Master watchmaker Claude Greisler, who revived Armin Strom in 2009, built a bezel date that stays out of sight until the wearer asks for it.
Armin Strom today introduces the Orbit Purple, limited to 20 pieces. Armin Strom calls its pointer-date, set into the bezel, the world's first that shows the date only on demand.
The dial runs from vivid purple at the centre to black at the edges, and the same purple marks the date pointer and the bezel's date scale. The case is black DLC-coated steel, 43.4mm across, on a black textile strap.
Most watches force the date on you, Armin Strom says, shifting it at midnight whether anyone looks or not. The Orbit only shows it when asked, and every part is finished by hand at the brand's Biel/Bienne workshop.
Turned away, the dial reads as pure colour; ask for the date, and the mechanism briefly takes over.
The Basics
Brand: Armin Strom
Model: Orbit Purple
Reference: ST25-OR.01
Diameter: 43.4mm
Thickness: 12.6mm
Case material: DLC black-coated stainless steel; fixed ceramic bezel
Dial: Purple-to-black colour gradient (purple fumé); indexes and hands with Super-LumiNova® filling; purple date pointer and purple date markings on the ceramic bezel
Water resistance: 5 ATM
Strap: Black textile; DLC black-coated stainless steel pin buckle
Limited edition: 20 pieces
The Movement
Calibre: ASS20, Armin Strom Manufacture, automatic with micro-rotor
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date (column-wheel date on demand); patented equal force barrel
Winding: Automatic, micro-rotor
Power reserve: 72 hours
Frequency: 3.5Hz (25,200 vph)
Jewels: 30
Images courtesy of Armin Strom.