Beating out a new rhythm The true-beat seconds function is characteristic of the instruments that John Arnold supplied to the Royal Navy. Their escapement used to beat at one oscillation per second, naturally indicated by a sweep-seconds hand. This explicit function inspired Arnold & Son to create one of its most iconic complications: ‘True Beat’, also known as deadbeat seconds. The distinctive feature of the DSTB collection is that it displays this mechanism in full on the dial, hence the ‘Dial-Side True Beat’ name, delivering watchmaking, design and spectacle all in one.