The JeanRichard Terrascope Arsenal FC watch hands-on

The JeanRichard Terrascope Arsenal FC has a merit: it gets me closer to football! I’m not a football fan but when I saw this timepiece I definitely fell in love with it. I already reviewed other special edition JeanRichard timepieces on Horbiter®, like the Aquascope BNY Mellon Boat Race, previewed during last November’s SalonQP in London for example, just to mention one (you may read that review here). And I also wrote about the maison’s cleverness in running co-branding partnerships in such a sober way. Their limited or special edition timepieces never suffer from overdesigning as it is often the case with other brands: just a few letterings, and much care in choosing and combining colors and brand logos that refer to these partnerships.

In my opinion, the brand has exceeded any expectation with the JeanRichard Terrascope Arsenal FC. It is named after the partnership between the watchmaker and the prestigious English football team, and it was presented at Baselworld 2014 along with a limited edition of the Aeroscope. When compared to the Aquascope or the Aeroscope, the Terrascope is easier to be tuned up when it comes to personalization, because its design is more basic when you look at its non-graduated, uncluttered bezel. Just a few sketches are needed to create a full range of very different Terrascopes just by changing dial and hands.

The colors and Arsenal’s logo do the rest: the “Gunner”, which is Arsenal’s official logo, placed at 6 o’clock is spot-on, as are the nickel indexes: they support a small luminous dot Arsenal red, and the same color is used to cover the nickel hour and minute hand. All these features create a successful combination: if you keep this watch in a drawer for ten years and then wear it again, it will still be stylish. Don’t look for letterings here and there, except for the one engraved on the caseback because they’re really hard to find.

On the wrist: the JeanRichard Terrascope Arsenal FC is not a small watch, in fact 44mm are quite a large size, but it is just 12,6mm thick and it is not heavy-weight due to the rubber strap with the JR logo imprinted on it; even if you don’t have a big wrist like mine, this watch will work well on your wrist too. Moreover, as I highlighted in previous posts, the strap is very comfortable: it is less “porous” but more solid (less “rubbery” and a bit more rigid, but definitely not a diver’s strap) than any other rubber strap and supports a folding clasp instead of a tang buckle.

Build quality: very good indeed. JeanRichard is Girard-Perregaux’s sister brand and shares with GP their technologies and production processes. The sleek stainless steel case is a mixture of polished and satin-finished surfaces. The crown has a polished JR logo engraved on a matte surface and it is carved in all its height. The caliber that operates it is the same automatic movement that equips the entire Terrascope line: it’s mechanical and automatic.

The balance wheel vibrates at 4Hz and ensures at least 38 hours of power reserve. In conclusion, the JeanRichard Terrascope Arsenal FC is a great watch. It has a strong personality and retail price of 2200€. It is in the same price range of its direct competitors which cannot showcase this finishing, and are not presenting special edition models. It is, I think, strongly recommended to those watch addicts who are looking for the snobbish version of the current Terrascope.

(Press credit: courtesy of JeanRichard; Horbiter®’s proprietary photo-shooting)

Gaetano C. @Horbiter®