The true value and history of Arnold & Son

　The Citizen Flagship Store Tokyo is the world's first flagship store for the Citizen Watch Group, opened on the first floor of the Ginza Six shopping complex in April 2017. The store carries Citizen and its major related brands, and the extensive collection is particularly impressive. This includes Arnold & Son, the Citizen Watch Group's high-end watch retailer. Due to their small production runs, their products are only available in select locations, but the store boasts the world's first Arnold & Son boutique, allowing customers to see them at any time.

　The event, which took place at an important sales outlet for Arnold & Son, began with an explanation of the brand's history by the company's product manager, David Serra.

"John Arnold was born in Cornwall, England in 1736. In 1764, he developed a clock that told the time by sounding a half-quarter repeater for the then King George III of England. He then focused on producing marine chronometers, and in 1770 he completed his first marine chronometer. His watches were adopted by the Royal Navy and used on voyages by Captain Cook and others. During this time, John Arnold also made several inventions that contributed to the development of the watch industry."

　John Arnold developed a number of technologies that would go on to have an impact on the history of watches, including the helical spring and improvements to the detent escapement. In 1778, he developed his 36th pocket watch. When advertising this watch, he used the word "chronometer" to emphasize its high precision, and the term is still used today to refer to precision timepieces.

In 1792, his son, John Roger Arnold, went to Paris to train under Breguet. After John Arnold's death in 1799, his son, John Roger Arnold, took over the business. After Roger's death in 1843, the watchmaker Charles Florsham took over the brand.