This year at Geneva Watch Days, Armin Strom is presenting an entirely new version of its Dual Time Resonance. The existing Dual Time Resonance is arguably the brand’s flagship model, an enormous oval showcasing the brand’s in-house capabilities and its signature resonant mechanism. That watch was a true behemoth that could never go unnoticed, and behind the Minute Repeater Resonance, was the most expensive model the brand offered. But the new Armin Strom Dual Time GMT Resonance First Edition comes in a much more wearable package while still showing off everything that makes Armin Strom what it is.
Instead of a 59mm juggernaut that takes over your entire forearm, the new Dual Time GMT Resonance is presented in a more reasonable 39mm case that measures just 9.05mm thick. The case is made from 18k white gold with a blend of polished and brushed surfaces that appears to feature the precise transitions that one might expect in a watch of this caliber. Operating the watch is done with two crowns located on opposite sides; the left controls the left time, while the right sets the right time and is responsible for winding. While we’re used to seeing 30m water resistance on these types of watches, Armin Strom has ensured 50m here; it’s not a huge leap, but it’s enough to avoid excess fretting in the rain. The watch has sapphire crystals on the front and back and delivers with two alligator straps with white gold hardware: matte gray with sky-blue stitching (seen here) and light gray with pearl-gray stitching.
The dial side, as ever, appears quite spectacular. While much of the mechanism is on display, including the resonance clutch spring at 12 o’clock, the time displays are their own kind of beautiful. The twin sky-blue displays feature grenage texturing and sit above the anthracite PVD main plate. The black hour rings have azzurage finishing with applied rhodium-plated indices. Instead of the alpha hands seen on the larger models, this model gets polished and faceted rhodium-plated gladiator hands, giving it a more casual vibe. I’m just happy they aren’t the skeletonized hands used on other Armin Stroms like the Tribute, as those tend to disappear against their dials. At 6 o’clock on each dial is a 3D-engraved day/night display showing the sun and moon. The larger Dual Time Resonance models have a single 24-hour indicator and power reserve indicators in the place of this watch’s day/night displays. I think the change here improves the watch; the power reserves on the other watch are separate, but the winding is linked. As such, both barrels fill and deplete at the same rate (if the resonance part holds up), making dual indicators superfluous. The other element that catches the eye on the dial are the partially exposed barrel caps, which have been expertly finished with the model name.
I think it’s curious that this is called a “Dual Time GMT.” I’d argue that GMT is a type of dual-time watch. A dual time is any watch that can display two time zones. A GMT typically almost always uses a second 24-hour hand to display the second time zone on a 12-hour watch and almost always does so by adding just that one 24-hour hand. It’s a square-rectangle relationship; every Dual Time can be considered a GMT, but not every GMT can be considered a Dual Time. In this sense, I think GMT is a bit misleading here; in fact, I’d argue it does a disservice to the capabilities of this watch. My guess is that using the “GMT” in the model allows the brand to distinguish this watch from the existing Dual Time Resonance models. This is obviously all semantics, but we have to have the conversations somewhere.
The Armin Strom Dual Time GMT Resonance First Edition (and presumably any subsequent editions thereof) is equipped with an entirely new in-house caliber, the manual ARF22. In essence, this is a simplification of the ARF17 that powers the big Dual Time Resonance models. That movement had the aforementioned double power reserve indicator, 24-hour subdial, and a 100-hour power reserve, totaling 419 components. The ARF22, on the other hand, comprises just 231 parts. It operates at 25,200 vph with a 42-hour power reserve. The movement is expertly finished at every turn, with surfaces getting treatments from black polishing to perlage. Each time display has its own barrel and gear train, with winding linked through the 4 o’clock crown and the three-dimensional ratchet wheel at 6 o’clock and the two balances yoked by the resonance clutch spring on the dial side. The theory behind resonance is that the vibration of two adjacent objects will synchronize and each will serve to balance the other.
The new Dual Time Resonance marks a smart shift from the brand and demonstrates an ability to respond to the market while still delivering on its signature elements. Reworking the movement for a case that shaves 20mm off its predecessor is impressive, and what’s more, the watch is $80,000 cheaper than the previous model (and I don’t value dual power reserve indicators at $80k). Despite the more traditional design, the watch remains true to the name of the Masterpiece collection where Armin Strom has it positioned. The Armin Strom Dual Time GMT Resonance is priced at $120,700 USD and is limited to 25 pieces. For more information, please visit the Armin Strom website.
