Independents

chikai168
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A surprise arrival

I got my first mechanical watch when I was 26 and that started me on the wonderful rabbit hole of this hobby. After some 15 years of collecting and learning, I have realised that I like two things in watches the most:
1) interesting complications such as alarms or different types chronographs (rattrapante for example) which gives me something to “play” with during my day or 2) skeletonised or open-worked pieces which allows me to see the inner workings of the mechanics because this is what fundamentally fascinates me in horology.

Two GP releases from recent years have really got me hooked and that is the Neo-Bridges and Laureato Skeleton. (but then why am I posting this in the independent forum!? I still don’t consider GP or UN to be truly independent because of their size and corporate structure. Read on!) Two great examples of fantastic design in the open-worked/ skeleton category. I was about to get the Laureato skeleton late last year when I was offered a really good deal on the Earth to Sky Neo-bridges, which is my preferred iteration. I jumped onto that and decided to defer the Laureato skeleton. But then a few things happened in the past 5 months which changed the situation quite a bit. Whilst many here adore GP, it is not a “hype” brand and models are fairly easily available with a healthy discount from ADs. At the end of last year, with a RRP of £27500 plus a discount available from ADs, the Laureato skeleton represented a fantastic piece of horology and design with good value for money in an “affordable” category. One that does NOT require years of waiting or the purchase of other pieces to get. But then in January this year, stocks suddenly dried up, there was a RRP increase across the board for GP and “Market value” exploded. Results from auctions showed buyers going 2-3 times RRP to get one. On Chrono24, it was a similar scene with sellers asking for 2 or more times RRP for pieces. ADs are saying that they won’t get any for a year, with waitlists likely and no discount at all. Whilst I don’t fully believe all this (and I don’t think this is what GP wants either), it does represent quite a seismic shift in availability and affordability. Don’t get me wrong- the Laureato skeleton is still a stunning piece- that does not change. At RRP it is still good VFM but for me personally, the parameters have moved. This left me a bit disappointed and I thought, OK, let’s wait and see how this plays out.

A few weeks ago, as I was doing my usual browsing on the net, something popped up that I did not expect to see at all. I remember seeing this watch in 2014/15 and thinking how beautiful and cool it was. The watch housed an in-house movement, designed and built from scratch to be skeletonised. The 3-D architecture of the movement was like a mini city and everything I have wanted. Many aspects of haute horology were there- black polished screws, mirror polished anglage by hand, sharp interior angles contrasting with the beautiful straight graining on the flat surfaces. The case is sporty but also has elements of a “dressier” watch. It was a limited run of 100 pieces each in 4 editions by a wonderful independent brand. I thought “What a watch!” but at the time
the price was unaffordable for me and I had long thought that all of them have sold out. On the secondary market, I hardly see them appear. So what watch am I talking about? An Armin Strom Skeleton Pure! The “earth” edition. A new old stock (possibly one of the last remaining?) piece is available from an AD. And they made me a very nice offer!

I really got thinking……. The money I had put together for the Laureato skeleton no longer seems to be enough given the new situation and availability does not look good. And here is a piece that I have admired for a long time, available at my budget and more than fits the bill of what I am looking for in a sporty skeleton. (Dare I say, the finishing of the Armin Strom is a step above the Laureato skeleton.) It is not as elegant as the Laureato but I have plenty of dress watches. And I am not fussed about the whole integrated braclet sports watch “thing”. I have been cautious over independents due to long term service concerns but also love the flair you find in them. Dilemma! I pondered for a couple of weeks. You can guess the rest! Here I present the Armin Strom Skeleton Pure- Earth!

The Skeleton Pure came out in 2014/15 and was presented in 4 editions- Water, Air, Earth and Fire. Each with colour cues and metal based on their “element”. The version I have, the “Earth” is a black PVD steel case and parts of the movement bridge also receives a dark colour treatment. The watch is stunning in person- exceeding all my expectations. The movement, which is essentially the dial, is exquisitely finished. All elements of haute horologie finishing, as mentioned above, is there in abundance. It is a feast for the eyes and I am still exploring this intricate little city of gears. In the sun, the watch really “pops” like a glitter disco ball. There is a lot of symmetry to the movement design and a large amount of transparency. I think Armin Strom managed to achieve this by developing the movement from ground up to be skeletonised. The moment is manual wound with an 8 day PR. A really cool thing is that when you wind the watch, you can see the rachet wheels above the two barrels turn in opposite direction. I almost wished it had a lower PR so I can wind it more often!

A sapphire chapter ring is used for the hours and minute track and being sapphire, means it does not obstruct the view of the movement. This movement has the hour and minute hands off-centred if you look carefully. I am not sure why but I think it looks quite cool. It also means that there is a bit of clear “space” adjacent to the crown allowing me to see the keyless works engage when I pull the crown. Legibility is fantastic and you can’t miss the two bold and sharp hands.

The case is finished magnificently. It features mirror polished bezel and lugs and satin brushed caseband. Even with a black PVD treatment, all of the finishing is apparent to the eye. I particularly like how the chamfering on the case and lugs show up like a black mirror- similar to how ceramic appears in certain GP and AP models.

The watch is large and that is perhaps my only gripe with the watch. The case is “slab” like and reminds me of my first generation Tudor BB burgundy, which came out around the same time. The case design is congruent with the trends at the time for larger more aggressive watch cases. At 43mm it is not small and I do wish the lugs were a bit shorter, cropped and more curved downwards. But it wears extremely comfortably. I did fear initially whether it will fit and wear well but having the watch on my wrist for the past week proved my fears were misplaced. We are trending towards smaller watches but the Skeleton Pure is a sporty piece and not so large that it would look out of place in future.

I am really over the moon with this surprise addition. Everything that I have wanted in a modern high-end skeleton watch is there. Armin Strom is a great brand- I had a couple of questions about the watch and I got in contact with them. They phoned me back the same day and have kept in touch by text.

Thanks for reading my very long post! (My family now just roll their eyes when I talk about watches so you guys are the only people I can chat to! 😆)




































And a last photo to show my three open worked watches, each with its own style and approach to the open work concept! I am a happy boy!






BW,
Chi Kai

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