Armin Strom Gravity Equal Force – 52Mondayz, week #7-2020
I am wearing Armin Strom’s smallest (41mm) watch, the Gravity Equal Force for a week.
The beauty about 52 Mondayz, as far as I’m concerned, is the fact that we have no boundaries. Especially when it comes to what watch to wear for a week. It can be vintage or not, simple or complicated. Also, we can feature brands from large conglomerates but also indie manufacturers. My last 52Mondayz article was about a recently acquired vintage piece, my Eterna 852. That was a fun piece to write, but this time around, I wanted something completely different. You should switch your watches up from time to time anyway. Thanks to Armin Strom, this week I managed to lay my hands on something special. Not entirely new, as it’s been out for a while, but something we hadn’t yet had a chance to spend time with. I’m talking about the Armin Strom Gravity Equal Force — the topic of today’s column.
Wearability
One of the reasons I chose this watch for the week is its size. If you want to sport something for a more extended period, it has to be extremely comfortable. While I like “older” Armin Strom watches, they tend to be on the larger side with cases frequently exceeding 46mm. The new Gravity Equal Force, on the other hand, is a very comfortable 41mm watch.
The case size makes it an easily wearable watch even if you have a smaller wrist. Due to the short lugs and thin bezel, the watch face appears more significant, but I can assure you it is no larger than 41mm and 12.6mm in thickness. Size, however, is not everything. While the Gravity Equal Force does not have any classical complications, it has a large offset dial. The dark color against the stainless-steel hands makes it exceptionally legible.
Gravity Equal Force
Let’s talk a bit about the model itself. If you’ve read our previous coverage of Armin Strom, you’ll know that the Biel-based manufacturer is famous for its large timepieces. This, just like the fact that their models have skeletonized dials and movements, is one of their trademarks. An Armin Strom is a 44mm+, open-work, Haute Horlogerie timepiece.
Or so it was. With their new System 78 collection, the brand is trying to offer simplified watches to their fans without losing the Armin Strom DNA and exceptional high quality. The first model of this collection is the Gravity Equal Force. It looks comparatively humble at first glance. But it houses a bunch of features that you have to look close to find in modern watches. There is a micro-rotor at the 2 o’clock position and a large barrel at 4 o’clock. Both visible on the dial side.
Case
We’ll talk a bit about the caliber, the micro-rotor, and all below, but for a brief second, let’s go back to the case. We’ve already established that the Gravity Equal Force is the first of its kind in a smaller case. What is also interesting to see is that it’s not only a more modest diameter, but also much thinner. That is something indie brands often struggle with. As a result, the watch is only water-resistant to 30 meters.
The case is stainless steel with an anti-reflective sapphire crystal and display case back. That comes in handy when you want to show (off) your timepiece and the exceptional finish of the movement within. Due to the case size, the short lugs, and the alligator leather strap, the Gravity Equal Force can easily be worn with a suit too.
Blend of past and present
The Armin Strom caliber ASB19 is an in-house movement. The basic features are a 72-hour power reserve, an unusual 25,200 operating frequency, 28 jewels, and a total of 202 components. The inspiration for the design comes from vintage pocket watches — you can recognize the parallel bridges on the dial side. I remember seeing this during Watch Time in New York last year and having a pocket watch movement in my head as my initial thought. I was right. The barrel at 4 o’clock has a power reserve indicator on it, the only “special feature” of the Gravity Equal Force. The caliber is equipped with a stop-work declutch mechanism as well.
Indie brand: Yes or no?
As a watch journalist, I have the privilege of seeing, wearing, and using many watches, often more than one at the same time. I do not distinguish between €200 or €20,000 pieces. I’ll try to find something in all of them. When the Gravity Equal Force came out, I did a Hot Take article about it. I called the watch “wallet-friendly” and caught some serious heat from the Fratelli. I still stand behind my statement. For what you get, the Gravity Equal Force is indeed good value. That doesn’t mean it’s actually cheap; it just means you could commit that kind of cash to far less-deserving things.
We are talking about Haute Horlogerie. This is an independent company with a small production volume. And although I’d love to, no, I don’t have the money to buy this piece either. However, for CHF 16,900, you could do much worse. Much, much worse. If you’re not into indie brands, this won’t be for you. Still, I encourage you to check the price/value ratio of your average indie watch brand and then decide on the Gravity Equal Force’s price and my position on it. Let me know what you think in the comments section below. Learn more here.
