2023-09-01 22:05:07
Armin Strom’s new launch pays homage to its first in-house movement
I have to admit, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen the new Armin Strom One Week. Yes, it has just been presented at Geneva Watch Days 2023, at the very moment when all the spotlights of the watchmaking world are on the events and happenings organized in this city. However, it was in July that I saw the new One Week for the first time, when I was able to get a first glimpse of it thanks to Armin Strom co-founder and master watchmaker Claude Greisler, and I benefited from a detailed analysis of its various improvements.
The One Week is a major watch for Armin Strom, it represents the beginning of the era of its rebirth in 2010. At the time, the One Week was the first Armin Strom watch equipped with an in-house movement and it marked the transition of the brand towards a verticalized manufacture endowed with a specific watchmaking philosophy and a mechanical identity. Its long power reserve and symmetrical construction established the cornerstones of watchmaking at Armin Strom: functionality and contemporary aesthetics.
Consequently, Armin Strom’s One Week revival revisits and reinforces the watchmaking codes we now associate with the brand, but brings mechanical improvements that will speak to those who love and appreciate the finer aspects of technical watchmaking. .
One Week movement (back) © Armin Strom
The long power reserve continues to be the defining element of the new One Week, as does its manual winding system. But the double barrels in series now offer better isochronism in the sense that the torque of the movement remains more constant for the duration of the power reserve.
It may seem like a minor thing, but better isochronism provides better stability in chronometric performance, and this ultimately results in a more reliable watch.
On the same subject, the movement can now boast a higher frequency, going from the 2.5 Hz (18,000 vph) of the original One Week to the 3.5 Hz (25,200 vph) of the current version. . Again, a higher frequency increases the resistance of the watch to shocks and other external disturbances, making it more robust.
These two improvements, an increased power reserve and a higher frequency, are in fact contradictory: watches with a higher beat rate generally have shorter power reserves. To obtain the two improvements in the same watch requires a consequent optimization of the work of the movement.
One Week © Armin Strom
In terms of design, the new Armin Strom One Week borrows heavily from the aesthetic that has characterized the brand in recent years: openworked dials, geometric bridges and a meticulous finish emphasizing subtle textures. On the left side of the watch, the mechanism behind the power reserve indication is unveiled, from the conical cam to the ruby gauge that moves a gear bar to transmit power reserve information to the display At 11 o’clock.
For the launch edition of the new Armin Strom One Week, the watch sports light blue PVD-coated plates and bridges and comes with a 10-year warranty (double the usual Armin Strom warranty). With its 41 mm diameter case, the watch is very versatile and will adapt to all wrist sizes, so it’s a shame that it is only available in 25 copies, although of course other editions will follow.
The watch may be called One Week, but its charm lasts much longer than that.
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