TRIAGE: Armin Strom One Week Skeleton Rose Gold

It’s time again to put the TRIAGE for Watch Collecting system to the test.

The last time I published my application TRIAGE for Watch Collecting it was for a watch I already own. I used the system to test whether my H. Moser & Cie Swiss Alp deserved to be in my collection and to stay in the collection.

You can see that here:

The 6 steps of TRIAGE for Watch Collecting are
-T arget
-R itual
-I nvert
-A gility
-G alvanize
-E levate

You can find them in our book, TRIAGE for Watch Collecting available on Amazon here: Buy here

Let’s get to evaluating the Armin Strom One Week Skeleton Rose Gold and see if it is a watch which makes sense for me to acquire. For each of the six steps, I’m going to apply a grade of Red, Yellow, Green, similar to a traffic light.1

About twenty years ago, among the first expensive watches I had ever acquired was a Rolex Submariner “Bluesy.” I was at a much different stage of my life, having recently finished my surgery training. This functionally ended all of my formal education and training and I finally was on the real path of my career as a surgeon, ending a quest begun in 11th grade around the age of 16 when I decided I wanted to become a physicians.

So twenty years ago the target a watch had to hit was the “I finally made it” target.
The “I am getting a real paycheck, and a nice one at that” target. Rolex fit my life story and as a watch fulfilled its narrative role by making me feel like a hero in my life story. Rolex hit the target back then, but not today.

What are my targets today?

I want the opposite of a hype watch and prefer a watch that non-watch enthusiasts won’t recognize. I’m most satisfied with a watch that has a small following and will be a source of conversation with the nerdiest of watch nerds.

Another target I want to hit is acquiring a watch which is made by people I want to support. If you’re getting my money, I would like to know you’re a good person who deserves my money.
Maybe subconsciously I want to feel like a modern day benefactor, a hero of sorts.
So I prefer to buy watches made by people whom I have met and who I want to support.

Lastly, I’ve always been a science geek and a watch which supports that idea of myself is ideal.

The Armin Strom One Week Skeleton hits all my targets.
1) Armin Strom makes 440 watches per year, about as many watches as Rolex makes in an one hour2. It’s not a hype watch which everyone would recognize, which is what I want.

2) I’ve met the people behind the brand multiple times at trade shows and watch events, and had espressos and dinners with them. They are people who are genuinely good people and ones I hope to continue to know for years to come. I want them to succeed and am happy to play a part in their success by paying for one of their watches.

3) Lastly, this is a watch with a fair amount of technical prowess so it satisfies my inner nerd!

Grade for T-Target: 🟢 Passes with high conviction.

At Dubai Watch Week I saw several watches which caught my eye and were at a price I could afford. That night, back at our hotel in a neutral environment away from emotional influences of the trade show environment and our friends, I ran through the TRIAGE system in conversation with my wife.

Of all the watches which caught my eye, after a careful deliberation there were two which resonated the most with me: both were Armin Strom models. It wasn’t until another day or two that I settled upon the One Week Skeleton.

And even then, I resolved to not get this watch until I first sold off at least two, and perhaps a third, watch from our current collection.

So here I am, about four months since I first saw that watch and decided that I wanted to add it to my collection. But I’m not pulling the trigger until I follow through with my stipulation of first selling off other pieces in the collection. This is definitely not a rash decision; it passes the delay ritual.

Grade for R-Ritual: 🟢 I’ve waited four months, and still want this watch. Passes with high conviction, with the qualifier that I need to delay further and sell other watches from my collection before acquiring this one.

Invert the question most people ask which is “Why do I love this watch?” and instead ask “Why would I regret this watch?”

Legibility:
My eyes aren’t getting any younger. Will I have difficulty reading the time on this skeleton watch? I’m going to need to spend more time seeing this watch in the metal to get a sense of legibility

Other skeleton watches?
One of the appealing criteria of this watch is my lacking any skeleton watch in my collection. Is it possible that in the future I would regret getting this skeleton over other skeleton watches if that were the sole criteria? It might.

Geeky enough?
Another regret I might have is that the watch might not be “geeky” enough. Am I satisfied with the double mainsprings in series providing a seven day power reserve?

Is the conical power reserve indicator which indicates the power reserve in a 3d fashion geeky?

Or do I want to keep my powder dry for something even geekier, perhaps a watch in which I can observe a rementoire (Gronefeld 1941) or fusee and chain (Breguet 7047) , or a watch I’ve eyed for ~ 6 years, the Lange Zeitwerk Striking Time? (I do have to take into account that these watches come at MUCH higher prices than the Armin Strom.)

I need to think about this.

I’m not trying to be overly critical here, but remember this step is all about thinking about why you would regret this watch. Thank you Charlie Munger for teaching me about Inversion.3

1) Aesthetics
There are two aesthetic issues which stand out for me.
I don’t have a skeleton watch nor do I have a gold watch.

This might seem shallow, but the look of a watch is among the first thing that grabs me, and the attribute which keeps me coming back to a watch in my collection.

I had this watch on my wrist at Dubai Watch Week both at the show and at a enthusiast dinner, and I really enjoyed how it looked

2) Armin Strom’s open work pushes me to learn
Armin Strom watches are known for being open work watches. I have one Armin Strom, and my wife has another. I don’t think any other watches in our collection have inspired me to learn about the underlying mechanisms as much as our Armin Strom watches. There’s something about looking at those gorgeous hand finished movements under a loupe that pushes me to learn more the movement. I think this Armin Strom would do the same, moreso with it’s skeleton design, in which most of the movement is out in the open.

Grade for A Agility: 🟢 Passes with high conviction

As the saying goes, no man is an island, and as much as I like to think of myself as an independent thinker, I am not the type of watch enthusiast who prefers to collect in obscurity or isolation.

I have a high conviction that this watch has enough going for it aesthetically and mechanically that I would be able to engage with other watch enthusiasts in stories about this watch.

I also think that among my watch circles this watch would garner respect and that my peer group would enjoy seeing and learning about this watch.

I easily see this watch being a topic of conversation with my top horological partner in crime (my wife) and also my friends.

Grade for G Galvanize: 🟢 Passes with high conviction.

I mentioned up above that Armin Strom watches push me to learn more about their watches and all watches in general.

Thinking about its double barrel mainsprings in series at this moment got me thinking about a few other multi-barrel watches I saw at Dubai Watch Week, the David Candaux DC 12, and the GP Neo Constant Escapement. And then I turned to Google Gemini and began a discussion which brought up more multi-mainspring watches.

I don’t even have an Armin Strom One Week yet, and its already elevated my education!

Grade for Step 6 - 🟢 Elevate: Passes with high conviction.

Looks like it will pass my test, assuming I can sell off a couple of other watches to clear the funds for this one.

Thanks for reading along.

Let me know how this system works for you in the comments.

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With an annual output reported to be 1,000,000 watches, Rolex produces approximately 3,846 watches for every day their factories are operating under a standard 40-hour workweek. To meet this figure assuming an 8-hour shift, they would need to produce about 480 watches per hour.