Introducing: The Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Fire, A Wristwatch With A Unique Resonance Coupling System
Resonance watches are an extremely small sub-set of horology, and with good reason: they are notoriously difficult to manufacture and, just as importantly, to regulate. The idea was perhaps most famously experimented with by the French watch and clockmaker Antide Janvier (1751-1835) and by Breguet, whose resonance watches provided the impetus for those made in the modern era by F. P. Journe. The basic idea is to take advantage of the fact that two oscillators (such as two balance wheels or two pendulums) which have the same natural frequency, and which are somehow mechanically coupled, will start to beat in time with one another. The two oscillators will be more resistant to disruption of their rate together, than apart, and with better rate stability there should be better accuracy.





When I was in high school we had to buy an atlas/geography textbook from a publisher called Heinemann. Don’t ask me why I remember this – it’s just one of the scores of useless trivia facts that are stuck in my head, while much more important information (such as reference numbers and calibre names) seem to constantly elude me. One of the things I liked most about this atlas were the different types of map on offer: Political, altitude, rainfall, temperature – Heinemann had them all. And this is what the new, brightly coloured dial of the 4810 Orbis Terrarum instantly reminded me of. Turns out I wasn’t too far off. Aside from adding a dash of colour to the Orbis Terrarum, the multi-coloured world disc represents warmer and cooler parts of the globe. But the map isn’t the only thing that’s different about this Orbis Terrarum, it’s now part of the 4810 family, meaning it has a bigger, curvier case than the original. When it comes to looks it’s a hard call as to whether this version or the blue-on-blue Heritage Spirit model is more attractive, and will depend largely on personal preference. For me though, the 4810 Orbis Terrarum is…
