Armin Strom Pure Resonance “Salmon” Special Edition

Armin Strom once again demonstrates its prowess in mastering the most elusive physical phenomenon in watchmaking in the Pure Resonance “Salmon” Special Edition

After the “Sky Blue” and “Sea Green” editions of its innovative Pure Resonance model, Armin Strom celebrates the golden age of precision chronometry with a more traditional but equally striking “Salmon” guilloché dial, handcrafted by Kari Voutilainen in a limited edition of only five pieces.

Armin Strom's revolutionary resonance mechanism executed in its most distilled form, the Pure Resonance, combines the Manufacture’s patented technology – which is entirely visible from the dial side – with a classic time display featuring only the hours, minutes and seconds.

Lavishly hand-finished throughout with bevelled and polished edges and wide côtes-de-Genève stripes, this special edition is further embellished with a coppery-rose “salmon” coloured guilloché engraved dial, handcrafted by the celebrated independent and artisanal watchmaker Kari Voutilainen’s atelier using a traditional manual rose-engine lathe for a truly lavish touch.

The salmon colour and radiant guilloché pattern add a touch of old-world chronometry to an otherwise cutting-edge piece of creative and highly technical independent watchmaking.

Technical specifications: Pure Resonance Salmon

Reference no.ST17-RP.65

Indications: hours, minutes, seconds

Movement: Armin Strom manufacture Calibre ARF16

Manual-winding, patented resonance clutch spring, 2 mainspring barrels

Regulating system: two independent regulation systems connected by a resonance clutch spring

Power reserve: 48 hours

Dimensions: 34.40 mm x 7.05mm

Frequency: 3.5 Hz (25,200 vph)

Finishing: Base plate and bridges are decorated to the highest quality level

Jewels: 38

Number of components: 206

Case: Stainless steel

Sapphire crystal and caseback with anti-reflective treatment

Diameter: 42.00 mm

Height: 13 mm

Water resistance: 5ATM

Dial: Salmon-coloured hand guilloché by Kari Voutilainen, off-centre dial with subdial

Hands: Manufactured by Armin Strom, steel with hand finishing

Strap: Black alligator strap and stainless-steel double-folding clasp.

Edition: Limited to five pieces

Price: CHF59,000 / EUR62,600/ GBP53,000/ USD60,000

For more information, please visit: www.arminstrom.com

Gravity Equal Force by Armin Strom

Gravity Equal Force is the newest watch demonstrating an Armin Strom core principle: always be innovating.

This watch takes the traditional mainspring barrel and turns it on its head by adding a stop-work declutch mechanism combined with automatic winding to create consistent power delivery to the balance. With a bold redesign of the movement, dial and case, Gravity Equal Force marks the launch of the new System 78 Collection, highlighting innovative watchmaking at a competitive price.

As a guiding principle, every watch that comes from the Armin Strom manufacture must include an innovation. The inspiration behind Gravity Equal Force was a desire to transmit equal force to the balance, thereby increasing the consistency of rate. Building upon the classic stop-works mechanism, Armin Strom developed an ingenious stop-works declutch system that operates inside the mainspring barrel to limit the torque delivered to the balance, providing smooth power delivery. This represents the first time a stop-works declutch mechanism has been added to an automatic winding movement.

Not content with one innovation, Armin Strom found insight in a pocket watch in need of repair from a U.S. collector, which contained a motor barrel design showing clear advantages over the standard going barrel. Inspired, the watchmakers designed a barrel operating in the reverse of a traditional mainspring barrel by driving the going train via the barrel arbor and winding the barrel housing, which both improves functionality and reduces wear.

This state-of-the-art design creates a stable, low-friction axis of rotation for the mainspring to deliver power from the barrel arbor, supported by precision jewel bearings. Though using only a portion of the mainspring by preventing it from completely unwinding, Armin Strom still achieved a power reserve of 72 hours. Wound by a unidirectionally winding micro rotor visible from the dial, the mainspring bears a power reserve indicator on the barrel cover for reference.

With numerous small improvements to the going train and winding mechanism, the new Caliber ASB19 demonstrates Armin Strom’s commitment to continually questioning established theory and using in-house R&D to advance horological technology. Claude Greisler, co-founder of Armin Strom, highlights the improved usability: “We have reinvented the whole functionality of an automatic watch movement to bring another level of precision and to offer our collectors more assurance for reliable daily wear.”

The new Gravity Equal Force also differs from previous models with a new off-center dial and slimmer case with a smaller diameter. The highlight of the watch is now the triplet of bridges echoing the pocket watch inspiration behind the ASB19. The 41-millimeter case, a first for Armin Strom, should appeal to the more classically-inclined collector. The contemporary dimensions maintain the essence of Armin Strom DNA while shaping a new aesthetic that showcases a reduction to the essential. Moving to an off-center dial, the Gravity Equal Force is more legible to maximize the user experience for discerning collectors.

The Armin Strom Gravity Equal Force is the first model of the new System 78 Collection. 

Armin Strom for Only Watch

Armin Strom has just release it's unique piece for Only Watch, the Manual Hunt Slonem Edition. The dial side features a screen onto which an expressive painting of American artist Hunt Slonem’s contemporary art has been transferred. 

The watch is housed in a 43.4 mm titanium case, featuring the manually wound AMW11 caliber manufactured in-house, with off-center time display and seconds subdial. Its openwork spring barrel benefits from a 5 day power-reserve. 

A composition of pastel hues and powerful lines continues the artist’s famous “bunny paintings” series. Together with the watch, the successful future bidder will be acquiring a hand-signed original which takes up the colors and motifs of the timepiece in a 46 cm x 31 cm format. For his work entitled “Rex”, the artist has used metal pigments in oil paint as the base for his characteristic linear styling.

The Only Watch auction brings prestigious names in watchmaking togther and provides the opportunity to put their expertise to a good cause once every two years. Proceeds raised from the auction benefits Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy research. In 2017 there are some 49 brands participating, although not all of them have donated wristwatches. The auction for the watches will be held on November 11, 2017, and prior to that, Christie's Auction House will take the pieces on a tour. 

MONACO, 27-30 September 2017

BANGKOK, 2-3 October 2017

SINGAPORE, 5-6 October 2017

DUBAI, 9-11 October 2017

HONG KONG, 23-24 October 2017

TAIPEI, 26-27 October 2017

NEW YORK, 29-30 October 2017

LOS ANGELES, 1-2 November 2017

GENEVA, 9-11 November

For more details, please visit: http://www.onlywatch.com/

A Mammoth Launch - The HYT Skull Vida

Hot off the presses today is the launch of HYT's Skull Vida, a limited edition of just 5 pieces. The 'limited edition' in this case could also be referred to as 5 unique pieces, as the material reflects its own unique properties, and is a very unusual material to watchmaking.

The skull shaped sculpted dial is crafted from Siberian mammoth ivory thousands of years old. In fact, most of the mammoths that are being uncovered in the region are 15,000-30,000 years old and have been remarkably well preserved, having been frozen in place until now. Before any work can be done on the ivory, it has to go through a stabilization process so that it can adjust to the atmosphere. Specially trained artisans worked with the ivory, which given its age, had to be very carefully handled.

"Our first Skull collections fell within the tradition of Memento Mori, reflecting in particular the Mexican culture of Dia de los Muertos, where death is celebrated in the same way as life, in a celebratory communion of the passing of time," recalls Grégory Dourde, CEO of HYT. "However, we felt that we could go even further still by literally combining life and the unique flow of time with our fluid technology and a dial made from an authentic material, a true living sculpture. The Skull Vida was born from this all-encompassing, holistic vision." 

The Skull Vida comes in a 51 mm black DLC titanium case which highlights the creaminess of the ivory. It is powered by HYT's exclusive mechanical hand-wound movement which provides a 65-hour power reserve. The seconds are displayed in its left eye, the power reserve in its right. As usual, the entire artwork is surrounded by an HYT capillary specially folded into the skull shape, in which the separation point of two immiscible liquids indicates the hours. The strap, is a beige floral-embroidered fabric with a black DLC titanium deployant buckle.

The Nixie Machine II Debuts at M.A.D.Gallery

If you have ever dreamed of time traveling, the Nixie Machine II by Berlin-based artist Frank Buchwald might be just the way to get there! The clock, created in collaboration with passionate engineer Dalibor Farny, certainly gives you a Victorian-era/Steampunk vibe, and Buchwald’s inspiration definitely reflects this element in his work. “Pencil, glue and cardboard...railway stations, steam engines...childhood memories. Creativity and enthusiasm form the golden thread that has weaved through my life. They’re my fuel.” he explains.

At the heart of the clock, and indeed the display of time, are Nixie tubes which were introduced in the 1950s. Nixie tubes – also known as cold cathode displays – became a popular way of presenting numerals using glow discharge. Each glass tube is filled with a low-pressure neon-based gas and includes a wire-mesh anode and layered cathodes shaped like numerals; a separate cathode is needed for every numeral 0 to 9. A distinctive orange glow discharge surrounds each cathode when power is applied. Assembled in multi-digit arrays by connecting electronic circuitry to several tubes, Nixie tubes were often used for computers, clocks, and frequency counters, though these were eventually supplanted by more practicable, less costly – though arguably less charming – displays such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

Each and every detail has been manually handcrafted, from the design, construction, and detailed finishes of the clock to the six Nixie tubes produced by Dalibor Farny. Farny put in numerous years of research and experimentation to build a modern Nixie tube and handcrafts them in a studio that looks like a cross between a laboratory and workshop located inside an old castle near Topolna in the Czech Republic.

The heart of the clock in itself is completely innovative and modern, despite its overall vintage feel and keeps time automatically via its powerful, Wi-Fi-enabled electronics dock. therefore, it is completely automatic. All settings and special features – including scroll effects, day/night modes, digit light dimming, time zone settings and more – can be intuitively programmed online. The clock can also operate offline, regulated by a knob on the back. 

12 unique pieces are available exclusively from the M.A.D.Galleries in Geneva, Dubai, and Taipei. 

Show your love with Christophe Claret's Marguerite

Christophe Claret offers a spectacular gift of love with Marguerite. As part of their first collection of watches especially created for women, Margot, the new Marguerite model is clothed in over 600 diamonds. The red gold case measures a perfect 42.5mm, and the bezel and lugs are set with over 380 diamonds of varying sizes alone.

The daisy at the center of the dial  has overlapping petals and is accented by another 220 diamonds. Two fluttering butterflies, highlighted with orange Super-LumiNova appear to float around the daisy indicating the time. The butterflies are slightly different in color, the 'female' version is darker and indicates the hours, while the 'male' version is lighter and points to the minutes. At the heart of the flower is a glistening ruby all hovering over a white mother-of-pearl dial.

The magic doesn't stop there. Hidden beneath the numbers on the dial is a message that reveals itself when the pusher at 2 o'clock is pressed. The numbers disappear to reveal the phrase: “Il m’aime passionnément” (He loves me passionately). For even more personalization, the message can be customized to be whatever is desired, within the  given number of characters allowed.

The caseback isn't left out either and provides an opportunity to admire the movement’s oscillating weight sculpted like a daisy and set with eight rubies. The daisy shape also allows the owner to indulge in a game of 'He loves me, he loves me not', by holding the watch in a horizontal position, and with one or two shakes, the weight will move for a few seconds and then stop to reveal whether the answer is yes or no!

Available in red, blue and green, in a white or red gold case, each color is a limited edition of 30 pieces. 

Graff Princess Butterfly Secret Watch

The master craftsmen at Graff have managed to transform the soft beauty and elegance of a butterfly into a delicate and intricately jeweled ladies watch. On the outside, the sculptured butterfly silhouette is made up of diamonds and gemstones, all invisibly set, and reminiscent of the natural butterfly’s wings. 

Hidden under the wings is the 'secret', the watch. To reveal the time the wearer simply presses on one of the diamonds in the body of the butterfly, and the wings slide open revealing the watch inside. 

Crafted out of white gold, the case is set with 66 baguette diamonds and sapphires. There are four different variations; Full diamond, ruby, sapphire and diamonds with sapphire detail. The invisible setting, created in the 1930's, requires small grooves to be cut in the underside of each diamond or gemstone allowing them to slide onto a grid hidden beneath the stones. Not only that, but the color of the stones needs to be color-matched and sized precisely, so that they preserve the overall beauty and delicate curvature of the butterfly wings. 

Looks like Graff has managed to capture nature beautifully.