Introducing – Armin Strom Edge Double Barrel Edition Max Chilton (Specs & Price)

This year Armin Strom introduced a brand new watch, the Edge Double Barrel. Considering that the brand has been using the same concept of design and the same case for some years, this new watch was refreshing and showing a nice evolution for the brand. A sportier look, a larger diameter – which for once means a better comfort on the wrist – and a movement that has been re-shaped… but still with the classical attributes of Armin Strom: skeletonization, long power reserve, fully in-house developed and assembled… And as the brand has racing driver Max Chilton as ambassador, the Armin Strom Edge Double Barrel was the perfect watch for a limited edition.

Max Chilton, friend of the brand and ambassador, is a former F1 pilot, now Indy Car driver. Considering the environment he’s engaged in, a gold dress watch was not really à propos to create a dedicated limited edition. For this reason, the latest creation of Armin Strom, the Edge Double Barrel, was the perfect play-field to offer a racing-oriented piece. This watch is a sportier evolution of the signature concept of Armin Strom, with a larger case, more angular shapes and sports-watches attributes, like a crown protection or notched bezel. This watch is bold, technical and refined at the same time – and that’s entirely due to the movement inside.

While the first Armin Strom Edge Double Barrel was an almost entirely black watch – case, lugs, bezel, dial – the Max Chilton Edition uses a non-coated central container and lugs made out of stainless steel. This case measures 46.8mm (vs. 43.4mm for all the previous watches of Armin Strom) which is rather impressive. However, this increased size for once is beneficial to the comfort, as the lugs are shorter and more curved, participating to a watch that overall feels smaller – something we’ll get back on in an extensive review to come. The notched bezel, with 12 cut-outs, is still black PVD-coated. The dial receives some blue accents (the color used by Max Chilton for racing) and Chilton’s numeral 8 appears in the small seconds register, placed on the disc serving the power reserve indicator.

The movement of the Armin Strom Edge Double Barrel Edition Max Chilton remains equal to the normal edition. Based on the classical calibre of the brand, the team has entirely resigned the bridges, the plates as well as all the wheels, to offer an angular and more technical look. In the same vein, the bridges are not finished with traditional Geneva stripes but with a cross-grinding pattern (with is certainly even more complex to achieve). All the angles are bevelled and polished by hand and the movement shows some great finishing details. Its double barrel provides 8 days of power reserve.

The Armin Strom Edge Double Barrel Edition Max Chilton is a limited edition of only 8 pieces. It will retail for 26,900 CHF – the same price as the normal black edition. More details can be found on the website of Armin Strom.

Specifications

• Case: 46.8mm diameter x 13.2mm height – stainless steel with black PVD-coated bezel – sapphire crystal on front and on the caseback – 50m water resistant
• Movement: ARmin Strom Calibre ARM16 – manual winding – 8-day power reserve – 18,000 vibrations/h – hours and minutes, small seconds, power reserve
• Strap: black alligator strap and double-fold clasp in stainless steel PVD black plus additional black rubber strap
• Ref. ST16-EB.05 – Price: 26,900 CHF