In 2010, Armin Strom introduced their very first watch, the One Week, featuring a movement developed and crafted in-house. Equipped with a seven-day power reserve and the design focused on symmetrical harmony of the state-of-the-art mechanics, this statement piece laid the foundation for many of Armin Strom’s future developments.
Recently, the independent Swiss manufacture revisited their initial caliber. With a reworked design, the One Week First Edition establishes itself as a permanent model within the brand’s collections. A hallmark of Armin Strom’s technical and aesthetic approach is the presentation of kinetic-mechanical elements on the dial side. The One Week First Edition takes this even further. The completely reworked and redesigned manual-winding movement with a seven-day power reserve resembles a tiny sculpture. Form, function, aesthetics, and ergonomics are harmoniously brought to the forefront and presented on a the plate treated with a light blue PVD coating.
The caliber ARM21 features two barrel springs connected in series to provide the gear train with consistent energy. Held by two finger-shaped bridges, the barrel springs are symmetrically positioned on the right half of the fully open dial. The manual winding unveils its hypnotic choreography when the two wheels, responsible for winding the barrel springs in opposite directions, are entirely on display.
One of the most striking features of the new One Week is its power reserve indicator. In alignment with the architectural depth of the movement, it is displayed through a cone system inspired by pocket watches. This system consists of a highly polished cone driven by a conical gear on the opposite side of the dial. Another significant evolution of the One Week is the oscillation frequency of the regulating organ, increased from 2.5 Hz to 3.5 Hz (25,200 vph). Achieving this higher frequency, which provides more stable chronometric performance, required a complete recalculation and configuration of the entire gear train.
Unusual for Armin Strom is the arrangement of the hour and minute hands. Typically, their timepieces feature offset hour and minute hands, either as small hands on a subsidiary dial or slightly off-center as large hands. In the One Week, the faceted hour and minute hands, filled with Superluminova, are positioned at the center of the dial.
As all creations of Armin Strom, the One Week showcases meticulous handmade haute-horlogerie finishes. Straight and circular-grained surfaces, chamfering, plates with perlage, and polished screws and countersinks have been painstakingly finished and decorated. The stainless-steel case, water-resistant to 100 meters, measures 41mm in width and only 10.6mm in height – surprisingly compact for a movement with such intricate depth. Paired with the integrated stainless steel bracelet composed of satin-finished and polished “H”-shaped links, the result is a holistic, ergonomically designed ensemble.
The One Week First Edition, debuting at the Geneva Watch Days 2023, is limited to 25 pieces and comes with an extended warranty of ten years, doubling the usual five-year coverage, provided by Armin Strom. Pricing is marked at $34,000.
To learn more, visit Armin Strom, here.