For the past 18 months, independent Danish watch brand Arcanaut has been working hard on its newest release, the Arcanaut Arc II — D’Arc Matter Colours Collection.

An evolution of the brand’s 50-piece limited edition D’Arc Matter model from 2021, the Colours Collection takes the same in-house developed Swedish slate composite dial and enlivens it with bright colours and a brand-new handset for improved legibility.

“We were pleasantly surprised by the speed of the original D’Arc Matter model’s sell-out,” says brand co-founder and chief designer Anders Brandt. “We weren’t sure how the watch-buying public would react to the dial material because it was so new and required a bit of explaining, but the story behind its development and its visual effect seemed to hit home.

“After the launch, we had a lot of requests to bring the material back. Thankfully, James Thompson (AKA Black Badger), had been working on some proprietary Super-LumiNova colors with our friends RC Tritec in Switzerland. Every shade of lume we use in the D'Arc Matter Colours Collection is new to the watchmaking industry, and some of them, especially the orange, took months to get right.”

As Brandt, a Copenhagen native, points out, achieving a serviceable nighttime glow with orange pigments is not straightforward. Admittedly, the Pongo Orange model has a weaker glow strength than the Badger Blue, Gamma Green, and Hornet Yellow models, but it is, perhaps unsurprisingly given its striking appearance, the most popular model during the pre-sale sign-up phase.

Head of Brand Development Rob Nudds says, “It’s absolutely crucial to us that the people following Arcanaut from the brand’s early days have the opportunity to buy this piece first. They’ve been patiently waiting for us to bring something new to market and now we’re excited to get the ball rolling with 2023’s releases.

“Everyone signed up to the old D’Arc Matter waiting list will be included in the pre-sale (beginning September 23rd). If you’re new to the brand, you can also register your interest for a specific model, by going to arcanaut.watch and signing up for notifications on the product page.

“We’re only going to make 25 of each colour in 2023, and we’ll make 15 of each available in the pre-sale (so existing sign-ups will be able to access 60% of the whole collection ahead of general release). If anyone misses out again, don’t worry. We’ll almost certainly bring these models back into the collection in one form or another, but quantities may vary from year to year as we look to build out the catalogue and diversify our product offering. We’ve spent a long time building towards this release and those coming in its wake. It’s exciting times for the brand and we can’t wait to show everyone what we’ve been working on.”

The pre-sale goes live on 23 September 2023 at 7pm (19:00) CEST. The pre-sale will remain open until either all available models have been sold or until the pieces go on General Release, exactly one week later at 19:00 CEST on 30 September.

Sign-ups will be sent a secret link via which they will be able to put down a 50% deposit for their favourite model. The remaining balance will be due as soon as the watches are ready to be delivered. Delivery is expected to commence in January 2024.

Additionally, everyone participating in the pre-sale will receive an exclusive Arcanaut care package, which is currently not available for purchase outside of the pre-sale. The care package includes an Arcanaut Cap, an Arcanaut T-shirt, a Black Badger UV Torch, and a spare strap of the customer’s choice (value $150).

The first ten confirmed pre-sales (across all platforms including the brand’s US-based retailer Collective Horology) will also receive a custom-made, lume-filled “Clocktopus” signet ring in .925 Sterling Silver.

Everyone involved in the pre-sale, including the first customers, will be entered into a raffle to win a solid 18-karat gold version of the Clocktopus ring – a truly collectible item only made to celebrate new brand releases.

If you have any questions in advance of the pre-sale, please feel free to get in touch directly by emailing rob@arcanaut.dk.