Monday, December 9, 2024

ARMIN STROM – TRIBUTE ² – Copper Edition

 

ARMIN STROMTRIBUTE²Copper Edition 2024

Tribute2
Armin Strom unveils a new iteration of the Tribute – a homage to
artisanal hand-finishing and exposed mechanics.

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Independent Swiss watch manufacture Armin Strom is expanding its Tribute collection with the new Tribute², featuring a distinctive open worked design and remarkable three-dimensionality. The visible mechanical elements of the innovative movement and the elaborate hand decorations impart an intriguing visual depth to the watch. 

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The Tribute² – Copper Edition features a mainplate with a distinctive grattage design in an elegant copper hue. Limited to just 10 pieces, this edition underscores Armin Strom’s commitment to exceptional craftsmanship and exclusivity.

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“The Tribute2 builds on the success of the Tribute 1 launched in 2021. It merges traditional watchmaking with contemporary design, highlighting the core values of the brand: transparent mechanics that artfully display the inner mechanisms, three-dimensional design that provides visual depth through various levels and the intricate details of the movement and meticulous hand decoration, which features prominently in this timepiece.” –  Claude Greisler, Co-Founder and Master Watchmaker at Armin Strom.

Unique craftsmanship: the artistic grattage mainplate in the Copper Edition

The eye-catching copper-coloured mainplate in the Tribute2 – Copper Edition showcases a distinctive processing technique known as grattage. The process was originally developed by mechanical engineers to create perfectly flat surfaces. Instead of being engraved, hammered or polished, the material is meticulously scraped by hand. 

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This results in a distinctive, stunning pattern – and it is an art form that only a handful of craftsmen still master today. For the mainplate of the Tribute2 – Copper Edition, this technique is used decoratively and gives each piece a look reminiscent of delicate brushstrokes. The mainplate and its unique finish are further accentuated by a copper-coloured PVD coating. 

Depth and elegance in the dial

The off-centre fumé grey dial lends the watch additional depth with its subtle colour gradient, which sees the vibrant highlights in the centre gradually transition into a darker tone at the edges. 

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The dial is encircled by a hand-polished steel ring, which is hand-bevelled and further emphasizes the refined character of the design. The hands and indexes, coated in 18K 5N rose gold, add warm accents and impart a sophisticated touch to the watch.

Meticulous hand finishing: each component refined down to the finest detail

The motor barrel, a key visual element of the Tribute models and a prominent feature on the front of the watch, is skeletonized in this edition

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Each opening is hand-bevelled to accentuate the elegant spokes of the motor barrel. The bridge that holds the motor barrel is made of steel and black-polished by hand for the first time. The click bridge, which features polished bevels, and the click are also visible, along with the winding wheels, which have been finished with circular graining.

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The back of the movement is distinguished by a three-quarter bridge visible through the case back, featuring a 30° hand-polished bevel, adorned with Geneva stripes and finished with circular graining. The small, three-dimensional escapement wheel bridge with hand-polished oil sink is another standout element of the movement.

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The other parts of the movement are also exquisitely finished by hand, whether they can be seen on the dial side of the watch or through the sapphire crystal case back.

United by passion: Armin Strom and Horomariobro

The logo on the back, “Horomariobro x Armin Strom”, pays tribute to the inspiring contribution this close friend of the brand has made to the new edition. Fuelled by his enthusiasm for hand-decorated movements, which he captures in macro photography on his popular Instagram channel, 

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Horomariobro inspired Armin Strom’s Claude Greisler to experiment with new decoration techniques and emphasize various visible highlights of the finishing.

100-hour power reserve: the Tribute²’s innovative movement

The AMW21 hand-wound movement, developed and manufactured in-house by Armin Strom, boasts an impressive 100-hour power reserve. Its exceptional performance is down to the innovative motor barrel design, where the arbor rotates around the mainspring, enhancing efficiency and conserving space. 

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The movement operates at a frequency of 25,200 vibrations per hour and contains 21 jewels. It also features a balance wheel with variable inertia and a flat overcoil spring supported by a bridge that almost mirrors the motor barrel. These technical features ensure exceptional precision and reliability.

Modern design with timeless elegance

The 38 mm stainless steel case, measuring 9 mm in height, is an expression of timeless elegance. The crown positioned at 2 o’clock enhances wearing comfort and adds an avant-garde flair to the watch. 

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A grey Alcantara calfskin strap rounds out the design of the watch, providing a soft yet secure fit on the wrist.

Price and availability

The Tribute² – Copper Edition is available now in a limited edition of just 10 pieces for CHF 25,000 – exclusively from Armin Strom on their website arminstrom.com or the brand’s Instagram channel.

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TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Collection: TRIBUTE 2

Model:
Armin Strom Tribute²Copper Edition

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Reference: ST24-TRI.HM.AC.M.A4.FC 

Case
    Material: Stainless steel
    Sapphire crystal and case back with anti-reflective treatment
    Diameter: 38 mm
    Thickness: 9 mm

    Between lugs (lug to lug): 18 mm
    Water-resistant to 5 ATM (~50 meters)
Dial and hands
    Dial: Offset, fumé grey
    Hands: 18K 5N rose-gold coating
Movement
    Armin Strom manufacture Calibre AMW21
    Hand-wound movement Regulating system: Flat hairspring with a variable inertia balance wheel
    Power reserve: 100 hours
    Dimensions: 33.5 mm × 4.2 mm
    Frequency: 3.5 Hz (25,200 vph)
    Finishing: Hand-finished to the highest level of quality
    Number of jewels: 21
    Number of components: 135

Functions/Indications
    Hour, minute, secondand
Strap
   Delivered with a grey Alcantara calf leather
   Buckle: Double-fold clasp in stainless steel


🔰Edition ✅   10 pieces

🔴Price from   25’070 CHF
💰

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 Armin Strom: A fully integrated manufacture

While Armin Strom is a vertically integrated, complete horological manufacture, no new watch movement would ever have seen the light of day were it not for Claude Greisler, who puts ideas such as the one for the revolutionary Mirrored Force Resonance movement down on paper before they are transferred to computer-aided design programs to start modelling the movement. Like so many things at Armin Strom all of this is done in-house, with the dimensions calculated down to a precision of one micron to provide the inputs for the machines that will eventually produce the smallest of components.

At Armin Strom, the majority of components in the movement, with the exception of the escapement and balance spring, are produced in-house. Small round components like screws, pinions and gear wheels are produced by profile-turning machines, which gradually whittle away long steel or brass rods from the side to cut teeth or axles. Larger components such as base plates and bridges are produced from brass on CNC machines, which are capable of machining along multiple axes consecutively using different tools for different operations, moving the component using robotic arms.

Tiny and delicate components, such as smaller bridges, levers and springs, are produced using wire erosion. This involves threading a wire that is not much smaller than a human hair through a tiny hole in the metal. An electrical current running through the wire reacts with a solution in which the entire working plate is dipped, thus “eroding” minuscule amounts of the metal. This allows particularly delicate operations to be carried out while maintaining the structural integrity of the metal. Armin Strom does not produce any of its components by stamping because of the stresses that this places on the metal.

Once the raw components are manufactured, they are engraved, beveled, polished and decorated with circular graining or Geneva stripes by hand before moving to the in-house electroplating department. Here, all steel and brass components are first given a gold plating before a layer of nickel is added to prevent corrosion and harden the surface. After cleaning, the parts are then dipped in other electroplating baths to give them their final color such as rhodium, ruthenium, or rose gold. It is only thanks to its mastery of electroplating techniques inside its own workshops that Armin Strom can allow customers to choose preferred colors for the coating on different components.

Only then can the individual components of the movement be passed on to the watchmaker for assembly. After setting the jewels into the base plate and bridges, the watchmaker adds the gear train and mainspring. After the escapement and balance wheel are positioned, the movement finally comes to life…only to be completely disassembled, cleaned, and dried before being re-assembled and lubricated. After several days of testing the precision, the watch is finally ready.

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Press releases - 2024
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ARMIN STROM AG |Sonja Voutat-Hagmann
Head of PR & Media
s.voutat-hagmann@arminstrom.com
Bözingenstrasse 46
CH-2502 Biel-Bienne | Switzerland
Tel. +41 (0)32 343 33 41
Fax +41 (0) 32 343 33 40

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