Armin Strom Minute Repeater Resonance 12:59 First Edition

Biel-based Armin Strom has been on a hot streak now … for years. The brand’s catalog has been filled out to include something exceptional at every level. From Bauhaus-inspired, time-only watches in the Gravity Equal Force or Tribute 1 all the way to the ultra-innovative “resonance in the 21st century” timepieces in the Dual Time GMT Resonance and Mirrored Force Resonance, Armin Strom has taken bigger and bigger swings over the years. When we spoke with Claude Greisler, … even spoke at length with co-founder Claude Greisler about the increasing momentum behind the manufacture’s latest releases. Now, Armin Strom releases another ultra-complicated timepiece for Watches & Wonders 2026 – the Minute Repeater Resonance 12:59 First Edition.

Armin Strom is the only brand to ever produce a chiming timepiece with resonance complication. That world-first timepiece released in 2019 to critical acclaim. This Minute Repeater Resonance 12:59 First Edition comes with an all-new architecture, a significant aesthetic upgrade on the first chiming resonance from the brand. Frankly, there’s a lot to talk about on this watch.

First, the timepiece’s upgrades are not all aesthetic with the architecture. Here, we have an evolutionary leap from a two-hammer system to a “Westminster Chime” – four hammers, four gongs. This significantly increases both mechanical complexity and acoustic depth, all within a remarkably ergonomic titanium case, 42mm in diameter and 11.7mm in thickness.

Equally compelling is the interaction. A column-wheel selector allows the wearer to choose between a traditional minute repeater or the “12:59 Anytime” mode, delivering the longest possible sequence on demand. It’s both poetic and technically impressive. It’s “post-modern” in the sense that the complication and its historical function are decoupled, giving the collector the ability to use the minute repeater for pure acoustic pleasure.

At its core is the new manual-wind Calibre ARR25, built around Armin Strom’s patented resonance clutch. Two fully independent regulating systems, each with its own balance, escapement, and gear train, operate in harmonic resonance, integrated with the repeater across more than 500 components.

Visually, the watch is more refined and balanced. The openworked dial emphasizes symmetry, highlighting the twin balances, four hammers, and visible flying governor. Fully hand-finished, the piece feels less like an iteration and more like a confident evolution of Armin Strom’s most ambitious ideas.