ARMIN STROM – Gravity Equal Force Ultimate Sapphire Purple Edition

ARMIN STROM – SYSTEM 78 Gravity Equal Force Ultimate Sapphire Purple Edition 2024

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Armin Strom sets the tone in the realm of transparent mechanics
with the Gravity Equal Force Ultimate Sapphire Purple

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Key Takeaways:

• Armin Strom introduces the Gravity Equal Force Ultimate Sapphire Purple  – limited to 25 pieces per year.
• The first automatic watch with a patented equal-force transmission integrated into the mainspring barrel, a power reserve indication, and a unique micro-rotor design.
• A guilloché mainplate crafted by Artist-Watchmaker Kari Voutilainen, renowned for the excellence of his handmade guilloche decoration techniques.
• Established as an integrated manufacture in 2009, Armin Strom continues to lead in independent watchmaking with 17 exclusive calibres and groundbreaking designs to date. 2024 promises more surprises from this creative force.

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Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, 6 May 2024: Armin Strom fuses masterful mechanics with a bold chromatic twist, unveiling its latest Ultimate Sapphire Edition. The iconic Gravity Equal Force now sports a striking purple guilloché-engraved mainplate by Kari Voutilainen.

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Armin Strom’s System 78 collection represents the independent manufacture’s purest expression of innovative haute horlogerie. Within it, the classical codes of watchmaking are revisited to bring about new functions and solutions, while also expressing the brand’s unique aesthetic sensibilities. 

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With an emphasis on transparency, as well as highlighting kinetic elements, the Gravity Equal Force stands out as a technical tour-de-force with an instantly recognisable look – outstanding in form and function, finished by meticulous hand decoration. Now, with the new ‘Purple’ Ultimate Sapphire Edition, Armin Strom is doubling down on integrating vibrant chromatic hues with exceptional mechanics.

Let it reign: Gravity Equal Force Purple

At once regal and electric, the latest edition of the Gravity Equal Force features a colour Armin Strom has never used before. Its base plate boasts a guilloché engraved motif with a barley grain pattern, expertly handcrafted in the atelier of acclaimed independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen using a traditional rose engine lathe. 

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The striking purple colour is applied using a 3D PVD process, which reflects a wide spectrum of tones as it shifts with the light. Making this edition even more outstanding, the small off-centred dial is crafted from transparent sapphire crystal, which is reserved exclusively for the Gravity Equal Force’s Ultimate Sapphire Editions. The crowning glory is a light grey nubuck leather strap with purple stitching and keepers. The Gravity Equal Force Ultimate Sapphire Purple is limited to a run of 25 pieces per year.

Automatic: redefined

 The Gravity Equal Force stands out as the first automatic watch endowed with an equal force transmission integrated directly in the mainspring barrel - a patented mechanism by Armin Strom. It provides consistent power transmission to the regulating organ, ensuring unwavering precision throughout the watch’s autonomy. The power reserve indicator forms part of the barrel, which is entirely visible from the dial side, opposite the micro-rotor with a unique click system featuring two springs for better winding efficiency.

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Also this latest creation, part of Armin Strom’s perpetual quest for superior chronometric performance, was entirely developed, manufactured and decorated within the walls of the Bienne-based manufacturing site. Like all Armin Strom watches, the Gravity Equal Force Purple’s movement is assembled a first time to ensure it is in perfect working order and that it meets the brand’s exacting decorative standards, then taken apart and assembled a second time when it is ready to be cased in its final form.

Putting the ‘haute’ in ‘horlogerie’

What separates a mere tool from a work of art is craftsmanship. Like a canvas for artistic expression, superlative hand-finishing applied by specialised watchmakers and seasoned artisans can be appreciated throughout the Gravity Equal Force and its many proudly exposed layers and components. Polished bevels (anglage) on the bridges, black polished screws, polished countersinks, perlage and various types of graining, be it straight or circular, as well as Geneva stripes on the three-quarter bridge visible through the case’s back.

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One of the Gravity Equal Force’s most distinctive elements is the triplet of dark grey ruthenium-plated bridges that occupy the right-hand portion of the open display. Inspired by the finger-style bridges found in pocket watches, it takes up to an entire day for these bridges to be embellished by hand. First, the undersides are given a matt finish, after which the sides are given a straight-graining finish by carefully sliding them on an abrasive paper to produce continuous, shimmering fine lines. 

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Then, the inner and outer chamfers of the bridges are bevelled with increasingly fine files and then finished with a flash polish using locally sourced gentian wood to remove even the finest lines. Finally, a straight-graining finish is applied to the top side for ultimate radiance.

Armin Strom : 15 years in the science of movement

In 2008, longtime friends and partners Serge Michel and Claude Greisler took the reins at Armin Strom and founded its very own manufacture in the watchmaking town of Biel in 2009. Just one year later, the duo presented their very first watch with a movement designed and manufactured in-house. Over the following years, Armin Strom would become a truly integrated and self-sufficient manufacture, creating 17 exclusive calibres and developing several world firsts in the domain of watchmaking. In 2016, it introduced the Mirrored Force Resonance, a game-changing resonating dual regulator developed for maximum chronometric precision with a captivating oscillation mechanism on the dial-side of the watch. In 2019, Armin Strom reinvented the automatic watch movement with the Gravity Equal Force, the first automatic watch to feature an equal force transmission mechanism within the barrel that had previously been found only in pocket watches. 

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Today, Armin Strom stands out as a leading force of creative, independent watchmaking, with its own distinct design language and exceptional attention to detail highlighted by hand-finishing all its creations. 2024 promises to be a year full of surprises, and the best is yet to come…

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TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Collection: SYSTEM 78

Model:  Gravity Equal Force Ultimate Sapphire Purple Edition

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 Ref. AS/ID ST24-GEF.SA.AC.M.A7.FC

Movement
Armin Strom manufacture Caliber ASB19
Automatic winding with microrotor
Geneva-drive equal force barrel, offset display with subdial subdial seconds

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Main plate: purple PVD plate with guilloché pattern by Kari Voutilainen
Regulating system: Balance wheel with 4 regulating screws
Power reserve: Geneva stop-work limited to 72 hours
Dimensions: 35.52 mm x 11.67 mm
Frequency: 3.5 Hz (25,200 vph)
Finishing: Hand-finishing to the highest quality level
Jewels: 28
Number of components: 202
Indications
Hours, minutes, seconds, power reserve indicator
Case
Stainless steel
Bezel: Stainless steel
Sapphire crystal and case back with anti-reflective treatment
Diameter: 41mm
Height: 12,65mm
Water resistance: 3 ATMLug-to-
Lug: 48.09 mm
Dial
Grey toned off-center sapphire dial with subdial
Hands: Faceted polished hands and Super-LumiNova® filling
Strap
Delivered with a grey nubuck leather strap with purple stitching and keepers
Width lugs/buckle: 20/18 mm
Buckle: Pin buckle or folding clasp available in stainless steel

 🔰EDITION     Limited edition to 25 pieces

🔴Price: CHF 27,500 / EUR 31.900 / GBP 27.300 / USD 28.900

(Price excluding tax / Free global delivery) 💰

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Press releases - 2024
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ARMIN STROM AG |
Bözingenstrasse 46
CH-2502 Biel-Bienne | Switzerland
Tel. +41 (0)32 343 33 44
Fax +41 (0) 32 343 33 40
info@arminstrom.com
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For more information relating to this press release or to Armin Strom:
Bettina Fleury, Armin Strom AG,
Tel. +41 32 343 33 44, b.fleury@arminstrom.com
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MB&F – Horological Machine HM8 Mark 2 CarbonMacrolon® Automatic

 

MB&F – Horological Machine HM8 Mark 2  CarbonMacrolon® /Titanium Automatic Limited Edition

HM8 MARK 2
Back to the dream

MB&F’s connection to cars runs deep, starting in 2012 with the HM5, followed by the HMX in 2015, and the HM8 in 2016. Each of these iterations is linked by its instantly recognizable speedometer-style display on the side of the case that recalls the daring and futuristic design of the 1970s.

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A decade after the first automotive-inspired MB&F Machines, MB&F revealed the supercar-inspired HM8 Mark 2 in 2023.

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After a successful introduction of two editions in 2023 – with white or green body panels, the latter limited to 33 pieces – the HM8 Mark 2 comes back with a new 2024 limited edition featuring glossy sapphire blue bodywork, again limited to 33 pieces. Thanks to their metallic pigments and a translucid material, the blue body panels recall luxurious car paints, both technically and aesthetically.

THE INITIAL DREAM

To fully understand MB&F’s link to the car world, we need to step back in time to 1985 for a moment. As children, we all have dreams, some of them come true, others get abandoned along the way, and some are so part of who we are that they end up happening despite us. 

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This was the case with MB&F’s Founder Maximilian Büsser, who spent the majority of his childhood dreaming about becoming a car designer. He was so smitten with the idea that from the age of 4 to 18, cars were the only thing he would sketch and draw. When his classmates started discovering other areas of interest, his heart remained steadfastly loyal to the automobile with its aerodynamic lines and sleek forms.

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Just before graduating from high school, he learned that the world-famous ArtCenter College of Design from Pasadena, was opening a campus in Europe, and not just in Europe, but in La Tour-de-Peilz, a stone’s throw from his childhood home. Could this be a sign? He could hardly contain his excitement until he discovered that the school fees were CHF 50,000, a huge amount of money today, and an even more colossal sum back in 1985.

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 Knowing how much he loved cars, his parents said they would find a way – but Maximilian knew that it would be too much for them. So as everyone keeps telling him he would make a very good engineer as he was so good at maths, he signed up for the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL), and that could have been the end of the story, only it wasn’t.

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“I lost my way, I lost my marbles, and ended up in the watchmaking industry,” he shares with a smile. “So, when I decided to tackle car design in a timepiece, this was humungous for me. It was everything I had ever dreamed of.”

PLAYING WITH PRISMS

He found inspiration in a crazy design by Amida, called the Amida Digitrend, a watch that was unveiled in 1976, just before the company went bankrupt. Working on a similar idea, MB&F employed a sapphire prism that would allow the jumping hours and sweeping minutes to be indicated vertically, when they were actually flat as a pancake on top of the movement. The time was indicated in a window that resembled an old-style speedometer on the front of the case that could also be easily viewed while driving, no less. Unlike the Amida, with its discs next to each other, the MB&F HM design features discs that are one on top of the other, maximising the size of the digits and therefore the legibility.

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The idea didn’t end there, as the mission was to make the numerals look almost digital or electronic. This was achieved using sapphire disks that were coated with a black metallization, leaving the numerals clear. Super-LumiNova® was then added underneath the sapphire disc, so that the luminescence would be completely flat, not bulbous as it appears when it is applied to the dial. It is interesting to note that the numerals had to be created back-to-front as they get reversed in the prism.

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This system came to life in the HM5 with opening and closing slats that allowed the light into the movement to charge the luminescence. These slats were inspired by Marcello Gandini’s design for the Bertone Lamborghini Miura with its louvers on the rear window that gave the car its futuristic aesthetic. These slats were dropped in the following model – the HMX – in favour of a sapphire crystal cover that gave a partial view on the engine beneath. This piece was inspired by another Italian coach builder – Touring Superleggera – and was equipped with miniature oil caps that could be unscrewed and filled with watchmaking oils.

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Next came the HM8 ‘Can-Am’ with a sapphire crystal that also allowed a view on the spinning rotor. It was this movement, based on a Girard-Perregaux calibre, that is also providing the base for the brand-new HM8 Mark 2. The HM8 took its design cues from Can-Am cars (hence the nickname) from the famous Canadian American Racing Championship. The cars’ unusual design and distinctive roll bars became the inspiration for the watch’s two titanium roll bars.

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  The HM8 Mark 2, on the other hand, with its distinctive “double bubble” sapphire crystal, finds inspiration in the design of some of the most iconic supercars.

A CHASSIS CONSTRUCTION

Not only did the design codes of these timepieces find their inspiration in the automobile world, but the construction did too. That engineering degree was not wasted on Maximilian after all! The HM5 and HM8 Mark 2 are built from an independent water-resistant chassis to which the body panels of the watch are added, while the HMX and HM8 favoured a monobloc construction.

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For the HM8 Mark 2, this coachwork first came in a choice of white or British racing green CarbonMacrolon® that has a matt finish on the top and a high polish on the sides. The white version was paired with a green CVD rotor and light green minute markers, while the British racing green version came with a red gold rotor and balance wheel and turquoise minute markers, and was limited to 33 pieces.

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After these first launch editions in 2023, MB&F has decided to pursue its homage to the automotive world with a new model limited to 33 pieces only.

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The HM8 Mark 2’s deep yet sparkly sapphire blue is obtained from metallic pigments of mineral origin, the same as those found in metallic car paint. It comes as a powder which is incorporated into resin according to a very specific protocol (incorporation time, mixing temperature, mixing speed and duration, etc.).

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Thanks to its beautiful and unique blue body panels, the timepiece comes back with a bang, in a colour that should please both watch aficionados and car enthusiasts alike. The piece is completed by a sporty and comfortable white calfskin strap.

CARBONMACROLON®

Developed specifically for MB&F, CarbonMacrolon® is a composite material composed of a polymer matrix injected with carbon nanotubes, which add strength and rigidity. Carbon nanotubes offer superior tensile strength and stiffness than traditional carbon fibre reinforcing. MB&F’s CarbonMacrolon® is a solid material that is hard and can be coloured, polished, bead-blasted, lacquered, satin-finished…

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In addition to all these attributes, it weighs eight times less than steel, making it extremely versatile and interesting from both a technical and design point of view.

UNDER THE HOOD

Like any super- or hyper-car, a lot of the technology inside the HM8 Mark 2 is not visually obvious, starting with the titanium chassis, which is extremely complicated to mill. Even in stainless steel, it would have been extremely complex to make, but the hardness of this alloy really put MB&F’s technicians to the test.

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The same is true of the CarbonMacrolon® body panels, which due to the small production quantities, could only be milled from a block, adding another layer of complexity to the watch’s coachwork.

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A long line of MB&F timepieces has pushed the limits of what is physically possible in terms of sapphire crystal production, and the HM8 Mark 2 is no exception. The creation of this double-curved sapphire has reached a complexity that is 30 to 40 times more expensive than a dome sapphire. Only one supplier agreed to take on the challenge. 

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 During the many hours required to produce each sapphire crystal, the risk of breakage is incredibly high – and if it is going to break, it is always at the very last moment, much to the utter desperation of all concerned. Once safely completed and fitted into the timepiece, however, it is just as robust as the sapphire crystal on any sports watch.

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And last, but not least, the battle axe rotor that powers the movement is incredibly complex to make as one of the 22-carat gold blades is only two-tenths of a millimetre thick. It cannot possibly be machined so it had to be stamped, with the engraving already incorporated into the stamp.

A WORLD-PREMIERE CROWN

Not under the hood, but equally hidden, is a brand-new type of crown that has a sort of “double de-clutch” system, to coin an automobile term. It works by pushing the crown in and turning it three-quarters of a turn to release it. This has the advantage of gaining space and providing additional security to the system, which is a genuine advantage for a sports watch.

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The HM8 Mark 2 takes everything that MB&F fans have loved in this automotive series over the last 10+ years and has made it more technical, more legible, sexier and easier to wear. 

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But more than that, it is a reminder that, wherever you are in life, it is never too late to follow your dreams.

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Model: Horological Machine HM8 Mark 2

 HM8 Mark 2 is available:
- in titanium and green CarbonMacrolon® body panels limited to 33 pieces;
- in titanium and white CarbonMacrolon® body panels;
- in titanium and blue CarbonMacrolon® body panels limited to 33 pieces.

Engine
Three-dimensional horological engine, composed of a jumping hour and trailing minutes module developed in-house by MB&F, powered by a Girard-Perregaux base movement.
Mechanical movement, automatic winding
22K gold automatic winding rotor
Power reserve: 42 hours
Balance frequency: 28,800bph/4Hz.
Number of components: 247 components
Number of jewels: 30 jewels
Functions/indications
Bi-directional jumping hours and trailing minutes, displayed by dual reflective sapphire crystal prisms with integrated magnifying lens.
Case
Grade 5 titanium with green, white or blue CarbonMacrolon®
Dimensions: 47 x 41.5 x 19 mm
Number of components: 42
Water resistance: 30m / 90’ / 3atm
Sapphire crystals
Sapphire crystals on top, front and display back treated with anti-reflective coating on both faces.
Dual reflective sapphire crystal prisms with integrated magnifying lens.
Strap & Buckle
Calfskin or rubber strap - white for the British green and sapphire blue models and green for the white model with a titanium tang buckle.

🔰 Limited edition of 33 pieces

🔴 Price excl. tax : CHF 50,000  / € 84.000💰

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For more information, please contact
MB&F SA, Rue Verdaine 11, CH-1204 Genève, Switzerland
Charris Yadigaroglou  cy@mbandf.com +41 22 508 10 33.
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