In contemporary watchmaking, colour is often confined to the dial. A few manufactures dare to go further by integrating it into the mechanics themselves, turning the movement into a design element in its own right. With the Orbit Midnight Purple, Armin Strom once again proves that its approach never consists of following trends, but of reinventing them.
Limited to just 20 pieces, this new interpretation of the Orbit does not merely dress its emblematic smoked dial in a deep purple. For the first time, the Swiss manufacture extends this chromatic identity all the way onto the movement’s mainplate, creating a visual continuity rarely seen in contemporary haute horlogerie.
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A colour that has become a signature
At Armin Strom, Midnight Purple is no mere styling exercise.
This powerful hue is now part of the identity of the independent Biel-based manufacture. Inherited from the creative universe of Armin Strom himself, it now stands as a genuine aesthetic language.
The smoked dial, whose luminous purple gradually darkens towards its edges, plays with light to accentuate the depth of the open architecture characteristic of the Orbit collection. Beneath this composition now appears a grained mainplate treated in Midnight Purple, visible through the dial’s openings and naturally extending this sense of relief.
The result is spectacular without ever tipping into exuberance. The colour converses with the mechanics rather than masking them.
A complication designed to disappear
Yet the Orbit did not become famous thanks to its dial.
Unveiled in 2022, it immediately drew attention thanks to an innovation as simple in principle as it is ingenious in execution: the first on-demand date integrated into a ceramic bezel.
The idea is almost philosophical. Why permanently display information that the wearer only needs occasionally?
At Armin Strom, a simple press of the pusher located at 10 o’clock reveals the date hand, which immediately indicates the date on the bezel. A second press is then enough to make it disappear, discreetly returning to its original position at 12 o’clock. Meanwhile, the mechanism naturally continues its daily progression and automatically updates at midnight.
The dial thus regains all its purity when the date is not being consulted.
A complication that questions our relationship with information, well beyond mere mechanical prowess.
The ASS20 calibre, a showcase of Armin Strom’s craftsmanship
At the heart of this Orbit Midnight Purple beats the in-house ASS20 calibre, entirely developed and produced internally.
Its architecture employs a column-wheel mechanism dedicated to activating the date, while the famous constant-force barrel patented by Armin Strom guarantees a steady transmission of energy throughout the entire 72 hours of power reserve.
This pursuit of chronometric stability is part of the house’s technical DNA. Where many focus on the accumulation of complications, Armin Strom prioritises improving the fundamental workings of the movement.
The automatic micro-rotor also contributes to this desire for openness by leaving the mechanical architecture largely visible.
When finishing becomes a spectacle
One of Armin Strom’s great strengths lies in its ability to bring mechanics to life.
Through the sapphire caseback, the eye discovers a succession of openworked bridges, rhodium-plated components, hand-polished angles, perlage, circular graining and traditional finishing that testify to the manufacture’s level of execution.
The new purple mainplate acts here as a backdrop that accentuates the contrasts between the movement’s various components. More than a mere surface treatment, it plays a full part in reading the architecture.
Like all the house’s creations, each watch is entirely assembled, disassembled and then reassembled a second time before its final inspection, a demanding method that has become one of Armin Strom’s qualitative signatures.
An assertive presence on the wrist
With its 43.4 mm steel case paired with a fixed black ceramic bezel, the Orbit fully embraces its contemporary personality.
The integrated steel bracelet reinforces this impression of cohesion, while the faceted, hand-polished hands filled with Super-LumiNova® ensure excellent legibility.
The luminescent numerals at 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock, entirely made from solid blocks of luminescent material, offer a particularly original nocturnal identity.
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Brand | Armin Strom |
| Model | Orbit Midnight Purple |
| Series | Limited edition, 20 pieces |
| Case | Steel, 43.4 mm, fixed black ceramic bezel |
| Dial | Smoked Midnight Purple, grained purple mainplate |
| Complication | On-demand date (pusher at 10 o’clock, display on ceramic bezel) |
| Movement | In-house ASS20 calibre, automatic micro-rotor, patented constant-force barrel |
| Power reserve | 72 hours |
| Bracelet | Integrated steel |
| Price | 36,000 CHF |
Our verdict
In a market where limited editions sometimes amount to a mere change of colour, Armin Strom demonstrates that an aesthetic evolution can also enrich the mechanical reading of a watch.
The Orbit Midnight Purple does not seek to seduce solely through its spectacular purple. Above all, it confirms the coherence of a manufacture that is building, year after year, an immediately recognisable identity, where design, innovation and haute horlogerie advance in the same direction.
The on-demand date complication remains one of the most intelligent ideas to have appeared in recent years. By removing the display when it becomes unnecessary, it restores full prominence to the essential: reading the time.
Limited to just 20 pieces and offered at a price of 36,000 Swiss francs, this Orbit Midnight Purple is naturally aimed at a select circle of collectors. But beyond its rarity, it reminds us that there are still manufactures capable of innovating without giving in to one-upmanship, simply by rethinking the way we interact with a watch.
Frequently asked questions
It is a limited edition of 20 pieces.
It is offered at a price of 36,000 Swiss francs (CHF).
A press of the pusher at 10 o’clock reveals the date hand on the bezel; a second press makes it disappear at 12 o’clock. The mechanism automatically updates at midnight.
The in-house ASS20 calibre, featuring a column wheel dedicated to the date, Armin Strom’s patented constant-force barrel, an automatic micro-rotor and 72 hours of power reserve.
A 43.4 mm steel case with a fixed black ceramic bezel and an integrated steel bracelet.
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