11/07/2018

Armin Strom Masterpiece 1: Hands-on With The Phenomenal Dual Time Resonance

Armin Strom has already won a special place in the small world of independent watchmaking excellence and the hearts of collectors with their in-house production of innovative and beautiful high horological watches. Here they take a step further to display the depth of their know-how with an incredible timepiece. Introducing their new Masterpiece collection. Watch out!

By Benjamin Teisseire

Contributor

The manufacture from Biel had already impressed everyone in 2016 with their Mirrored Force Resonance, then with the Pure Resonance at the beginning of the year. They were revisiting this delicate principle of physics dating back from Christiaan Huygens in the 17th century. The Dual Time Resonance pushes the limits by integrating two movements in a single watch and inducing their resonance with the patented clutch spring from Armin Strom.

Strong emotions guaranteed

Two watches in one. The resonance in the spotlight. This is an exceptional horological piece. 59mm long, 43.4mm wide and 15.9mm thick. A very imposing piece indeed. It will not adapt to every wrist. But it will have every watch aficionado talking. And, surprisingly, its oval shape grade 5 titanium case makes it wearable. Don’t forget you are wearing two watches! The limited width enables the timepiece not to ‘overflow' and the short lugs offer an almost disconcerting comfort. But it is the emotions that this extra-ordinary timekeeper trigger which matter. The ballet proposed by the two balance wheels at 12 o’clock, linked by the now famous Armin Strom Resonance Clutch Spring, is fascinating like a heartbeat. The horological masterpiece springs to life under our astonished eyes.

Armin Strom’s artful finishings

Hooked by the spectacle at 12, the gaze naturally goes towards the rose gold balance wheels' bridges. They are beveled and adorned with beautiful decoration. A meticulous work realized in-house with a small hammer and chisel. This manual intervention makes every piece completely unique. This is pure art! The same goes for the two hours and minutes dials. Their elegance is striking with their refined railroad track for the minutes, their distinctive Roman numerals for the hours and their mirror-polished hands. They boast guillochés from the hands of the master himself, Kari Voutilainen, both on the center dial and the power reserve sub-counter at 6 o'clock. The third type of guilloché in waves can also be found on the 24 hours indicator where a double hand marks the day or the night of the corresponding dial according to the color of their indexes. Truly artistic watchmaking.

Above this artful flurry of details hovers the real star of the timepiece: the famous Armin Strom spring, the truthful conductor of the resonance. It is so thin that it is barely noticeable. But its polished finishing gives it center stage attention when the light strikes it. The back - visible through its sapphire glass - complements the overall high horology feel. The circular Geneva stripes highlight the curves of the plates and the roundness of the case. The symmetry of the face is echoed by the 4 barrels which are wound up by a single crown to guarantee their precision.

Functions and preciseness

On the technical side, having two independent calibers heralded the oval shape of the case. The Dual Time Resonance offers two different time zones on two separate dials. One can also be used as a countdown timer. The induced resonance enables to average slight differences in the precision of each movement, minimizes adverse effects of shocks and conserves the energy of the regulators. According to Armin Strom's lab tests, accuracy efficiency is improved by 15 to 20%. Substantial improvements! The large case also enabled to add two barrels per caliber to deliver a commanding 110 hours of power reserve per movement.

This limited edition of eight pieces launches the new Masterpiece collection which starts on a very high note… And will, no doubt, be highly anticipated henceforth.