la Gloire.

On the technical side, the A&S6302 has a diameter of 33 mm and is 6.65 mm thick. The movement beats away at 28,800 vph (4 Hz) and has a power reserve of 60 hours. The movement is also certified by the Controle Officiel Suisse des Chonometres (COSC) and is compeletely manufactured, assembled and decorated at the Arnold & Son manufacture in La Chaux-de-Fonds. On our timegrapher the A&S6302 showed an accuracy of +3 seconds per day when averaged out over several positions, which is well within chronometer specifications.

Having an integrated bracelet design means that you are limited to straps made for the Longitude, which isn't too much of an issue since the titanium bracelet is fantastic as is the green rubber strap. The first central link on the Arnold & Son Longitude is actually the quick release system which allows you to easily swap between straps and the bracelet. Only one push of the quick release button is all that is needed to release the strap or bracelet.



The lug width on the Longitude Titanium is 24 mm and the titanium bracelet tapers down to 18 mm at the deployant clasp. The bracelet uses an h-link style construction with the tops of the links being brushed and the sides being polished. To tops and bottoms of the center links are also polished which really makes the bracelet pop in good lighting. The bracelet uses a hidden clasp which blends well into the bracelet and can really only be detected by the two buttons on each side of the clasp as well as the missing center link. Once opened the clasp displays the Arnold & Son branding as well as a titanium engraving. There is a slight amount of sliding micro-adjustment on the bracelet, but the links are rather small, so you should be able to size the bracelet well without needing it. The bracelet is sized using screwed in pins which is my preferred method of sizing bracelets. On wrist the bracelet adds minimum heft and does a good job of keeping the watch centered on the wrist. Even during extended periods of wear the bracelet remains comfortable.

My preferred method of wearing the Arnold & Son Longitude Titanium is on the supplied green rubber strap. The strap tapers down from 24 mm at the lugs to 18 mm at the brushed titanium pin buckle. I do wish Arnold & Son would have included a deployant clasp on the strap though since I really like the added security against drops that a clasp offers. Otherwise the strap is extremely supple and was immediately comfortable with no break in period. The top of the strap has a fabric texture look to it and the back of the strap is black and smooth. There is green stitching along each side of the strap and the green hue matches the fern green dial perfectly. The rubber strap also kept the watch centered on my wrist nicely and was a pleasure to wear even in the hot and humid weather we're having in Austin, Texas currently.





On The Wrist

I did spend most of my time with the Arnold & Son Longitude Titanium on the rubber strap and the watch was a treat to wear. At just 79 grams the watch completely disappeared on the wrist and even during longer periods of wear never became a bother on the wrist. The watch was there when I needed it and the rest of the time was an afterthought. It did take wearing the watch for a few hours for the strap to become supple enough to really form to my wrist and not feel too tight or too loose though, but after that was perfect.

The Longitude was an awesome companion for running various daily errands as well as going out to dinner and drinks. Even the green of the strap and dial were subtle enough to not really clash with my normal everyday wear of a black t-shirt, shorts and sneakers. I feel on the green rubber strap the watch is much more casual than it is on the titanium bracelet. I do feel the bracelet allows the watch to be more versatile and be worn in both casual and more formal situations.

To test the legibility of a watch I use a very simple test where I see how hard it is to tell the time at a glance while driving. Typically dive watches excel here while skeletons and highly complicated watches do poorly. The Arnold & Son Longitude is a rather straight forward watch with just time only and power reserve complications, so I thought it would do fairly well. I was actually surprised how easy the watch was to read at a glance with the contrast between the pastel green dial and polished gold hands and markers being surprisingly high. I never would have thought of that combination of colors providing great contrast, but it really does. The only way to really increase the legibility of the dial would be if Arabic numerals would have been used, but it would have spoiled the design of the watch. I want to also add that the power reserve indicator is super easy to decipher at a glance as well. Finally there is just enough lume used on the markers and hands to make telling the time in little to no light acceptable.



One thing that really surprised me was how many looks the Longitude received while being worn out. I received numerous comments about the watch and saw many people looking at it. Since I was wearing the watch on the green rubber strap I have a feeling that mostly caught people's attention, maybe if the watch was on the titanium bracelet it would have flown under the radar a bit more. Those I showed the watch to mostly commented on the green and gold dial as well as the stunning movement. I'd say there was a pretty even split on what people thought about the price of the watch though.



Value and Position in the Market

Speaking of price, the Arnold & Son Longitude Titanium retails for $24,400. For that price you're getting a truly unique take on the crowded integrated sports watch genre with a very accurate and beautiful in-house movement. An excellent rubber strap is also included with the brilliant titanium bracelet as well. Capping it all off is one of if not the nicest green dials I've seen on a watch which has two layers with the bottom being gold and used to display the power reserve. Now would be a good time to look at other watches with similar features and specifications and see how the Longitude Titanium stacks up in terms of value.



Up first we have the watch the pretty much started the integrated sports watch genre in the Royal Oak from Audemars Piguet. The Royal Oak has a 41 mm case and is crafted out of stainless steel. Titanium is very rare for Royal Oaks, mostly only appearing on high complications and limited editions. The Royal Oak has half the water resistance of the Longitude and is powered by an in-house automatic movement with slightly more power reserve. The Royal Oak retails for more than the Longitude at $30,000 but also is un-available at retail and carries a strong markup on the pre-owned market.

Moving on we have the Cubitus from Patek Philippe since the brand no longer produces a steel time only Nautilus. The Cubitus comes in a stainless steel case and has a case diameter of 45 mm. The Cubitus builds upon the classic Genta design of the Nautilus but squares off the case. The watch is only water resistant to 30 meters and runs on an in-house movement with only 45 hours of power reserve. The Cubitus is fairly divisive and carries a retail price of $43,263 along with a premium in the pre-owned market.

Next up is the Laureato Absolute Aston Martin F1 Edition from Girard-Perregaux which is crafted out of titanium and has a 44 mm case diameter. Like the Longitude the Laureato has a green dial and green rubber strap but lacks the titanium bracelet. The Laureato does boast 300 meters of water resistance and runs on an in-house caliber with only 46 hours of power reserve. The Laureato is a bit of a bargain at $14,300 but the Aston Martin F1 tie in might be a bit too much for some. The lack of an included titanium bracelet also shaves a decent amount off of the retail price.



Finally we have the Big Bang Integrated Time Only from Hublot which is crafted out of titanium and has a case diameter of 40 mm. The Integrated Time Only builds upon the looks of the Big Bang and comes with a fully integrated titanium bracelet. The dial is partial skeletonized showing off the Zenith movement with 50 hour of power reserve. The model was recently discontinued, I'm guessing to shift more to in-house pieces, although the Zenith movement is no slouch. The Big Bang Integrated has the same water resistance as the Longitude at 100 meters as well. The Big Bang was a fair bit less expensive than the Longitude at $17,800 when it was available new.

Looking at these four watches you can see that the Arnold & Son Longitude Titanium is fairly priced, coming in far under the price of the Royal Oak and Cubitus and goes for a little more than the Laureato and Big Bang. Feature wise the Longitude is at or near the top and price wise it is right in the middle. I feel that Arnold & Son did a good job when setting the price of the Longitude. The Arnold & Son of today produces top tier timepieces that hold their own with the best of the industry and the pricing of the Longitude Titanium reflects that.



Closing Thoughts

So in the end is the Arnold & Son Longitude Titanium for me? I'm a huge fan of titanium watches and own many. The Longitude spiritually reminds me of pieces like my IWC GST Aquatimer 2000 but greatly elevated in terms of finish and the movement as well. While the lug to lug length is a little less than my preferred 50 mm the fixed middle lug does take the true lug to lug measurement above that number. The integrated nature of the watch and how the lug flares out also makes the watch wear a tiny bit larger which I love.



If you look at my personal collection you will mostly see black and white dialed watches. I typically stay away from colored dials and have never really considered a green dialed watch. The fern green dial of the Longitude Titanium has changed my view of colored dials and the hue really grew on me. Long before the integrated sports watch craze took hold of the industry I was a huge fan of these kinds of watches, so seeing Arnold & Son creating a unique and stunning integrated sports watch really appeals to me. I do wish I could like wearing watches on a bracelet and feel the Longitude really shines on its bracelet. On the rubber strap the watch has a different and more casual presence which does fit me better though.

Finally the movement is a master class in finishing and really rounds off the Longitude nicely. The in-house caliber is also very accurate and has ample power reserve. The asking price is steep when looked at in a vacuum, but when you compare the Longitude's closest rivals from Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe the price seems justified. For all these reasons I do really feel like the watch is for me and would fit nicely in my collection of mostly titanium sports watches.

So would I then recommend it to somebody looking for a higher end luxury sports watch? It really depends on the type of collector looking to make the purchase. At this level of watch a lot of collectors will be looking to have something on their wrist that is instantly recognizable like a Royal Oak or Nautilus, for those people the Longitude Titanium is not for them. If they are more into horology and having something a bit more special and rare the Longitude would fit the bill nicely. I do feel a lot of collectors are also turned off by titanium since they equate heft with luxury, but after wearing a titanium watch for an extended period of time their minds would probably change in favor of the lightweight alloy.



I'd really like to thank Arnold & Son for sending us this Longitude Titanium to review. It has been decades since I've handled an Arnold & Son watch and those were from the previous incarnation of the brand. The Longitude served as a great introduction to modern Arnold & Son and really demonstrates how nice of a timepiece the brand can manufacture. Hopefully in the next few months we can get another possibly more complicated Arnold & Son timepiece in for review as well.

For more information about the Longitude Titanium please visit : Arnold & Son



Technical Specifications

Reference Number: 1LTAT.F01A.N001U

Retail Price: $24,400

Case Size: 42.5 mm

Lug to Lug: 47 mm (51.2 mm Including Center Link)

Thickness: 12.6 mm

Weight: 79 grams

Case Material: Grade 5 Titanium

Bezel: Grade 5 Titanium

Strap: Grade 5 Titanium Bracelet / Green Rubber Strap with Titanium Pin Buckle

Movement: Swiss Made In-House A&S6302 Automatic Movement

Functions: Hours, Minutes, Small Seconds and Power Reserve

Power Reserve: 60 Hours

Water Resistance: 100 Meters