Armin Strom celebrates 15 years as a fully-integrated manufacture
Serge Michel and, on the right, Claude Greisler
Since 2009, Michel and Greisler have built a highly technological independent manufacture with a team of 38, including 22 skilled watchmakers able to turn raw steel bars into hundreds of complex, interconnected watch components used for the three main collections of the brand: System 78, Resonance and Masterpiece.
The 17 exclusive movements in-house developed and manufactured by Armin Strom
After Claude and Serge inaugurated the Armin Strom manufacture in Biel/Bienne, it only took a year for the brand to present its first in-house timepiece and movement in 2010 – the “One Week,” with a seven-day power reserve.
The following year, in 2011, it started a partnership with the Formula 1 Marussia Virgin Racing team, where Armin Strom was not only a sponsor: engine parts from F1 cars were melted and used for movement parts in the models created for this collaboration.
In 2012 came Armin Strom’s first in-house tourbillon. Beating at 2.5 Hz, the hand-wound ATC11 calibre was equipped with a double going barrel delivering a remarkable power reserve of 10 days.
The Calibre ATC11 featuring a tourbillon and a double going barrel
The One Week Skeleton that followed in 2014 can be considered the modern symbol of the Armin Strom long tradition in the art of skeletonization and hand engraving. After cutting away all the parts of the movement without active function, the remaining parts are engraved and meticulously decorated by hand offering unique views of the mechanics to the owner.
One year later, the brand received the first of its three Red Dot Awards for the design of the Skeleton Pure Water.
A major milestone came in 2016 with the launch of the Mirrored Force Resonance, a timepiece featuring a patented resonating dual regulator. In watchmaking only few watchmakers attempted to take advantage of the resonance phenomenon to improve accuracy, precision and rate stability of a timepiece.
Above and below, the Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance
In 2018, the world’s first Dual Time Resonance was introduced. With two completely independent time displays driven by independent movements in resonance, it became the start of Armin Strom’s “Masterpiece” collection. This collection grew in 2019, with the Minute Repeater Resonance – the world’s first chiming resonance wristwatch.
The Dual Time Resonance Sapphire, and below, the Minute Repeater Resonance
The same year, Armin Strom released the world’s first automatic watch with a patented equal force transmission mechanism, the Gravity Equal Force. Several inventions followed – the 2021 Tribute 1, which reinterprets the classic dress watch in a modern way while including an innovative motor barrel that increases efficiency; the 2022 Orbit, the world’s first watch with an on-demand date indicated on the bezel; and in 2023 a return to the brand’s roots with a new iteration of the One Week, though completely reimagined with a new movement and a new design.
“From day one, we embraced a refined openwork design approach with our watches. This is because we want to highlight the labour, precision and dedication poured into each piece – a true reflection of our Swiss-German timepiece-manufacturing philosophy based on the science of movement,” said Claude, who recharges his batteries by ski touring in the nearby Alps.
“The hard work has paid off – not only do we now have collectors around the world, but we have also built up a fantastic in-house team. And later this year we will release a new timepiece that truly encapsulates our 15 years of know-how and innovation,” continued Serge, who not only is a great watchmaking enthusiast but is also the co-owner of a legendary music festival in Switzerland.
Each component used in Armin Strom’s timepieces is carefully hand-finished in-house with decorations adhering to the highest Haute Horology standards: polished bevels; black polishing; Geneva stripes; perlage; straight graining; matt, frosted and tremblage finishes; circular graining; or dramatically sun-brushed surfaces.
All Armin Strom movements are handcrafted, with 97% movement components developed, produced and finished in-house. And before leaving the manufacture each watch is assembled twice and thoroughly tested to ensure the highest possible quality.
This meticulous approach is also tied to the brand's visionary predecessor, Mr. Armin Strom, who used to say: “When you devote as much time as I do perfecting a watch movement, you grow very fond of your watch.”
Serge and Claude had started hanging out in Mr. Armin Strom’s workshop in the village of Burgdorf when they were just eight but they could not imagine that they would one day transform a little workshop specialising in skeletonising watches into an independent manufacture, realising their childhood dream of building their own watches.
Yet here they are, and the brand Armin Strom will continue its independent quest for innovation, precision, and perfection – traditional watchmaking savoir-faire with a modern twist.
As Serge stated, “15 years is perhaps not a long time in the watch industry – but it is a nice number of years for an independent brand, through which we have been able to build a unique, Swiss-German horological identity with instantly recognisable designs, technical mastery and remarkable finishings.”
Claude adds: “We have a lot of innovations up our sleeve, some to be presented in 2024. We are ready to dedicate another 15 years to the science of movement.”
Discover the Armin Strom manufacture at arminstrom.com
Discover the Armin Strom manufacture at arminstrom.com
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