Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Manufacture Edition Green
The independent watch brand Armin Strom released its first resonance watch, the Mirrored Force Resonance in 2016. A groundbreaking watch, the Swiss firm has repeatedly applied this know-how to other models. Last year, the luxury marque revisited its original resonance watch, unveiling the Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance First Edition. More recently, in February 2023, the brand launched the Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Manufacture Edition Blue. Now, the firm has embraced verdant hues, launching the aptly named Mirrored Force Resonance Manufacture Edition Green. Angus Davies looks at the phenomenon of resonance, its history and focusses on the main protagonists in the making of resonance clocks and watches.
The longitude problem
In 2016, Armin Strom, the high-end watch brand based in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland unveiled a resonance watch. This physical phenomenon of resonance was first witnessed by Christiaan Huygens (1625-1695), the Dutch inventor, mathematician and scientist. At the time, Huygens was busily working on the ‘longitude problem’, trying to find a means of calculating longitude while at sea. With hindsight, the idea of using his beloved timekeeper, the pendulum clock, was destined to fail due to the adverse influence of turbulent seas.
Christiaan Huygens (1625-1695)
However, while conducting his research on pendulum clocks, the scientist discovered that if he hung two pendulum clocks from a common beam, supported by two chairs, the devices acted in sympathy with one another. Indeed, the Dutch genius described this phenomenon as ‘the sympathy of two clocks’. While Huygens could see the clocks working in synchronicity, he did not have the necessary mathematical tools to understand precisely what was happening.
Resonance
Today, we know that the two clocks, even when initially out of phase, will eventually move in synchronicity because they transfer energy to one another via the common beam in the form of vibrations. It is this scenario that is commonly termed ‘resonance’.
Antide Janvier and Abraham-Louis Breguet
Antide Janvier (1751 – 1835), the French clockmaker, produced resonance clocks fitted with two pendulums. The swing of a pendulum would negate the rate variation in its counterpart and vice versa. The pendulums swung in opposing directions but moved in synchronicity.
Widely considered the greatest watchmaker of all time, Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823) miniaturised resonance for incorporation within the compact dimensions of a pocket watch. After appraising the relationship between the pendulum and resonance, Breguet believed it would also apply to the idea of placing two balance wheels in close proximity.
He made three pocket watches, each fitted with two movements, exploiting the phenomenon of resonance. With his ‘Montre A Deux Mouvements’ (double movement watch), Breguet positioned both balance wheels close to one another. While some commentators believed Breguet’s resonance was caused via air perturbation, most experts now believe it was the vibrations passing through the mainplate that led to the balance wheels moving in synchronicity. Effectively the mainplate behaved like Huygens ‘common beam’.
F.P.Journe Chronomètre à Resonance – the first resonance wristwatch
Just in the way Breguet miniaturised Janvier’s clock-based system of resonance for use in a pocket watch, François-Paul Journe (born 1957) adapted resonance for incorporation within a wristwatch. He began experimenting with resonance in 1983. He worked on it for two years and then abandoned the idea because, in his own words, ‘it didn’t work well’. Journe returned to his resonance project in the 1990s and released his inaugural version of the Chronomètre à Resonance in 2000.
Journe’s watch was inspired by Breguet’s No. 3177 clock and from the outset was an incredible achievement. One of the technical challenges with Journe’s approach was to regulate each balance to be within 5 seconds per day and position both balance wheels very close to one another. An additional benefit of resonance is that if the wearer’s arm is subject to positional change, one balance wheel will go faster and its counterpart will go slower. The energy both balance wheels share will cause them to synchronise again, cancelling out any adverse positional influence.
Armin Strom was founded in 2006
In 2006, Armin Strom was acquired by Serge Michel. Along with his childhood friend, Claude Greisler, Serge opened the doors to the company’s current Manufacture in 2009. It was a bold move, coming just after the Global financial crisis of 2008. However, these economic conditions allowed the firm to acquire new, state-of-the-art plant at keen prices. Indeed, despite the modest footprint of the building, it is filled with a myriad of machines, including CNC, spark erosion and profile turning machines.
Armin Strom – Haute Horlogerie
Today, courtesy of its impressive technical expertise, the firm makes plates, bridges, pinions, screws, pivots, levers, etc. Having toured the company’s Manufacture, I can attest the Swiss marque is a Manufacture in the truest sense and operates in the rarefied heights of Haute Horlogerie.
Nevertheless, back in 2016, I suspect few commentators would have predicted that Armin Strom, a comparatively young brand at the time, would unveil its own take on the resonance wristwatch. Named the ‘Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance’, this watch places two oscillators in close proximity, linked with an innovative and patented ‘clutch spring’. This elaborately shaped spring behaves like the aforementioned ‘common beam’. The balance wheels are spaced further apart than those found on Journe’s creation but they still exploit the phenomenon of resonance, albeit in a slightly different way.
The Mirrored Force Resonance proffers superior rate stability to a tourbillon while also conferring comparable precision. Another notable benefit of the Armin Strom system is that it delivers an impressive degree of shock resistance, an additional benefit of using its ingenious clutch spring.
Armin Strom Mirrored Force Manufacture Resonance
In 2022, Armin Strom revisited its Mirrored Force Resonance, releasing the Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance First Edition. Personally speaking, I did not see anything wrong with the 2016 model. In my opinion, it still looked fresh and appealing, however, on seeing the new Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance First Edition for the first time, I confess I was smitten. The case is slimmer, the ‘lip’ at 6 o’clock is smaller, the display sits beneath a sapphire glass box and everything looks a tad neater and more refined.
A few months ago, the independent brand served up another dose of horological seduction with the release of the Mirrored Force Resonance Manufacture Blue Edition. The case, measuring 43 mm in diameter and 11.55 mm in height, is the same as the First Edition. However, where this reference differs from the First Edition is that its display incorporates bewitching blue accents. The central part of the off-centre dial is dressed in a rich blue colour and appointed with a grenage finish. A contemporary dark blue Alcantara strap tastefully tops off this harmonious ensemble.
Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Manufacture Edition Green – grenage finish
Now, the boys from Biel are back, serving up another gorgeous timepiece. The suitably named Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Manufacture Edition Green is essentially the same as the Manufacture Edition Blue Edition, released back in February of this year. However, on this occasion, green hues supplant the blue details of the model’s slightly older brother. The central dial area is presented in a green grenage finish and the Alcantara strap makes a return visit, albeit, on this occasion, it’s presented in grey with white stitching.
I remain uncertain whether I prefer the blue colourway or the verdant tones of the latest Manufacture Edition Green version, however, one thing I am sure of, Armin Strom’s technical capabilities are hugely impressive and its products are more desirable than ever before.
Further reading
Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Manufacture Edition Green – technical specification
- Model: Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance – Manufacture Edition Green
- Reference: ST22-RF.20
- Case: stainless steel, diameter 43mm, height 11.55mm, water resistance 3ATM (30 metres), sapphire crystal to front, exhibition case back.
- Functions: hours, minutes, twin-seconds
- Movement: Caliber ARF21; hand-wound movement; frequency 25,200 Vph (3.5Hz); 39 jewels; power reserve 48 hours; 276 components.
- Strap: grey blue Alcantara strap with white stitching and double folding clasp in stainless steel
- Price: £60,000 – (RRP as of 28.2.2023)
- Limited Edition: 50 pieces