Armin Strom continues expanding its impressive Resonance series with new models. For its latest creation, the brand combines the style of traditional horology with its incredible skill and craftsmanship in contemporary watchmaking. The result is the Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Zeitgeist 1665, a watch that tells the story of mastering the art of horological resonance. Its design takes us back to the days of Christiaan Huygens, while the modern movement tells the contemporary story of innovative watchmaking. It’s time to find out more.
If you are unfamiliar with Armin Strom’s quest for watchmaking resonance, you must catch up on some reading. We have reported quite a few times about the brand’s brilliant efforts to achieve enhanced precision and chronometric stability through the concept of resonance. Watchmakers have pursued this since the 17th century, including horological pioneer Christiaan Huygens. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of horological resonance, I suggest you read this article by Mike. In it, he perfectly explains the history of the concept and how Armin Strom realized it with its Resonance caliber.
Armin Strom’s story on finding resonance
Just for context, in 2016, Armin Strom’s Claude Greisler tackled this huge horological challenge by introducing the now-patented Resonance Clutch. This special clutch is connected to two oscillators, each with a separate balance wheel and hairspring, and ensures their synchronization. This special Resonance Clutch and the brand’s patented Resonance Suspension System are pivotal parts of the in-house ARF21_ZG movement that powers the new Mirrored Force Resonance Zeitgeist 1665. They sustain the resonance phenomenon continuously and predictably, ensuring chronometric precision and timekeeping consistency.
The caliber is the heart of the new Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Zeitgeist 1665. However, the brand nicely connected the past with the present for the new timepiece. It is a tribute to all the brilliant horological minds that have tried to conquer the challenge of achieving resonance in watchmaking. This new iteration is not the first Zeitgeist model in the Resonance series. Armin Strom unveiled the first Mirrored Force Resonance Zeitgeist in 2021. The minimalist timepiece, fittingly in platinum, celebrated the fifth anniversary of Armin Strom’s patented resonance system.
The story of the Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Zeitgeist 1665
For the new Zeitgeist 1665, the folks at Armin Strom pondered what the watch would look like if watchmakers from the past had solved the resonance fragility problem and envisioned the concept of a wristwatch. The result beautifully combines design and finishing techniques from the past with modern-day watchmaking. Let’s go over the details to find out more.
The new watch has a 43mm stainless steel case with an 11.55mm thickness and a 49.6mm lug-to-lug. Although substantial in diameter, the case thickness ensures a relatively svelte profile. On the right side of the case, you will see the crown at 3 o’clock and a pusher at 2 o’clock. The former sets the time, while the latter brings the resonance system to life. The pusher allows the wearer to reset the two 60-second counters, which gives visual proof of the mechanism’s accuracy.
The open-worked dial offers a great view of the caliber
Inside the case lies an 18K white gold off-center dial with a polished lacquer varnish. The large open dial features black indications on a white background for the hours and minutes. Two beautifully hand-finished, heat-blued stainless steel pomme hands keep track of the time, while the sub-dials display the running seconds for the two independent regulating systems.
As a result of the open-worked look, you get a great view of the caliber within. For the Zeigeist 1665, the manual-winding movement features rose-tone PVD-coated bridges and plates. They immediately give the caliber a traditional feel without becoming ancient. On top of that, the modern look of the two independent regulating systems connected by the resonance clutch on the left side of the caliber immediately balances out the traditional-looking elements. It’s a look that suits the watch incredibly well.
Caliber ARF21_ZG on full display
The 260-part caliber reveals more horological brilliance if you turn the watch around. The movement operates at 25,500vph, has 39 jewels, and offers a healthy 80 hours of power reserve. As you can see, the largest plate on the back features classically styled engravings. The first mentions the Zeitgeist name, while the second is the unique LE number out of the 25 pieces that Armin Strom will produce.
In addition, the stainless steel case back features more practical information. It features the brand and model names along with the watch’s 3ATM water resistance rating. Completing the look is the beautiful dark gray Alcantara strap, which has contrasting stitching and a stainless steel pin buckle.
Final thoughts on the Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Zeitgeist 1665
First and foremost, I love how Armin Strom pays tribute to the past with this new Mirrored Force Resonance Zeitgeist 1665. The classic look of the hand-finished parts complements the overall sleek and modern style of the minimalist Resonance Zeitgeist very well. The more I look at it, the more I like the contrast of the modern case and open-worked dial with the traditionally finished parts of the caliber. It’s not just a nice theoretical story, but it also works well in bringing the watch to life.
On top of that, it goes without saying that the Resonance series is a brilliant display of Armin Strom’s incredible level of watchmaking. As Lex said in his article about the Mirrored Force Resonance Rose Gold, the Mirrored Force Resonance is Armin Strom’s signature timepiece. As a result, we see quite a few iterations of it, but I love that no two models look the same. The watches feature different layouts, materials, and colorways; therefore, they are all distinct.
How does this Mirrored Force Resonance Zeitgeist 1665 fit in? With its nice backstory, this might be the brand’s best yet. I know that it’s my favorite of the series.
All 25 pieces of the Mirrored Force Resonance Zeitgeist 1665 are available now for CHF 82,000. For more information on the watch and its availability, please visit the Armin Strom website.
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Jorg Weppelink
2025-10-17 15:00:00