Armin Strom Skeleton Pure – Unique Piece for Only Watch 2015

Probably the most signature feature of Armin Strom is engraving, and that has everything to do with the brand’s founder and namesake. Armin Strom made his name with his masterful skills as an engraver and is in the Guinness Book of World Records for skeletonizing the smallest watch ever, by hand of course. Last year the company introduced the One Week Skeleton, that featured a fully skeletonized and engraved version of the in-house calibre ARM09-S. It was the beginning of the new Armin Strom Skeleton Pure collection, which was introduced end of last year, and now a unique piece will be auctioned during the Only Watch 2015 auction.

The Armin Strom Skeleton Pure is a perfect showcase of what the brand is capable off and can actually be considered a full watchmaking lesson on the wrist. Everything is visible! From the moment you wind the crown, and see the two large main spring barrels rotating, with the main springs inside being wound, to the slow rotating of the second hand on the left side of the dial. All gears, pinions, bridges and levers are exposed and when you take a loupe you can easily study how everything works. Forget your yoga class, this is much more relaxing.

For the Only Watch auction that will be held on 7 November 2015, in Geneva, Armin Strom donated a unique version of the Skeleton Pure. It is powered by the manual winding caliber ARM09-S, with two main spring barrels that store enough energy for eight days of autonomy, when fully wound. On the left side of the dial is the small second sub dial, with the power reserve indicator incorporated inside. These hands are co-axial. The minutes and hours are indicated by centrally placed hands – or actually a tad off-center – that are filled with luminous material.

The mainplate and bridges feature a straight-grain finish, and are subsequently matte black PVD-coated. This highlights their definition beautifully, and based on personal experience with the Skeleton Pure Air (that I’m wearing right now for a review) I can attest that the bridges have a stunning contrast against the polished steel of the skeletonized main spring barrels and the gears. The bridges of this unique Only Watch timepiece will certainly show even more contrast. The Armin Strom Skeleton Pure comes in a stainless steel case that measures 43 mm in diameter, 13 mm in height, and is water resistant to 50m.

This unique Armin Strom Skeleton Pure for Only Watch 2015 is to be auctioned on 7 November 2015 in Geneva by Phillips Watches, with all funds raised going towards Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. More details here.