I keep in mind the primary time I noticed the Armin Strom One Week. It was throughout Geneva Watch Days in 2023, and the setting couldn’t have been extra memorable. Whereas most manufacturers hosted their conferences within the shaded, sepia-toned suites of the Beau Rivage, Armin Strom had one thing totally different in thoughts. I adopted the deal with supplied and located myself boarding a small boat. There, looking throughout the well-known Lac Léman, beer in hand and sitting throughout from co-founder Claude Greisler, I bought my first hands-on expertise with the One Week. It was excellent and simply one among my top watches of the year. It left an enduring impression and earned a everlasting spot on my grail checklist — till now, with the brand new Armin Strom One Week Skeleton Titanium.
That grail has simply been changed by a youthful, bolder, and way more revealing mannequin. Enter the One Week Skeleton Titanium. Armin Strom launched this mannequin at Watches and Wonders earlier this yr. I wasn’t there this time round, so I needed to admire it from afar. However the second I noticed it, I reached out to the model. I wanted to see it within the metallic, away from the thrill of Palexpo, someplace I may actually get to understand it a bit higher. Actually, this watch regarded good in images, however I anticipated much more when getting up shut and private.
The identical bones, simply far much less modest
The foundations are the identical, however the Skeleton? It’s louder, leaner, and never afraid to indicate off. This isn’t a easy case of chopping out some bridges and calling it a day. Slightly, it’s an entire rework of the ARM21 caliber. Plates and bridges have been reshaped, opened up, and rebalanced to create a wholly totally different character that calls for consideration as an alternative of quietly impressing.
The format nonetheless follows the identical logic — twin vertically aligned barrels, providing seven full days of energy, with the dual signature cone-style energy reserve indicators. However all the pieces now appears like it’s floating in mid-air. There’s stress within the motion, nearly like a suspension bridge pulled tight. It’s mechanical however theatrical too. The primary bridges show an anthracite PVD coating (aside from the 2 holding the dual barrels) and guide ending, which provides them a stealthy distinction towards the movement occurring round them. In the proper mild, the polished bevels sparkle, and the internal geometry reveals itself. There’s depth in every single place.
One Week on the wrist
The case dimension hasn’t modified, and I’m glad. It’s nonetheless 41mm throughout and 10.6mm thick, which retains the proportions close to excellent. It wears flat sufficient to slide underneath a cuff whereas sustaining a presence that consistently reminds you it’s there, in a great way. If I’m completely sincere, the watch seems a bit greater than the diameter could recommend. I’d say it seems extra like 42mm, however that’s doubtless because of the giant “dial” and lack of a correct bezel. That mentioned, the very brief, stubby lugs preserve it becoming effectively on the wrist. It doesn’t put on huge, even when it seems bigger than its on-paper measurements.
The One Week Skeleton Titanium is tremendous snug to put on, as you’d count on with its light-weight alloy. The lugs curve gently, the strap integration is seamless, and the folding clasp is safe with out being cumbersome. Nothing will get in the best way. There have been moments once I caught myself doing nothing however observing it and resting my wrist on a desk, watching the sunshine shift ever so barely over the barrels and polished accents. Don’t inform my boss, however this watch causes procrastination. The small seconds hand at 9 o’clock strikes with a sluggish grace, a easy and regular counterweight to all of the visible stress round it. For all its complexity, the watch stays readable. That could be a tough stability with skeleton watches, and Armin Strom nailed it.
Top-of-the-line H-link bracelets I’ve ever worn
The bracelet is Grade 5 titanium, identical to the case, and it’s probably the greatest H-link types I’ve worn. That may sound like faint reward, however genuinely, it’s glorious. The central hyperlinks have a raised, folded ridge, nearly like a soft-edged pyramid, which creates additional aspects for the sunshine to catch. This provides depth and visible curiosity to what’s normally a reasonably flat and probably boring design.
The floor ending matches the gentle matte tones of the case superbly, which helps the entire bundle really feel cohesive and correctly built-in. That’s at all times an necessary element and, sadly, not one thing each model will get proper. That is the type of bracelet that quietly reinforces the watch’s value level, feeling strong, clean, and designed with each consolation and aesthetic stability in thoughts. Titanium bracelets could be hit and miss. That light-weight really feel can typically come off as rattly or low-cost, which at all times places me off. Fortunately, there isn’t any such situation right here.
The butterfly clasp is slim and sits only a contact above the hyperlink line, but it surely’s deliberately so. It integrates properly and doesn’t break the stream. My solely minor gripe is the shortage of micro-adjustment. We’re seeing extra butterfly clasps with some type of on-the-fly adjustment today, and I feel it’s honest to count on that at this stage. It’s not a dealbreaker, simply one thing I’d like to see added down the road. I discovered myself sitting barely between hyperlink sizes, in order that micro-adjustment would have been the cherry on prime.
In comparison with the unique
After I first tried the original One Week in 2023, I believed it was probably the most quietly assured watches I’d worn. It launched me to the model, and it did so with unimaginable poise. From the seven-day energy reserve to the dual cone indicators and the superbly layered structure, all of it felt recent and totally different. This new model builds on that in a really totally different manner. It takes the identical concept and pulls it aside, revealing all the pieces, exaggerating the strains and sharpening the distinction. The result’s extra aggressive, extra expressive, and by some means much more wearable.
You may say the unique is the selection for purists. It’s restrained and serene. The Skeleton, however, is what occurs when a model stops holding again. Pleasingly, although, it doesn’t really feel like a gimmick. I believed it could possibly be an excessive amount of on the wrist, but it surely isn’t. It’s simply extra alive.
The ARM21-S motion and execution
The ARM21-S, as it’s now known as, is a correct technical showcase. It’s not simply the ARM21 with the fats trimmed. The bridges have been redesigned to swimsuit this open format, with construction and stress in thoughts. From some angles, the entire thing seems like it’s hanging on wires. From others, it feels carved out of a single piece of metallic. Both manner, it’s enjoyable to discover.
The ending is spectacular, because it at all times is from Armin Strom. I really feel the model’s ending is commonly ignored and underappreciated; it’s flawless. The bevels are polished by hand. The black coating provides it a shadowy dimension, and the distinction between matte, brushed, and grained surfaces makes all the pieces really feel extra layered. Nothing feels flat. Even the hidden elements have character. Technically, the efficiency stays the identical. The dual barrels offer you seven days of reserve, and the motion beats at 3.5Hz. It’s correct, clean, and winds like a dream. Actually, even winding this watch is satisfying. You’re feeling the buttery smoothness of every flip, see the cones shift, and listen to the gentle click on of engagement. These little touches stick with you.
The place Armin Strom goes
What I respect about Armin Strom is how centered the model is. There’s not a single filler mannequin within the lineup. Each piece feels intentional. And when revisiting an idea, it’s by no means for advertising noise. It’s as a result of Armin Strom has one thing extra to say.
This Skeleton model appears like that — just like the designers took a breath, regarded on the One Week, and tried to see how far they might push it, not in a flashy or reckless manner however in a methodical, engineered, horologically respectful manner. And regardless of how uncovered it seems, that is nonetheless a watch you may put on each day, as I did for every week. It’s not a secure queen, and it’s not a novelty; it’s a severe piece of watchmaking that additionally occurs to be a bit bit showy.
Closing ideas on the Armin Strom One Week Skeleton Titanium
There’s one thing particular about when a model reinterprets a fantastic watch and by some means makes it even higher. That’s what occurred right here. The One Week Skeleton Titanium takes what was already a superb watch and pulls again the curtain. The result’s extra participating, extra interactive, and surprisingly extra versatile. Positive, skeleton watches aren’t for everybody. And a few individuals will at all times choose the calm, full-plate magnificence of the unique. However this model pulled me in. It changed a grail, and I don’t say that flippantly.
The One Week Skeleton Titanium shouldn’t be merely a visible replace. It’s a full-throated expression of what Armin Strom does finest — mechanical depth, sturdy design, considerate engineering, and an entire lack of compromise. For me, somebody who liked the unique, the Armin Strom One Week Skeleton Titanium is without doubt one of the most compelling watches of the yr.
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