The ARC II 37 mm Has Landed

For as long as we can remember, Arcanaut has occupied a slightly unusual position within independent watchmaking. We'bve avoided convention like the plague. We've never designed watches to fit neatly inside established categories. Instead, we have focused obsessively on materials, textures, colours, surfaces, and strange ideas that probably should not work as watch dials but somehow do (most of the time — sometimes they explode before they make it to market, which is probably just as well...).
So don't worry: that philosophy is not changing. It never will.

What is changing, however, is the way those ideas wear on the wrist.
Introducing the ARC 37: a new 37 mm case platform designed to bring Arcanaut’s experimental universe to a wider audience while simultaneously offering existing collectors an entirely new wearing experience.

You asked; we listened.

Eventually...

Sure, it took us a while, but designing a new case platform (even when it's effectively a smaller version of something that already existed) isn't quite as simple as it seems.



Arcanaut watches rely heavily on proportion, depth, and material interaction. Our dials are unusually thick. Our construction is unconventional. Our cases are designed around very specific visual balances.

Reducing those dimensions without losing the identity of the watch required a complete rethink of the platform itself.

This case looks like the 40.52 mm ARC II's little brother, but there's more to it than a simple scale-down. The interior has been totally redesigned to maximise the available space. That's essential for us, because, as you know, our dials are between three and four times thicker than most dials out there. We didn't want to lose any visual depth, so we made sure we didn't have to compromise on that front too much.




But of course, some compromises had to be made. And we thought that was acceptable, because despite popular misconception, we're not as unreasonable a bunch as you might think (Rob can be a bit difficult if we haven't fed him enough cheese, but even he has a soft side).



We didn't want to make any compromises blindly, so we tested everything to the nth degree. We tried multiple new dial constructions to save space and reduce thickness, created new tools for dial assembly that would allow us to dispense with millimetre-consuming orientation notches and locator posts. We tested our Lumicast discs (the ones we use in the Bonehead/Phantom/Green Fairy models) at different thicknesses to ensure we didn't lose any performance by slimming them.

We did, so we beefed them up again and went back to the drawing board.

Long story short, that's where we've been for the past 24 months. But finally, we did it. And the result is the dinkiest, most wearable Arcanaut yet. We love it, and we hope you love it too.

Importantly, this is not a diluted Arcanaut experience. It is not a “smaller version” designed merely to follow industry trends. If anything, the reduced footprint intensifies the visual impact of our materials. The colours feel denser. The textures feel more immediate. The relationship between dial, case, and light becomes even more concentrated.

And perhaps most importantly of all, it wears differently.

Collectors who already own an Arcanaut will immediately understand what we mean the moment they strap one on. The ARC 37 transforms the physical experience of the watch without sacrificing the architectural presence that defines the brand. It is more compact, certainly, but also more versatile.

The introduction of the ARC 37 also coincides with another major development for the brand: our transition to La Joux-Perret as a movement supplier.

This shift brings substantial technical advantages. Most notably, power reserve increases from 42 hours to 68 hours, dramatically improving daily practicality.

Naturally, however, no movement enters an Arcanaut case untouched.

Every calibre is modified specifically for our architecture, including adjustments necessary to accommodate our dials and the unique functionality of the Arcanaut pentablock crown system. 

The ARC 37 platform will debut as part of the new Fordite 2.0 collection, allowing collectors to build highly personalised configurations around individually selected Fordite dials. But this is only the beginning.

Over time, many of Arcanaut’s most recognisable composite materials, experimental dial technologies, and proprietary techniques will migrate to the ARC 37 platform as well. Familiar collections will return in a new form.

In many ways, the ARC 37 represents exactly what Arcanaut has always tried to be: experimental watchmaking shaped not only by material science and design curiosity, but also by the people who wear the watches themselves.



This one's for you, from us. We can't wait to see it on your wrists.