A well trained opera singer is able to cause a tuning fork to vibrate just by the power of his voice. The tuning fork absorbs the energy and will strive to vibrate in the same frequency. Should the tuning fork be interrupted by an external impact it will always try to get back in line with its counterpart. This is called Resonance. In the 17th century Christiaan Huygens, the inventor of the pendulum clock has discovered that this phenomenon can also have a positive effect on watchmaking. Ever since however there were not many watchmakers to be able to successfully implement this physical phenomenon in their watches.
Resonance in a watch – two connected balances
For the oscillators to be able to synchronize with each other they have to be closely tuned. Ideally they are identically. For example, a child trying to synchronize steps with an adult will only manage to last a few attempts. However two oscillators do not necessarily have to be connected to each other. The opera singer can get the tuning fork vibrating just by the frequencies travelling by air. But Christiaan Huygens discovered the crucial advantage of two connected oscillators, when his pendulums were attached to a common beam and the momentum of the one pendulum put the other one in motion. The pivotal energy source was the beam, which transferred the vibrations from one to another. It becomes noticeable that the pendulums oscillate synchronically but mostly in opposite direction to each other.
Armin Strom Mirrored Force Resonance Guilloché Dial
In 2016 Armin Strom first patented and introduced the Mirrored Force Resonance with two balances that are connected with a tiny clasp which transfers the vibrations. It is truly spectacular to watch. When we first saw the watch we couldn’t stop looking at the pulsing heart of the timepiece that also offers an exciting open view onto it. The spectacle is not only appealing for the eye, but also has a positive technical impact on the power reserve. When Christiaan Huygens first discovered the phenomenon he became sceptical about any deviation of the pendulum that was influenced by another power source. But: they run synchronous. They even conserve energy by sparing each other power. And even more – the Resonance contributes to a better absorbing of external impacts. Any external impulse will lead to one balance to slow down, the other one to speed up temporarily before they slowly start to find back to their rhythm.
The guilloched dial was designed by Kari Voutilainen
Armin Strom produces this resonance mechanism for his Mirrored Force Resonance entirely in-house. Already since 2009 Armin Strom manufactures its movements in-house in the small manufacture in Biel and is capable of producing nearly all pieces independently. The new 2018 version of the Mirrored Force Resonance Guilloché Dial is equipped with the ARF15 hand-wound movement and two independent, symmetrically mirrored regulators. Armin Strom presents it this year with a hand-guilloched dial. Responsible for this new dial-design was no one less then Kari Voutilainen, the rock star amongst the independent watchmakers who is known to be a master of finishing and guilloching of cases and dials.
The hand-wound movement ARF15 with two symmetrically mirrored regulators
The energy that is generated by the two synchronically turning balances eventually discharge in the two synchronically turning seconds indications – however they turn in opposite direction. Armin Strom therefore winsomely placed the digits of the one seconds indications running backwards. So there appear to happen two different things on the dial that however share the identical function. One could put it this way: the one seconds indication takes you back in the past, the other one in the future. Through the pusher at 2 o’clock the two seconds indications can be set back at zero. So taking you back to present.
The pusher at 2 o’clock sets the seconds indications back at zero
