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Armin Strom have created a unique place for themselves in the watchmaking world with their hand-skeletonised dials, series-produced resonance watches, and rare in-house movements. This celebrated legacy could be traced back to 1967, when Armin Strom — a learned watchmaker — started a workshop in Burgdorf, Switzerland, bringing a unique amalgamation of Swiss-German horological traditions. Specialising in both watch restoration and manufacturing, Armin Strom soon became a well-known figure in the watchmaking industry. In 1990, Armin Strom watches earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records by producing the world’s smallest hand-skeletonised watch.
Mr Strom had two protégés — Serge Michel and Claude Greisler — who frequently visited Strom’s workshop in Burgdorf. The visits led to an in-depth passion for the world of watchmaking and admiration for the founder and his prowess. Subsequently, in 2006, when Strom chose to retire he had his two protégés take over the brand, who have immortalised the founder’s name and legacy by making Armin Strom an independent haute horlogerie brand to reckon with.
Borrowing from the legacy of Mr Armin Strom’s hand-skeletonised dials, the brand encompasses the horological tradition of “transparent mechanics”. With proficiency in intricate techniques such as hand engraving, polishing, and traditional grinding, Armin Strom offer exceptional timepieces such as the Dual-Time Resonance GMT. The Dual-Time, with its unique oval case, is a fitting example of a resonance watch. With two independent movements complementing each other’s anomalies, initiated by natural forces, the Dual-Time finds the perfect balance, whilst creating a resonance from two balance wheels sitting on top of the two dials inside the case.
Armin Strom – A Fully Integrated Watch Brand
With extensive research and development, Armin Strom finally acquired their own fully integrated Manufacture in Biel, Switzerland. Since 2009, the brand have been designing, developing, milling, embossing, galvanising, hand-finishing, and assembling all their timepieces in their own workshop. The independent nature of the brand ensures quality and assurance, coupled with the innovative ideology the founder endowed upon its employees. In 2010, Armin Strom released their first set of watches after extensive R&D. Named the ‘One Week’ collection, the timepieces were equipped with the ARM09 hand-wound movement. Since then, Armin Strom have created timepieces that have won accolades such as the 2015 Red Dot Design Award for the Pure Skeleton watch. Further, Masterpiece 1, Masterpiece 2, and System 78 depict the brand’s zest for innovation.
Today, the brand is known for crafting unique timepieces under one roof. From ideation to manufacturing, the brand adopts an avant-garde approach with sophisticated mechanical acumen. Moreover, the in-house movements are produced with intricate detailing, as seen across their hand-crafted skeleton dials. One of the bestsellers, the Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance was a predecessor of the Pure Resonance from the Resonance collection. Whereas the Minute Repeater Resonance can be classified as the brand’s philosophy, mechanical proficiency, and manufacturing capabilities all clubbed into one. Their Masterpiece collection is the personal handiwork of master watchmaker Claude Greisler, presenting the epitome of watchmaking skills offered by Armin Strom.
System 78
The System 78 collection was born out of the Armin Strom manufacturer's desire to offer haute horlogerie in its purest form, by revisiting some of watchmaking’s core functionalities in innovative and novel ways. Conceived with a contemporary and unparalleled design language while offering immeasurable value to those who seek fine watchmaking with a twist, the collection embodies the horological sensibilities of Claude Greisler and Serge Michel, co-founders of the revitalised Manufacture Armin Strom.
Resonance
The Resonance collection by Armin Strom builds upon the legacy left behind by Mr Strom. To achieve greater accuracy, the watches inside the Resonance collection are equipped with two balance wheels. These wheels offer superior chronometric precision whilst being aesthetically pleasing as the wheels are displayed over a skeleton dial. The wheels or oscillators regulate frequencies produced by them, discarding the uneven motion created by a human wrist and thus creating a resonant state inside the movement. The maximised precision is coupled with a complicated dial, resulting in a well-crafted timepiece.