Armin Strom’s latest resonance watch, limited to just 25 pieces, features yellow gold-coloured mechanics and black lacquered chapter rings bringing beautiful new warmth to the collection!
When it comes to specialising in skeletonised watches, Armin Strom is up there with the very best. This is precisely why I have a soft spot for the brand. In fact, when you look at Armin Strom’s entire catalogue, the majority of its timepieces feature incredible openworked designs. Among these exceptional creations sits the Mirrored Force Resonance, a collection that goes beyond looking incredible on the wrist.
While Armin Strom’s Mirrored Force Resonance was introduced in 2016, the story behind the timepiece goes back much further. Unlike many other high-end skeletonised mechanical timepieces, where the movement architecture and finishing become the highlights, Armin Strom’s Mirrored Force Resonance was created to address a genuine horological challenge: improving timekeeping stability through resonance.
This is where the history of the watch goes back centuries, to 1665, when Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens observed the synchronisation of two pendulum clocks. This phenomenon was later explored by masters of watchmaking such as Abraham-Louis Breguet, who experimented with resonance to improve timekeeping. While incorporating resonance into a pocket watch is a challenge in itself, creating a system capable of maintaining it within a wristwatch is an incredibly complex undertaking.
However, even the most complex challenges can inspire a breakthrough. Armin Strom rose to the challenge in 2016, unveiling its first Mirrored Force Resonance with two independent regulating systems connected through its patented resonance clutch spring. This timepiece became a defining moment for Armin Strom and paved the way for further iterations of the Mirrored Force Resonance.
Now, the brand has introduced the Mirrored Force Resonance Zeitgeist 1665 3N, a stunning skeletonised rendition featuring 3N yellow gold-coloured mainplate and bridges. This treatment brings a more luxurious and visually refined appearance to one of the brand’s most important collections. In Armin Strom’s own words:
“The idea behind the Zeitgeist is simple: to imagine what a resonance wristwatch might have looked like centuries ago – if watchmakers had known then what we know now.”
A Classical Colour Palette Meets Openworked Mechanics
The Mirrored Force Resonance Zeitgeist 1665 3N is presented in a 43mm stainless steel case, with a thickness of 11.55mm and a lug-to-lug distance of 49.60mm. These dimensions give the watch substantial wrist presence while allowing enough room to display the intricate movement without making the case unnecessarily thick. The round case profile also gives the watch a familiar, traditional design, while the dial takes a more unconventional route.
The case features mixed finishes, including vertically brushed flanks and contrasting polished surfaces, which give the timepiece character as light moves across them. It also retains the signature “lip” design at 6 o’clock, originally created by Armin Strom to allow owners to personalise their watches with engraved initials.
The dial is where the real beauty of this timepiece lies. While the Zeitgeist is not a completely new addition to the collection, with earlier models already featuring an 18-carat white gold dial or a “vernis laqué poli” dial, it takes on a new aesthetic with this 3N yellow gold-coloured edition. This colouring is presented across the movement’s mainplate and bridges, which certainly gives this model a beautiful warm tone.
However, it’s the contrast with the subdials that really makes this timepiece stand out. The skeletonised off-centre dial at 3 o’clock and the twin seconds displays at 7 and 11 o’clock all feature black lacquered chapter rings, which contrast beautifully against the 3N yellow gold-coloured movement plate underneath to present a visually striking dial.
Going beyond the beautiful aesthetics, the dial features two balance wheels around the 9 o’clock position, making the resonance system the timepiece’s main mechanical visual attraction, especially with its continuous movement. Each balance wheel regulates its own separate gear train, which is linked to the corresponding seconds display.
The patented resonance clutch spring allows the two regulating organs to synchronise, with the twin seconds displays providing a visual “indication” of their synchronisation. The pusher located at the 2 o’clock position on the case resets both seconds hands together, allowing the wearer to then see the hands running in step!
Twin Regulators Working In Harmony
Inside the Mirrored Force Resonance Zeitgeist 1665 3N sits Armin Strom’s manually wound calibre ARF21-ZG, which is made up of 260 components. The movement operates at a frequency of 3.5Hz (25,200 VpH), while housing two independent barrels that provide a total power reserve of 80 hours. As mentioned above, the calibre’s twin-seconds flyback function allows both seconds hands to be reset together, after which they can be seen running in synchronisation.
Armin Strom’s aim with this movement was to achieve greater rate stability and resistance to disturbances through its patented resonance clutch spring, allowing the two regulating systems to exchange vibrations and maintain a synchronised rhythm!
Turn the watch over and you are treated to some beautiful hand-finishing! The movement decoration, visible through the sapphire caseback, includes hand-bevelling, polished edges, perlage and circular graining. Not only do these finishes create different reflections under different lighting angles, but they also add character to the various components that could otherwise blend in with the surrounding movement architecture.
Initial Thoughts
One of the defining elements of the Mirrored Force Resonance Zeitgeist collection is that it goes beyond having a skeletonised dial. The movement architecture is opened up further than in the standard Mirrored Force Resonance collection, adding transparency and another level of technical allure. While the wider Mirrored Force Resonance collection features various case materials and different colours for the off-centre dials and seconds chapter rings, the Zeitgeist editions essentially flip the switch, using different finishes and colours across the movement plates.
This Mirrored Force Resonance Zeitgeist 1665 3N, with its gold-coloured mechanics, brings warmth to the dial, perfectly contrasted by the black chapter rings of the skeletonised counters and off-centre time display. This colour scheme creates a striking aesthetic that complements the technicality of the dial. The two visible balance wheels add to the theatrics while also serving a purpose beyond the visual drama.
Limited to just 25 pieces worldwide, this latest Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Zeitgeist 1665 3N brings a beautiful new warmth to a watch whose mechanical ingenuity is just as impressive as its aesthetic design.
Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Zeitgeist 1665 3N
Reference & Specifications
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Reference | ST26-ZG.90 |
| Dimensions | 43mm case diameter x 11.55mm thickness, lug-to-lug: 49.60mm |
| Case | Stainless steel with polished and vertically brushed surfaces, signature lip at 6 o’clock and twin-seconds reset pusher |
| Dial | Openworked display with 3N yellow gold-coloured mainplate and bridges, black polished lacquer chapter rings, off-centre hours and minutes, twin seconds displays and hand-finished, heat-blued stainless steel hands |
| Crystal | Sapphire with antireflective treatment |
| Caseback | Sapphire crystal exhibition caseback with antireflective treatment and “1 out of 25” engraving |
| Movement | Manually wound manufacture calibre ARF21-ZG with two independent regulating systems connected by a patented resonance clutch spring, twin-seconds flyback reset and two independent barrels |
| Power Reserve | 80 hours |
| Beat Rate | 3.5Hz / 25,200VpH |
| Water Resistance | 30m / 3bar |
| Strap/Bracelet | Dark grey Alcantara strap with grey stitching, secured by a stainless steel pin buckle |