Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The new Armin Strom One Week Skeleton Titanium (Incl. Video)
You'll have a full week ahead of you to contemplate the details of the movement...
The One Week is, together with the impressively complex and innovative Resonance concept, one of the most important watches by the Biel-based independent watchmaker. Indeed, it was the first watch to come from Armin Strom after Serge Michel and Claude Greisler took the reins of the company in 2010. It launched the brand’s first manufacture movement, which offered an impressive 7 days of power reserve, and things have only gotten better and better over time. Back in 2023, Armin Strom brought back the One Week in a new and more architectural, contemporary style, as an integrated sports watch. However, as its name suggests, it still offers a full week of autonomy. This year marks the return of a brand’s speciality: openworked movements. Here’s the Armin Strom One Week Skeleton Titanium.
The design of the new One Week Skeleton Titanium feels familiar. Of course, as it is similar to the First Edition and Manufacture Edition of the semi-closed dial One Week, presented in signature ice-blue and black, respectively. This third iteration has the exact same shape and dimensions, yet is crafted from lightweight titanium instead of stainless steel. This means that we still get a 41mm wide by 10.60mm thin case, but now about a third lighter. The lug-to-lug dimension is 44.35mm, thanks to the integrated case and bracelet design, meaning the One Week Skeleton wears the same on the wrist as its predecessors – understand, smaller than the 41mm diameter suggests – but with the added comfort of a lightweight case.
The flat mid-case is accentuated by a polished bezel and bevel. The shaped design gives way to a fully openworked dial and movement. Or rather, no dial at all, in the traditional sense at least. Rhodium-plated hands filled with Super-LumiNova pass over a black minute track and small seconds subdial, with lume-filled hour markers on the outer perimeter as well. The One Week already showed a lot of its inner workings up front, but this Skeleton version opens everything up as much as possible.
To protect everything from external elements, the crown sits between a pair of guards protruding from the caseband and the movement and dial are sandwiched between two sapphire crystals. And with a water-resistance rating of 100m, the One Week Skeleton certainly backs up its sporty looks.
Inside the case, we have the in-house produced Calibre ARM-S21, with the S signalling this is, as you could have guessed, a skeletonised movement. The ARM-21 base already showed its unique double-barrel construction, conical power reserve mechanism and various bridges and gears on the dial side, and now all of that has been opened up. The barrels, plates and bridges, subdial for the small seconds, have all been openworked. This invites you to gaze deep into the movement, where you’ll discover the typical high-end finishing by Armin Strom. It’s a wonderful mix of straight and circular graining, bevelled edges on the bridges and spokes of the barrels, polished screw sinks and heads, and more…
Where normally the backside reveals a three-quarter plate, the view from the rear now reveals a fully skeletonised one instead, aligning with the design on the front. There’s a lovely contrast between the various layers in the movement, and the purple-red hue of the jewels, and of course, a signature finger bridge to hold the balance wheel in place. The movement itself still runs at a rate of 25,200 vibrations/hour – the classic Biel frequency of 3.5Hz. It’s made up of 194 components and delivers a steady 7-day or 168-hour running time when fully hand-wound.
The One Week Skeleton Titanium is a so-called integrated watch. It shares its bracelet with previous editions of the One Week, only now made in grade 5 titanium. It features H-shaped outer links and faceted inner links, with a mix of brushed and polished surfaces and edges, and is closed by a double folding clasp.
A limited edition of 100 pieces, this new Armin Strom One Week Skeleton Titanium is a great addition to the collection that pays tribute to both the legacy of Mister Armin Strom and the first watch made by the modern Armin Strom manufacture. It is priced at CHF 39,000. For more details, please consult ArminStrom.com.
