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Armin Strom Resonates With Frosted Green Dial 

Armin Strom expands its Mirrored Force Resonance offerings with a new model sporting a stunning green grenage dial.

The new Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance – Manufacture Edition Green.

Nicely matched with a grey synthetic suede ‘Alcantara’  strap, this limited edition (of fifty pieces) again highlights the independent watchmaker’s unusual resonance-based in-house movement that teams two balance wheels linked to create heightened chronometric precision and consistency.

The key to Armin Strom’s mastery of resonance in a wristwatch is the Armin Strom Resonance Clutch Spring, a tuning-fork-shaped metallic spring first seen in the 2016 Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance.

Set between the two oscillators on the left side of the dial, the Clutch Spring synchronizes the two movements as they keep time for the offset green dials.

Resonance, a technically difficult and hard to regulate technique used by only a few other watchmakers, essentially means the two movements become synchronized as they operate.

This creates a highly stable timekeeping rate that heightens the watch’s overall precision. When two movements resonate, overall operating efficiency improves while the potential of shock-inflicted error diminishes.

Admin Strom explains that it was inspired to create the new frosted green hue by some vintage equipment at its atelier.

“We chose this green because it harmonizes with the polished and decorated parts of the open-worked movement,” says Armin Strom’s Master Watchmaker and co-founder, Claude Greisler. “And the grenage finish gives a contrast to the polished indexes. This frizzy, kind of frosted surface reflects some light – but it is not too loud. It doesn’t overwhelm your attention and it shouldn’t compete with the movement.”

All the components within the 43mm steel watch are hand-polished. The dial side surfaces are also hand-finished with frosted, perlaged or circular-grained finishes. Armin Strom also assembled its movements twice “to ensure an uncompromising commitment to quality.” 

Price: $63,000. 

Specifications: Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance – Manufacture Edition Green 

(Reference no. ST22-RF.20, limited to 50 pieces.)

Movement: Armin Strom manufacture Caliber ARF21, manual winding, 25,200 vph with two independent regulating systems connected by a resonance clutch spring. Power reserve is 48 hours.

Case: 43mm by 11.55mm steel, sapphire crystal and caseback with anti-reflective treatment, water resistance to 30 meters.

Dial: Green with grenage center and a circular satin-brushed chapter ring and applied polished baton indices. Hands are steel and manufactured by Armin Strom, decorated by hand. Indications: Hours, minutes, twin-seconds. 

Strap: Grey Alcantara strap with white stitching and double folding clasp in stainless steel.

Price: $63,000.

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The Watches

Armin Strom Blues its Mirrored Force Resonance

A year after pioneering independent watchmaker Armin Strom launched a redesigned, sleeker Mirrored Force Resonance, the Swiss-based manufacture launches a new version, the Mirrored Force Resonance Manufacture Edition Blue, sporting a specially textured blue dial and matching Alcantara strap.

The new Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Manufacture Edition Blue.

The newest iteration of the watch, first introduced by Armin Strom in 2016, is still one of the few serialized watch designs boasting a resonance-based regulating system. The newest series is a limited edition of fifty pieces with new blue accents that serve to highlight the dial’s three-dimensional display.

The newly dark blue off-center dial matches the twin resonance second counters, both of which are also finished in the same blue tone and painted with white numerals. The open-worked seconds dials (with their triple-arm hands) can be reset to zero by the pusher at 2 o’clock.

Up-close on the new blue ‘grenage’ finish.

These newly colorful elements, unusual enough on any dial,  share the space with another component not seen on any other resonance-based construction: a one-piece steel Resonance Clutch Spring.

Armon Strom’s signature creation essentially transfers energy between both hairsprings and quickly brings the balance wheels into resonance.

Caliber ARF21, showing bas-relief engraved text on back.

This new watch maintains the design’s 43mm by 11.55 steel case and raised sapphire crystal. On the back Armin Strom has engraved — in bas-relief — the mainplate with technical details and characteristics of the Mirrored Force Resonance mechanism.

To completing the blue theme, Armin Strom delivers the Mirrored Force Resonance Manufacture Edition Blue on a matching dark blue Alcantara strap. 

Price: $63,000

Specifications: Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Manufacture Edition Blue 

(Reference no. ST22-RF.05, limited to 50 pieces)

Movement: Armin Strom manufacture Caliber ARF21, manual winding with two independent regulating systems connected by a resonance clutch spring. Power reserve: 48 hours. 

Case: 43mm by 11.55m stainless steel, raised sapphire crystal and caseback with anti-reflective treatment. Water resistance to 30 meters.

Dial: Dark blue with grenage center and a circular satin-brushed chapter ring and applied polished baton indices. Hands: Steel, manufactured by Armin Strom, decorated by hand. 

Strap: Dark blue Alcantara with white stitching and double folding clasp in stainless steel.

Price: $63,000. 

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Armin Strom Debuts Gold-Cased Tribute 1

Swiss-German pioneering independent watchmaker Armin Strom launches the Tribute 1 Rose Gold Edition, the first gold-cased version of its Tribute 1 dress watch. 

The new Armin Strom Tribute 1 Rose Gold Edition.

The new edition of the 38mm watch, with its off-center dial and unusual exposed motor barrel and bridge, nicely pairs the warm rose gold hue of its case, hands, the even-numbered markers and bridge with the dial’s textured anthracite tones.

Previously offered in steel, the Tribute 1 announces one of its primary technical attributes on its hand-polished skeletonized open-worked motor barrel on which the words “100 HOURS OF POWER RESERVE” are engraved. Armin Strom’s innovative motor barrel reaches its impressive power reserve thanks to its arbor that turns around the mainspring within the barrel itself, optimizing its efficiency.

Armin Strom devotes equal attention to the finish of its technically advanced, hand-wound caliber AMW 21. 

Armin Strom’s AMW21, viewed from the back of the Tribute 1 Rose Gold Edition.

Seen through the watch’s sapphire caseback is the movement’s eye-catching three-quarter bridge adorned with Côtes de Genève decoration. Armin Strom artisan’s hand-finish a circular grained pattern on the main plate, while finishing the balance bridge with side graining, anglage, sand blasting and straight graining. Finally, hand-bevelled escapement and the escape bridge edges add to the watch’s sense of luxury.

Limited to 100 pieces, the new Armin Strom Tribute 1 Rose Gold Edition is sold with a black alligator strap. Price: $23,900.

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Armin Strom Adds Color and California to Tribute 1

Independent Swiss watchmaker Armin Strom adds retro-inspired markers to its contemporary Tribute 1 while also enhancing the color options for the manual-wind model’s already distinctive offset dial.

With the new Tribute 1 California, Armin Strom places so-called California markers onto the Tribute 1 dial, which can now also be ordered in a choice of five fumé colors that contrast nicely to the also-new black guilloché dial plate framing the dial.

The new Armin Strom Tribute 1 California, in one of five new dial color options.

While the new colors and markers highlight the new series, for many collectors it’s the dial plate itself that stands out here: Much-lauded Finnish watchmaker Kari Voutilainen crafted each of the black guilloché dial plates by hand.

The California dial, distinguished by alternating Roman and Arabic numerals, differs fairly dramatically from the thin stick markers found on earlier Tribute 1 models. Their presence here, in combination with Voutilainen’s traditional guilloche plate, stylistically contrasts with the modernistic exposed and decorated mainspring barrel that dominates the lower section of the 38mm steel watch.

I suspect that this juxtaposition will jar very few contemporary minded Armin Strom collectors.

Armin Strom is offering five different fumé (sunburst-pattern) dials, including versions in blue, light blue, green, burgundy and black. The dials are each set with Armin Strom’s own distinctive hour, minute and seconds hands.

Inside Armin Strom places is own manual-wind manufacture Caliber AMW21 that boasts an incredible 100-hours of power reserve. Armin Strom notes that its watchmakers assemble, disassemble and reassemble each caliber to ensure that each individual part was cleaned, dried, reassembled and lubricated before being regulated, tested and placed back into its steel case.

Finally, Armin Strom adds that its presents each Tribute 1 California watch on a black alligator leather strap with stitching that matches the color of the dial. The Tribute 1 California is available in editions limited to five per color and Armin Strom will make only twenty-five of these new watches in total.

Price: $19.000

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Armin Strom Shows Feminine Side with Lady Beat

Armin Strom this week introduces Lady Beat, the independent Swiss watchmaker’s first watch designed with feminine customers in mind. And while the new collection aesthetically echoes Armin Strom’s existing Gravity Equal Force collection, with its open-dial three-bridge design, Armin Strom has built an all-new, less-complicated caliber and has placed it within a fairly thin new 38mm case, a first for the brand.

The 38mm case diameter of Lady Beat is a first for Armin Strom.

Armin Strom explains that the Lady Beat was designed in concert with female design consultants, who sought to answer the question: “What does a woman desire on her wrist?”

Thus, the new Lady Beat features an off-center dial that displays only a minute and hour hand with no markers except the company logo at 12 o’clock. This contrasts with the classic three-hand display with small seconds found on the Gravity Equal Force.

Armin Strom’s new Lady Beat is characterized by soft, moon-like shapes.

And, instead of powering the watch with a visible micro rotor (as on the Gravity Equal Force) Armin Strom has developed a full-sized central rotor and placed it on the back of the new Caliber ALA20.

And while the wearer can still eye the movement’s vibrating balance directly on the front of the Lady Beat, Armin Strom has removed the stop-works declutch system and novel ‘equal force’ motor barrel from the new caliber. This allowed Armin Strom to create a caliber for Lady Beat that is thinner than the movement inside the existing Gravity Equal Force.

Also contributing to the Lady Beat’s “soft shapes” design brief, Armin Strom replaced classic lugs in favor of an integrated strap. Circles and semi-circles replaced the earlier design’s angular shapes throughout.

“These soft, moon-like shapes fill the optics of this watch,” explains Armin Strom co-founder Claude Greisler. “Look closely and you will see a half-moon-shaped plate sharing the watch’s lower level with the mechanical elements, while a full moon-shaped subdial sits atop it.”

The back of the Armin Strom ALA20 shows the new full-size, decorated rotor.

Conclusion: Armin Strom succeeds on its own terms with its first feminine watch as it avoids the all-too common watch design trap of simply adding gemstones to a smaller version of an existing model.

Armin Strom offers two Lady Beat models. One with a white dial and the other with a black dial.

Price: 16,900 CHF (about $18,600)

 

Specifications: Armin Strom Lady Beat

Movement: Automatic caliber ALA20, high-quality décor, 25,200 vph, seventy-hours of power reserve.

Case: 38mm by 11.65mm steel, sapphire crystal and case back with anti-reflective treatment. Water-resistance to 30 meters.

Dial: Offset in white or black with hand-finished steel hands.

Strap: Delivered with a bi-material rubber and Alcantara in satin white or black, and double-fold clasp in stainless steel.

Price: Starting at 16,900 CHF (about $18,600)

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