
Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Arnold & Son · DSTB
Arnold & Son DSTB 39 mm Blue Carbon
Reference 87722OR.97
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Arnold & Son
- Collection
- DSTB
- Model
- Arnold & Son DSTB 39 mm Blue Carbon
- Reference number
- 87722OR.97
- Year / era
- 1963 · 1960s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Time and date
- Movement
- In-house automatic with 22k gold rotor
- Case material
- Carbon TPT
- Dial type
- Blue "Grande Tapisserie"
- Strap / bracelet
- White rubber velcro strap
- Water resistance
- 500 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 39 mm
- Case thickness
- 10.2 mm
- Case material
- Carbon TPT
- Bezel
- Unidirectional ceramic 60-minute
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Blue "Grande Tapisserie"
- Hands
- Faceted dauphine hands, polished by hand
- Indexes
- Applied faceted white-gold indexes
- Bracelet / strap
- White rubber velcro strap
- Clasp / buckle
- Triple-folding clasp with safety catch
- Water resistance
- 500 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 64F — In-house automatic with 22k gold rotor
- Movement type
- Manual-winding
- Frequency
- 36,000 vph (5 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 5 days
- Number of jewels
- 31 jewels
- Complications
- Time and date
- Functions
- Hours, minutes, seconds, date
- Watchmaker
- Finishing, assembly and timing are carried out in the manufacture's own atelier.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1963 – 1975
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Consistently trades above retail; waiting lists at authorised dealers remain long.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
Arnold & Son DSTB 39 mm Blue Carbon sits within Arnold & Son's DSTB line, introduced in 1963. It carries the house codes established since 1764 — carbon tpt case, blue "grande tapisserie" dial and in-house automatic with 22k gold rotor — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
- The case is finished by hand, alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces in a single pass so the edges stay razor sharp.
The House
Arnold & Son
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1764
- Founder
- John Arnold
- Headquarters
- United Kingdom
- Tier
- Ultra-Luxury & Haute Horlogerie
- Major collections
- Perpetual Moon, Luna Magna, DSTB, Nebula, Globetrotter, Constant Force
- Signature technologies
- In-house hairspring production · Hand-applied guilloché dials · Proprietary case-hardening and polishing
- Famous movements
- In-house tourbillon, manual-winding · In-house manual-winding, hand-finished · In-house automatic micro-rotor · In-house automatic with 22k gold rotor
- Notable watches
- Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon 44 mm Silvered Stainless (1988) · Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon 39 mm Black Stainless (2001) · Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon 44 mm Ice Quartz (1968) · Arnold & Son Perpetual Moon 36 mm Skeletonised Carbon (1950)
Brand history
Arnold & Son has spent more than 262 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Perpetual Moon, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
John Arnold established Arnold & Son in 1764, working from United Kingdom at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Arnold & Son calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1764
John Arnold founds Arnold & Son in United Kingdom.
1804
Arnold & Son earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Arnold & Son to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Arnold & Son enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Arnold & Son continues to produce Perpetual Moon, Luna Magna, DSTB and other icons in limited numbers.
