Armin Strom represents a unique fusion of the swiss-german horological tradition with avant-garde ‘transparent mechanics’ and an unwavering commitment to horological innovation. Our watches are designed to both showcase how our movements actually work and to validate the attention to detail that goes into their production. Whether with a loupe or with the naked eye, with an Armin Strom timepiece there will always be something captivating to see.
Pure Resonance Ultimate Sapphire
775 000 kr
Pure Resonance Ultimate Sapphire
Pure Resonance Ultimate Sapphire:
a unique collaboration between Armin Strom and influential watch collector Horomariobro becomes a limited edition
Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, 14 June 2023: The creative and renowned watch collector Horomariobro, dubbed “the King of Macro photography” on Instagram had the desire for Armin Strom to create a unique piece. The result – the Pure Resonance Ultimate Sapphire with a sapphire dial, a unique highly symmetrical design with exquisite hand decorations – turned out so visually striking that it was decided to share it with an exclusive few. Ten pieces will be available exclusively through Oster Jewelers in Denver, USA, who was also involved in this special collaboration.
“I always loved the idea of having an Armin Strom Resonance timepiece in my collection,” said US West Coast-based watch collector known as @horomariobro on Instagram, who dives deep into haute horlogerie details with his camera. His near-microscopic approach separates the wheat from the chaff when it comes to haute horlogerie finishes and has given him a revered position among collectors, not to mention tens of thousands of followers on Instagram.
It has also made him a long-time friend of Armin Strom’s retail partner Oster Jewelers in Denver, a pioneering and passionate force for independent watchmaking brands like Armin Strom. Said founder Jeremy Oster: “After a series of conversations with @horomariobro, I reached out to Claude at Armin Strom, and together the three of us created the Pure Resonance Ultimate Sapphire – a sophisticated dream watch.”
“It was a very organic and creative collaboration, and sometimes you need a push from the outside to make radical changes that you wouldn’t dare to think about yourself, like removing the seconds,” added Armin Strom’s co-founder and master watchmaker Claude Greisler about the monochrome, highly technical timepiece with an extreme level of hand-made haute horlogerie decorations. “The end result was so nice that together, we decided to make a limited edition of 10 pieces.”
The 42-millimetre steel-cased Pure Resonance Ultimate Sapphire is the most minimalistic resonance timepiece made in Armin Strom’s fully integrated manufacture in Biel/Bienne. To fulfil Horomariobro’s wishes a sapphire dial has been applied, and the small seconds as well as Armin Strom’s historical lip on the case at 6 o’clock, have been removed. Even the logo is omitted, albeit for a subtle AS symbol engraved on a movement component. These radical reductions enhance the overall symmetry andhighlights Armin Strom’s extreme in-house abilities for movement production and haute horlogerie decorations. Furthermore, the less-is-more approach enhances the kinetic marvel of the resonance clutch spring connecting the two balance wheels oscillating in resonance towards and away from each other.
“I always loved Armin Strom’s resonance approach from both a physics and a mechanical point of view,” said Horomariobro about the patented invention for improved precision and chronometric stability, developed by Greisler and his team. This is not only visually intriguing, but has also become a watch industry benchmark, as it delivers the fastest, best-performing and most shock-resistant resonance solution in the world.
When it comes to the hand-made decorations on the Pure Resonance Ultimate Sapphire, Armin Strom created a unique combination. The black PVD-coated gear train bridges are adorned with a unique grain d’orge guilloché pattern by Kari Voutilainen, whereas all other decorations are made in-house by Armin Strom. Edges are hand-bevelled wherever humanly possible, the balance bridges are skeletonised and circular grained, other bridges are hand frosted, mirror polished, or perlaged. And note the grainy texture on the winding bridge on the right: an exquisite example of tremblage achieved by one of Armin Strom’s master engravers spending hours and hours carefully and painstakingly digging a frosted pattern with a customised engraving tool.
The open-worked backside has undergone a significant technical development, showing off the crown wheel’s improved ratchet mechanism (which gives the click-click sound when you wind the watch). The backside also carries “the pin”, Armin Strom’s seal of origin. This has been engraved with “Horomariobro”, the Armin Strom symbol and a unique serial number in the limited edition, before being matt finished, hand-bevelled and circular-grained.
“I never expected my simple request for a unique piece would turn into a limited edition with my IG name on it. This collaboration with Claude and Jeremy makes me very proud and honoured – it’s definitely a milestone in my watch-collecting journey,” said Horomariobro.
About Armin Strom
Armin Strom is an independent watch company based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Armin Strom timepieces offer a unique fusion of the Swiss-German horological tradition, avant-garde “transparent mechanics” and an unwavering commitment to horological innovation. The hallmark of the brand’s low-volume, artisanal approach to watchmaking is its commitment to exposed dial-side movement mechanics, with every part hand-finished to the highest haute-horology standards.
Armin Strom was established in 1967 by Mr Armin Strom, a legend in the art of hand-skeletonization. In 2006, the stewardship of Mr Strom’s legacy became the responsibility of Master Watchmaker Claude Greisler and businessman Serge Michel, who together revitalized the brand with the opening of Armin’s Strom’s first fully-integrated Manufacture in 2009. Today the brand designs, develops, mills, embosses, galvanizes, hand-finishes and assembles all of its own watches in-house, enabling Armin Strom to bring even the most complicated ideas to life without any of the compromises that typically stem from reliance on a supply chain.
Technical specifications:
Reference:
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ST17-RP.SA
Indications:
- hours, minutes
Movement:
- Armin Strom manufacture Calibre ARF16, Manual-winding, patented resonance clutch spring, 2 mainspring barrels
- Regulating system: two independent regulation systems connected by a resonance clutch spring
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Power reserve: 48 hours
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Dimensions: 34.40 mm x 7.05mm
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Frequency: 3.5 Hz (25,200 vph)
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Finishing: Base plate and bridges are decorated to the highest quality level
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Jewels: 38
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Number of components: 213
Case:
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Stainless steel
- Sapphire crystal and caseback with anti-reflective treatment
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Diameter: 42.00 mm
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Height: 13 mm
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Water resistance: 5 ATM
Dial:
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Gray metallic sapphire dial ring
Hands:
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Manufactured by Armin Strom, steel with hand finishing and Super-LumiNova® filling
Strap:
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Delivered with a black fabric strap with light grey stitching and stainless-steel double folding clasp
Edition:
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Limited to 10 pieces
About Armin Strom
Armin Strom is an independent watch company based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. Armin Strom timepieces offer a unique fusion of the Swiss-German horological tradition, avant-garde “transparent mechanics” and an unwavering commitment to horological innovation. The hallmark of the brand’s low-volume, artisanal approach to watchmaking is its commitment to exposed dial-side movement mechanics, with every part hand-finished to the highest haute-horology standards.
Armin Strom was established in 1967 by Mr Armin Strom, a legend in the art of hand-skeletonization. In 2006, the stewardship of Mr Strom’s legacy became the responsibility of Master Watchmaker Claude Greisler and businessman Serge Michel, who together revitalized the brand with the opening of Armin’s Strom’s first fully-integrated Manufacture in 2009. Today the brand designs, develops, mills, embosses, galvanizes, hand-finishes and assembles all of its own watches in-house, enabling Armin Strom to bring even the most complicated ideas to life without any of the compromises that typically stem from reliance on a supply chain.
When ‘Mr. Armin Strom’ retired from watchmaking, he transferred ownership of his brand to two boys (by then adults) who had had frequented his workshop so often together in childhood: businessperson Serge Michel and Master Watchmaker Claude Greisler.
In 2009, the revitalized Armin Strom built upon Mr. Strom’s historical legacy with the opening of its first fully-integrated Manufacture; located in Biel, Switzerland.
Today the Manufacture produces all of our timepieces in-house and with great reverence for the Swiss-German watchmaking tradition. Our extraordinary team of dedicated engineers and artisans, led by Master Watchmaker Claude Greisler, uphold that tradition with uncompromising passion and commitment.
Serge Michel is the scion of one of the most prominent families in Switzerland. His unwavering passion and commitment to the business of the Armin Strom Manufacture have made him both the sponsor and the driving business force behind the brand.
Fascinated by watchmaking and watch collecting from a young age, he and his childhood friend Claude Greisler shared a dream of co-founding a watch company; one that would someday produce watches of the very highest quality in the Swiss-German tradition. Today that dream has become a longstanding reality.
Beyond his life in the Manufacture, Serge is a husband and proud father of two girls. His other passions include global travel and wine collecting. Nothing brings a bigger smile to Serge’s face than introducing the latest Armin Strom creation to good friends over a dinner paired with several bottles of fine wine.
Claude Greisler is “a watchmaker’s watchmaker.” His greatest passions are watches (past and present) and complicated watchmaking. In actual fact, watchmaking has been a Greisler family profession for generations. Claude’s training began in his grandfather’s workshop, which led to his formal training, beginning with his completion of a four year program at the “School for Watchmakers and Rhabilleurs” in Solothurn, Switzerland; followed by a two-year program in movement restoration at Centre Interrégionalde Formation des Montagnes [CIFOM] in Le Locle; and then a further two-year program at CIFOM focused on the development and construction of complicated timepieces. Upon the completion of his 8 years of watchmaking education, Claude honed his craft as a watchmaker at Christophe Claret (a brand known for its ultra-complicated timepieces) as the next step in his longstanding ambition: to dedicate himself to the design and production of horologically significant timepieces. Beyond his watchmaking obsession, Claude is also a passionate skier and outdoorsman. Together with his wife, Gaby, Claude explores the Swiss backcountry as often as his responsibilities at the manufacture will allow.
Manufacture
At Armin Strom, we’re obsessed with every detail of every watch that we make. We develop, mill, emboss, galvanize and hand-finish all of our watches in-house. We adhere to the very highest haute-horology standards because we know that Armin Strom collectors appreciate looking at more than just the time.
At Armin Strom, our highly qualified and dedicated team invests an incredible amount of enthusiasm, passion and effort to create watches that are mechanically exceptional and meticulously well-finished. “The only difference between the possible and the impossible is that the impossible takes a little longer.” [Mrs. William Tilton, “The Washington Herald”, 1921].
Our passion for ‘transparent mechanics’ is at the core of our watchmaking design philosophy, but perfection in our execution and in the long-term reliability of our watches is always paramount. These priorities are the hallmarks of the Swiss-German watchmaking tradition. We honor that tradition with every watch that we produce at the Armin Strom Manufacture.
Decoration
Hand engraving
Every piece is unique.
Steel burins in various sizes and wax-coated holders are the tools of the engraver.
In the engraver’s hands, each workpiece becomes a unique work of art. The engraver draws their own motif design on the workpiece with a needle according to their original drawings; working under the microscope.
Polishing
Embellishing every part of a movement makes every Armin Strom watch akin to a hand-crafted piece of jewelry.
Working bare brass or steel by hand is time-consuming work: edges of plates, bridges and levers must be perfectly chamfered or, as watchmakers call it, beveled. Every part is then polished to perfection, even when the embellishment won’t be visible in the finished watch.
Beveling and polishing requires a trained eye and fingertip sensitivity together with both patience and perseverance. For example, even a relatively small part like a pallets bridge will require at least half an hour to complete – and often more than that.
Traditional Grinding
Here a classic fine watch-making finishing technique known as “Geneva Stripes” (Côtes de Genève), is displayed. They’re created via the use an abrasive disc that’s applied in perfectly straight lines to create the Côtes de Genève on the workpiece.
Circular graining (Perlage) is a decorative motif reminiscent of clouds, typically used on main plates. To achieve this pattern, the watchmaker uses an abrasive pencil and gently makes contact with the workpiece, gradually working across the whole surface. This creates the characteristic overlapping circular grained motif.
All rotating parts of an Armin Strom movement are embellished with a circular grinding pattern.
Assembling
Up to this point, they were all just individual parts – turned, milled, polished and decorated. Now the watch will begin to take shape.
The watchmaker uses a pressing tool to insert the jewel bearings for the spindles of the toothed wheels into the plate and bridges. This is a crucial operation. The way the jewels are pressed in influences the correct vertical play of the gear-train. Do the gear-wheels and pinions mesh together correctly? Does the height need adjusting by a few hundredths of a millimeter? Once the gear-train is adjusted, the bridges and plates are screwed down, and the mainsprings are assembled in the going barrels, then the movement is ready to receive the escapement. With the installation of the escapement, consisting of the escape-wheel, the pallets and balance-wheel, the watch comes to life.
After the first assembly, the movement is completely disassembled and each individual part is then cleaned, dried, reassembled and lubricated. After the second assembly, the movement is meticulously regulated before the watchmaker sets the hands and re-inserts the movement back into the case. The back of the case is then fixed in place. The completed watch is subjected to a multi-day rate test on a watch winder. Water resistance is also tested. Once the watch has passed these quality tests, it is finally certified as complete.
