Top Gear Singapore Sept. 1, 2012 - Armin Strom Home

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Strom-Bringer
TopGear Singapore goes into the
eye of Armin Strom to talk to CEO,
Serge Michel.

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B
reaking into the world of high
watchmaking takes some derring-do,
especially given the industry’s high
barriers to entry, both perceived and
imagined. Gaining entrance into the goodold-boy’s
club is just a part of the equation, since
there are still the high costs of research and
development, particularly in the quest to be
regarded as a credible Manufacture, a term that
refers to a brand that produces all aspects of the
movement in-house.
A relatively ‘young’ company amidst a sea of
maisons that boast a provenance spanning centuries,
the eponymously-dubbed Armin Strom takes its
name from the veteran watchmaker who enjoyed
forty years exposure in the decorative and finishing
aspects (particularly skeletonising, which helps
distinguish the brand’s timepieces) of haute
horlogerie before deciding to start his own shop in
Burgdorf in 1967.
Its range of calibres have been conceived from
the start to best illuminate the embellishment and
skeletonising ideology that the brand holds in such
high regard and continues to perpetuate under CEO
Serge Michel and Claude Greisler, Head of Product
Development, especially as
founder and visionary
Armin Strom has
taken a step back from the brand for a more advisory
role.
Serge believes it is very important for a brand like
Armin Strom to have its own calibres. “For a brand
like Armin Strom it is extremely important. There
are a lot of watch collectors and enthusiasts who
appreciate that our calibres are in-house! After all, if
you drive an Aston Martin, you want an Aston
Martin engine and not one from BMW...”
For such painstaking hand-embellishment, the
amount of discipline required is unimaginable. “To
decorate a watch movement in the way it is done at
Armin Strom, it’s not just about employing talented
watchmakers, but also requires a huge helping of
passion. If someone loves what he/she is doing we
do not need too much discipline to train them.”
The brand boasts three collections, which
include Armin, Armin Racing and Armin Strom,
all of which allow it to penetrate different
segments, especially with its latest Armin Racing
Carbon, which straddles the high-adrenaline
worlds of motorsports and extreme sailing.
Motorsports enthusiasts will enjoy an affinity with
the Armin Racing models, which have been
executed in the red-and-black team colours of its
partner, the Marussia Racing F1 team. This should
come as little surprise really, since Serge is a little
bit of a motorhead. He currently drives a C 63
AMG estate (for the dog, he says!), but is a
frequent track addict at different circuits in
Europe in all manner of cars, ranging from
the Porsche Carrera GT to a Ferrari F430
Challenge.
Besides, the worlds of horology
and motorsports have always yielded
the most fascinating collaborations
and synergy thanks to the heavy emphasis both
place on cutting-edge materials and techniques.
Serge tells us, “When I visited the factory of our
F1 partner, Marussia Racing, in England, we were
fascinated by how much Armin Strom could
benefit from the knowledge exchange: the
materials used, techniques and designs, for
example.” It’s worth adding that parts from an
actual F1 engine (top) were used to produce
watch movement components for Timo Glock’s
special edition Armin Racing Regulator (below).
Armin Strom’s partner in Singapore is
E’Collezione, an independent boutique at the
Mandarin Gallery. Why not a chain shop, we ask?
“Jeffrey doesn’t just own the boutique, he also
handles sales. He only works with brands that he
likes a lot. To have independent partners fits very
well to Armin Strom’s concept as we are also an
independent brand. We can do things differently and
be more flexible.”
[All purchasers of any Armin Strom timepiece from
E’Collezione from 28 August to the week of the
Singapore F1 Night-Race will stand the chance to win
a Paddock Club pass for one day.]
topGEAR.COM September 2012 059