A Closer Look At The Latest Releases From Armin Strom
We’ve visited with Armin Strom since the Baselworld days. Indeed, the brand was founded in 2009 by Serge Michel and Claude Greisler in Biel, Switzerland. This makes the company, comparatively speaking, one of the “old guard” in haute horlogerie. Admittedly, my interest in this style of open-worked watch has only recently begun, and I now enjoy seeing the watches and hearing the rationale behind each. Every so often, though, a watch comes along and catches me, which causes me to follow the brand more closely.
In August 2024, I had an appointment with Armin Strom and set my eyes on the new Dual Time GMT Resonance – First Edition. This white gold watch with twin sky-blue grenage dials was gorgeous. Its 39mm diameter made it all the more compelling. Sadly, I was missing the €133,300 necessary to bring it home. Still, I’ve had my eye on Armin Strom ever since. A couple of short months ago, the brand introduced three novelties at Watches and Wonders 2025 and shared one in a touch-and-feel session. Let’s briefly review the new pieces.
The Armin Strom One Week Skeleton Titanium
The market for integrated-bracelet watches may appear full, but there’s always room for an effort from a brand like Armin Strom. The new One Week Skeleton Titanium shows more open-working than the original 2023 model. Thankfully, though, the watch isn’t transparent, so unsightly wrist hairs aren’t visible as a backdrop to the lovely finishing. This 41mm by 44.35mm watch has a slim 10.6mm profile. It is made from Grade 5 titanium and carries a depth rating of 10 ATM.
Visible highlights include an open-worked small-seconds display and twin barrels with their trademark Armin Strom bridges. The view through the sapphire display on the back is just as appealing, showing off the anglage and some of the 35 jewels. As the name suggests, the manual-winding in-house ARM21-S caliber uses its two barrels to offer a seven-day power reserve. One hundred pieces of this watch will be made, each with a price of CHF 39,000.
The Orbit Purple, date on demand
Armin Strom brought a sample of the new Orbit Purple to our meeting. In fact, the whole theme of the meeting was purple! This 43.4mm by 44.35mm piece has a small purple fumé dial with a small seconds display. Once again, the idea is to provide legibility while maximizing the skeletonized components. The black case is DLC-coated stainless steel, and the bezel is ceramic. A black textile strap with a DLC-coated pin buckle is consistent with the hyper-modern style of the watch. The Orbit Purple backs up its large and rugged appearance with a water resistance rating of 5 ATM.
Turning the Orbit Purple around reveals the in-house caliber ASS20 (the watch in the photo is a prototype) via a sapphire display. This automatic micro-rotor movement contains an equal-force barrel and offers 72 hours of power reserve. However, the real party trick is enabled via a pusher at 10 o’clock that works with a column wheel. This moves the resting purple arrow at the top of the dial to the current date on demand. It’s a cool complication and shows why we enjoy watches from smaller brands like Armin Strom. Just 20 of these pieces are available for a price of CHF 36,000.
Always my favorite — the Dual Time GMT Resonance
Last year’s Dual Time GMT Resonance was no fluke because it’s back again! This time, however, the 39mm by 44.5mm case is crafted from stainless steel. The small sky-blue dials are also gone in favor of black grenage-finished ones with black azurage chapter rings. The day/night discs at the bottom of each dial have been polished and blackened. Overall, it’s a more serious-looking watch than the First Edition, but it still has a depth rating of 5 ATM. Perhaps the taupe alligator strap requires a change before hitting the pool, though. Despite the lack of color, this is a beauty that I’d love to have on my wrist.
Once again, the watch uses the brand’s ARF22 manual-winding caliber with independent regulating systems and a resonance clutch spring. It provides 42 hours of power reserve and is a marvel to view through the front or back, where a combination of finishing techniques is on display. The good news is that this limited edition of 50 pieces is less expensive than the original white gold reference. However, it’s still CHF 95,000, so I need to keep saving!
Final thoughts
Armin Strom has become one of my favorite brands. The folks are always friendly when showing the watches, and the workmanship is impressive. Plus, the fact that almost everything is made on-site in Biel is commendable. We look forward to covering more releases as they come this year. For now, let us know what you think about this latest trio.
