The Watches of Armin Strom

A Simple Philosophy with Remarkable Results: The Movement Is the Star of the Watch

This episode of The Watches Of goes deep on Armin Strom, one of independent watchmaking's most distinctive manufactures, with co-founder and master watchmaker Claude Greisler. Recorded in person at Collective's Open House, the conversation traces how a brand built on a single conviction — that the movement, not the dial, should be the star of the watch — grew into one of the few genuinely in-house movement makers in independent Swiss watchmaking.

Greisler walks through his path into the craft: a Swiss German watchmaking family, eight and a half years of training across watchmaking, restoration, complications, and movement construction, and an early role developing a tourbillon at Christophe Claret. From there, he and co-founder Serge Michel took over the Armin Strom name and made the decision that defines the brand today — not to skeletonize old movements, but to engineer everything from the ground up. The result is what Armin Strom calls transparent mechanics: watches like the Gravity Equal Force and the System 78 collection designed open from the start, plus a re-engineered approach to resonance that uses a flexible suspension spring between two balance wheels instead of transmitting vibrations through the plates and bridges.

Whether you're new to Armin Strom or already deep in independent watchmaking, this is a rare chance to hear how high-end watches are actually conceived, engineered, and finished — straight from one of the people doing it. Explore the full Armin Strom collection at collectivehorology.com, and watch the full video version on the Collective Horology YouTube channel. Subscribe to The Watches Of for more deep dives into the brands shaping independent watchmaking.

Hosted by Asher Rapkin and Gabe Reilly of Collective Horology, the Watches of Podcast looks at the history, philosophy, personalities, and of course the watches of a different brand on each episode. Also available as video on YouTube. Collective is an authorized retailer of the brands featured on this podcast. You can learn more, and find their watches, at collectivehorology.com.