Armin Strom One Week First Edition Watch Review
The Armin Strom One Week First Edition is a new timepiece that repeats the hand-wound, 7-day power reserve of the inaugural One Week model of 2009. However, this is a wholly new creation with a new movement, the Calibre ARM21, new dial, new case, new bracelet …. It’s all new. Meehna Goldsmith provides an insight into this fabulous watch from the high-end Manufacture based in Biel.
Armin Strom – the Burgdorf era
Armin Strom opened up the doors to his first watch shop in Burgdorf, Switzerland in 1967. He gained a reputation for restoring timepieces, but what attracted Strom the most was the art of hand skeletonisation. This was during a time when hand-skeletonised watches were a very niche part of the market. After seeing his work, mainstream brands called upon Strom’s talented hands to create limited editions of some of their watches. Such was Strom’s skill that he was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2009 for the smallest hand-skeletonised timepiece.
Armin Strom – a new Manufacture (2009)
After nearly 40 years in the business, Strom decided to retire. When Serge Michel and Claude Greisler took over in 2006, they had big plans to expand the brand. By 2009, Armin Strom opened a fully-integrated Manufacture in Biel, with soup to nuts capabilities. This means it can produce a movement from an idea to a fully realised calibre, including all the decorative trimmings. That same year Armin Strom presented the ARM09, its first in-house calibre.
Armin Strom Calibre ARM09 – the brand’s first in-house calibre
The Calibre ARM09 featured a number of decorative techniques, such as bevelled edges, perlage, Geneva stripes and a hand-engraved bridge for the balance wheel. Moreover, the calibre boasted an 8-day power reserve. With such an impressive engine, you need a chassis to match. You wouldn’t drop a Ferrari engine into a Chrysler. At Baselworld 2010, Armin Strom pulled back the curtain on the One Week Earth collection, the inaugural watches from its Manufacture.
While the One Week wasn’t a skeletonised watch in a technical sense, it kept the brand’s open-worked concept intact. The dial was conceived to reveal the beauty of the motion works below. Right out of the gate, the One Week was a success, proving Armin Strom is a bona fide Manufacture.
Armin Strom One Week First Edition – it’s back
Since 2010, Armin Strom has delivered some incredible pieces, including tourbillons, minute repeaters and its fantastic resonance models. All of these have been built on the shoulders of the ARM09 and the resulting One Week. In homage to the watch that started a new chapter for the brand, Armin Strom revisits this classic with the One Week First Edition.
Armin Strom One Week First Edition – design
One of the hallmarks of Armin Strom is the finger bridges. Playing a functional role, they are also integral to the brand’s design codes. They add a three-dimensional and industrial vibe. For the One Week First Edition, Armin Strom has done a full reimagination of the original and not just a quickie facelift.
Armin Strom One Week First Edition – cone system
While the One Week had a partially open dial, the First Edition opens it up completely. With its three-dimensional construction, this new design gives the watch a very architectural feel. There are lots of angles and curves to discover. Using a cone system to indicate the power reserve is a brilliant idea and one that enhances the modern design while also giving a nod to history. The mirror-polished cone, driven by a conical gear on the opposite side of the dial, was inspired by pocket watches. Even the bridge holding the hands steps above the mainplate.
Armin Strom One Week First Edition – Calibre ARM21
In addition to an updated design, the First Edition contains a newly engineered hand-wound movement. The Calibre ARM21, which has a seven-day power reserve, features the signature finger bridges. They anchor the two mainspring barrels, which are arranged symmetrically on the right side of the dial. They work in series to allow a more consistent energy flow and increased precision. When winding the watch, you can see the kinetic dance of the ratchet wheels juicing up the two barrels in opposite directions.
Seen through the sapphire caseback, the movement contains Haute Horlogerie flourishes such as straight and circular-grained surfaces, chamfered and polished bevels, Geneva-striped plates and polished screws and sinks.
While the original One Week had a beat rate of 2.5Hz, the ARM21 runs at 3.5 Hz. The change was made to enhance chronometric performance. However, moving to this higher frequency required going back to the drawing board to reconfigure the gear train.
Armin Strom One Week First Edition – dial
Against the backdrop of the light-blue, PVD-coloured mainplate and bridges, the facetted hour and minute hands rise out from the geometric bridge in the centre of the dial. Filled with lume to enhance legibility, this positioning is another distinction for the Armin Strom One Week First Edition. The brand usually places the hour and minute hands in a subsidiary dial or else offsets them from the centre. The black chapter ring is set with lume-filled baton indices, matching the black hue of the small seconds dial at 9 o’clock.
Armin Strom One Week First Edition – case
Limited to 25 pieces, the Armin Strom One Week First Edition comes in a 41 mm stainless steel case. It has a svelte 10.6 mm height, which is remarkable considering the three-dimensional construction. The watch is presented on an integrated stainless steel bracelet with H-shaped satin-brushed and polished links and secures with a stainless steel double-folding clasp. Armin Strom has one of the most comprehensive warranties in the business, offering a 5 year warranty. You can double that to 10 years for the First Edition.
Armin Strom One Week First Edition – closing thoughts
The Armin Strom One Week First Edition is a worthy successor to the One Week. It shows how much the Swiss marque has grown and innovated in less than 15 years. Melding sophisticated mechanics and aesthetics, the First Edition is a homerun and stands out within a congested marketplace. I’m willing to bet it will become a future classic.
Further reading
Technical specification
- Model: Armin Strom One Week First Edition
- Reference: ST23-OW.FE
- Case: stainless steel, diameter 41.00 mm, height 10.60 mm, water resistance 10 ATM (100 metres), sapphire crystal to front, exhibition case back.
- Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds
- Movement: Caliber ARM21, hand-wound movement, frequency 25,200 Vph (3.5Hz), 35 jewels, power reserve 7 days, 194 components.
- Bracelet: stainless steel with a double folding clasp
- Price: £32,000 – (RRP as of 29.8.2023)
- Limited Edition: 25 pieces