New York Groove: A Day In The City With Armin Strom’s New Resonance Collection

In 2016, Armin Strom introduced the Mirrored Force Resonance timepiece to great critical acclaim. Resonance is achieved when “two oscillating bodies in close proximity influence each other and eventually synchronize,” according to the brand. The sheer complexity involved in creating the timepiece with two balances beating at the same rhythm, yet in opposite directions, is a feat that few watchmakers have ever been able to accomplish. After dedicating years to developing the precise mechanics, Armin Strom’s master watchmakers produced the finished timepiece, a true testament to the brand’s watchmaking prowess. 
 

As a brand that has specialized in skeleton watches since its founding, Armin Strom knows a thing or two about patience. The Resonance’s clutch spring alone took its master watchmakers a full two and a half years to design and produce. But the spring is just one of the many components that had to be painstakingly developed and fine-tuned in order to make the watch’s movement run smoothly and accurately. “The Raison d’Etre of the Mirrored Force Resonance is to display the interesting functionality of the resonant balances while improving the watch’s overall precision. The resonance clutch spring provides the watch with a fascinating and patented ‘animation’ of the way it functions,” the brand said in a statement. “The balances’ perfectly matched rhythms, moving in opposite directions, serve to provide optimal timekeeping precision.” Beyond that, watching the movement is truly mesmerizing.
 

So how does this dual system actually work? “One body in motion relays its vibrations to its surroundings,” according to the brand. “When another body with a similar natural resonant frequency to the first receives these vibrations, it will absorb energy from the first and start vibrating at the same frequency in a sympathetic manner. The first body acts as the ‘exciter,’ while the second acts as the ‘resonator.’”
 

Armin Strom has also introduced the Pure Resonance timepiece this year. Like the Mirrored Force Resonance, the watch benefits from two balances operating in resonance. In the Pure Resonance, though, the balances do not “mirror” each other by going in opposite directions, they operate in the same direction. The Pure Resonance’s dial is further simplified with a seconds subdial at 7 o’clock that allows for easy reading at a glance, versus the Mirrored Force that has a twin seconds flyback display.
 

The relative simplicity of the Pure Resonance is intentional. “The purpose of redesigning the movement’s architecture was clarity, thereby putting focus on the resonance assembly and accuracy,” says brand director Claude Greisler. “The reason for this watch’s improved chronometry can be found in the straightforward approach to the movement: the fewer functions a timepiece must perform, the better it can concentrate on accuracy.”
 

Despite its simplicity, the Pure Resonance’s movement is perfectly finished, in keeping with all of Armin Strom’s watches. Its case is smaller too, with reduced-size lugs and crown, measuring 42mm across. The watch is available in either a rose gold or stainless steel case and fitted with the proprietary ARF16 movement with a full 48 hours of power reserve. Armin Strom owner Serge Michel declares, “the Pure Resonance heralds a new era at Armin Strom.” What else will this new era produce? Only time will tell.