One Week of Power and Not a Dial in Sight

Armin Strom has built its name on putting the movement centre stage. The One Week Manufacture Edition Blue stays true to that idea and gives it fresh energy.

There is no traditional dial. The deep blue PVD main plate serves as the backdrop for a neatly arranged display of wheels, barrels, and bridges inside a 41-millimetre stainless steel case, set on an integrated steel bracelet.

The effect is crisp, modern and legible, with architecture that invites you to look twice rather than glance and move on.

The calibre is the house-made ARM21. It is wound by hand and uses two barrels in series to deliver a full seven-day reserve. The beat is three and a half hertz, which lends a steady rhythm without feeling clinical. A three-dimensional power reserve display, driven by a conical gear and polished cone, sits on the dial side.

It is a classical solution done with care, and it brings useful animation to the watch. With the barrels unwinding and the train turning in clear view, you get the quiet satisfaction of seeing the mechanism work as you wear it.

Finishing is a strong point. The bridges carry Geneva stripes. Flats show straight and circular graining. The angles are broad and brightly polished. Screws and their sinks are clean and reflective.

Each movement is assembled twice before it leaves the workshop, a practice that speaks to method and pride rather than marketing noise. Under a loupe, it reads as careful handwork with nothing rushed and nothing left to chance.

On the wrist, the watch feels thoughtfully judged. The case is 41.00 millimetres across, 10.60 millimetres in height, and 44.35 millimetres from lug to lug, so it sits low and balanced.

Sapphire crystals front and back have anti-reflective treatment, and the water resistance is ten atmospheres, which makes this a confident everyday companion rather than a delicate trophy.

The bracelet flows neatly from the case and closes with a compact double folding clasp. A black minute ring frames the view, and there is a small seconds display.

Applied indexes are filled with Super LumiNova, and the facetted rhodium hands are treated the same way, so late evening legibility is clear and clean. The blue plate adds colour without fuss, which helps the eye find the indications quickly.

What distinguishes this One Week is not a single trick but the way familiar choices are arranged with restraint and purpose. The long reserve reduces daily winding to a simple habit.

The conical power reserve is technically sound and visually engaging without straying into gimmickry. The open-worked layout is honest and tidy rather than showy. In short, it is a watch that repays time spent with it rather than demanding attention with noise.

For collectors who value scarcity alongside substance, production is capped at one hundred pieces, and the price is CHF 32,000. That sits exactly where you would expect for independent Swiss watchmaking with this level of finishing and a movement that carries its interest on the dial side.

The One Week Manufacture Edition Blue reads as a clear statement of what Armin Strom does best. Show the mechanics. Finish them properly. Keep the proportions wearable. Add one or two touches that make ownership a pleasure every day.

It is a precise and quietly confident piece for readers who prefer craft and clarity over shortcut theatrics.