The technically complex Armin Strom Skeleton Pure Air is a superb demonstration of the company’s historical links with the traditional watchmaking skill of Skeletonisation.  Although characterised by its artisan craftsmanship this titanium-cased timepiece has an undeniably contemporary personality.

Carrying on the legacy of their eponymous founding Father, every Armin Strom watch is created as a showcase for watchmaking excellence.  By revealing their Manufacture calibres through open-worked sections, the wearer can become intimately involved with the micro-mechanics which give their watch its precise, beating heart.

With their Skeleton Pure Air model, the company’s creative department have taken this concept to the limits. For this piece, they have reduced the calibre to its bare minimum, and in doing so, have created a timepiece which offers a loupe-worthy, unobstructed view of the Haute Horlogerie components at work.

The watch carries a rounded 43.40 mm titanium case with a trim bezel and robust lugs.    At the 6 o’clock location, the instantly recognisable protruding tab, which is a synonymous feature of the company, offers the potential to add a personalised, engraved motif.

Resting securely beneath a domed sapphire crystal, the labyrinthine spectacle of the fully exposed main plate, gear-train bridges and barrel bridges is arranged.   A dark PVD coating on the components adds to the drama, while the inclusion of a sapphire dial ring ensures that nothing obscures the panorama.

Despite the compelling view of this complex, three-dimensional composition, the time is still highly legible.  The off-set sapphire ring features appliqué hour markers and grey minute markers, while the hours and minutes hands in stainless steel have been given a generous coating of lume.

A smaller sapphire ring, for the small seconds, leans over towards the 9 o’clock position.  Joining it, a combined power reserve indication served by a discreet red-tipped hand adds a touch of vibrancy to this monochromatic façade.  A sapphire plate, with visible screws at the 3 o’clock location carries the Armin Strom branding.

Turn the piece over, and the advantages of this manual-wound calibre can be immediately appreciated.  Bereft of a rotor, the wearer is offered an uninterrupted view of the impeccable craftsmanship of the fully skeletonised Armin Strom Manufacture ARM09-S movement.

Here, one is offered a glimpse at the old-school screwed balance and the deeply set escapement wheel which has been endowed with solid gold pallets.  And, the rear-side view of the twin barrels, which enable a generous power reserve of 120 hours, gives a marginally industrial aspect to this visually stunning panorama.

The Armin Strom Skeleton Pure Air wristwatch wears on a grey horn-back alligator leather strap and comes supplied with an additional grey rubber strap.  The model is an exclusive limited edition of just 100 pieces.