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I bear 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 tackle offered 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 received my first hands-on expertise with the One Week. It was very good and simply certainly one of my prime watches of the 12 months. It left an enduring impression and earned a everlasting spot on my grail record — till now, with the brand new Armin Strom One Week Skeleton Titanium.
That grail has simply been changed by a youthful, bolder, and much more revealing mannequin. Enter the One Week Skeleton Titanium. Armin Strom launched this mannequin at Watches and Wonders earlier this 12 months. 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 excitement of Palexpo, someplace I might really get to comprehend it a bit higher. Truthfully, 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 reducing out some bridges and calling it a day. Fairly, it’s a whole rework of the ARM21 caliber. Plates and bridges have been reshaped, opened up, and rebalanced to create a completely totally different character that calls for consideration as an alternative of quietly impressing.
The structure 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 every part now looks like it’s floating in mid-air. There’s rigidity within the motion, nearly like a suspension bridge pulled tight. It’s mechanical however theatrical too. The principle bridges show an anthracite PVD coating (apart from the 2 holding the dual barrels) and handbook ending, which supplies them a stealthy distinction towards the movement taking place round them. In the suitable gentle, the polished bevels sparkle, and the interior geometry reveals itself. There’s depth in all places.
One Week on the wrist
The case measurement 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 below a cuff whereas sustaining a presence that continuously reminds you it’s there, in a great way. If I’m completely sincere, the watch appears a bit greater than the diameter could counsel. I’d say it appears extra like 42mm, however that’s possible as a result of giant “dial” and lack of a correct bezel. That stated, the very brief, stubby lugs preserve it becoming nicely on the wrist. It doesn’t put on large, even when it appears bigger than its on-paper measurements.
The One Week Skeleton Titanium is tremendous comfy to put on, as you’d anticipate 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 after I caught myself doing nothing however looking at 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 gradual grace, a easy and regular counterweight to all of the visible rigidity round it. For all its complexity, the watch stays readable. That could be a difficult steadiness with skeleton watches, and Armin Strom nailed it.
Among the finest H-link bracelets I’ve ever worn
The bracelet is Grade 5 titanium, similar to the case, and it’s probably the greatest H-link kinds I’ve worn. Which may sound like faint reward, however genuinely, it’s wonderful. The central hyperlinks have a raised, folded ridge, nearly like a soft-edged pyramid, which creates further aspects for the sunshine to catch. This provides depth and visible curiosity to what’s often a reasonably flat and probably boring design.
The floor ending matches the tender matte tones of the case fantastically, which helps the entire bundle really feel cohesive and correctly built-in. That’s all the time an vital element and, sadly, not one thing each model will get proper. That is the sort of bracelet that quietly reinforces the watch’s value level, feeling stable, easy, and designed with each consolation and aesthetic steadiness in thoughts. Titanium bracelets may be hit and miss. That light-weight really feel can generally come off as rattly or low-cost, which all the time places me off. Fortunately, there is no such thing as a such concern 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 circulation. My solely minor gripe is the shortage of micro-adjustment. We’re seeing extra butterfly clasps with some sort of on-the-fly adjustment nowadays, and I feel it’s truthful to anticipate 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
Once I first tried the unique One Week in 2023, I believed it was one of the vital quietly assured watches I’d worn. It launched me to the model, and it did so with unbelievable poise. From the seven-day energy reserve to the dual cone indicators and the fantastically layered structure, all of it felt contemporary and totally different. This new model builds on that in a really totally different manner. It takes the identical thought and pulls it aside, revealing every part, exaggerating the traces and sharpening the distinction. The result’s extra aggressive, extra expressive, and in some way much more wearable.
You possibly can say the unique is the selection for purists. It’s restrained and serene. The Skeleton, then again, is what occurs when a model stops holding again. Pleasingly, although, it doesn’t really feel like a gimmick. I believed it may very well 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 structure, with construction and rigidity in thoughts. From some angles, the entire thing appears 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 all the time is from Armin Strom. I really feel the model’s ending is commonly neglected and underappreciated; it’s flawless. The bevels are polished by hand. The black coating offers it a shadowy dimension, and the distinction between matte, brushed, and grained surfaces makes every part really feel extra layered. Nothing feels flat. Even the hidden components 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, easy, and winds like a dream. Truthfully, even winding this watch is satisfying. You are feeling the buttery smoothness of every flip, see the cones shift, and listen to the tender 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 and marketing noise. It’s as a result of Armin Strom has one thing extra to say.
This Skeleton model looks 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 appears, that is nonetheless a watch you possibly can put on day by day, as I did for per 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 in some way makes it even higher. That’s what occurred right here. The One Week Skeleton Titanium takes what was already a wonderful watch and pulls again the curtain. The result’s extra partaking, extra interactive, and surprisingly extra versatile. Positive, skeleton watches aren’t for everybody. And a few folks will all the time desire the calm, full-plate class of the unique. However this model pulled me in. It changed a grail, and I don’t say that frivolously.
The One Week Skeleton Titanium is just not merely a visible replace. It’s a full-throated expression of what Armin Strom does greatest — mechanical depth, sturdy design, considerate engineering, and a whole lack of compromise. For me, somebody who beloved the unique, the Armin Strom One Week Skeleton Titanium is without doubt one of the most compelling watches of the 12 months.
