Armin Strom is a watchmaker capable of producing customizable mechanical wristwatches fully in-house — yet they’ve never made a timepiece devoted to women.

That changes today with the introduction of a more sensual timepiece designed by women and fitted with a new automatic manufacture movement. Following the Gravity Equal Force that was first introduced in 2019, the Lady Beat becomes the second watch in the growing System 78 collection.

Presented in a slim 38 mm x 11.65 mm oval-shaped case, with no lugs and an integrated strap that’s curved perfectly flush with the case, and a crescent moon shaped stamped guilloche plate behind the off-center stamped guilloche dial — the aesthetic is more feminine than any of the company’s past wristwatches.

The contours of the case are softer than the lines of the men’s watches the company offers, including the rounded curves of the leaf-shaped hands. And unlike many watchmakers producing women’s timepieces, the watch has a mechanical spring powering the hands — not a battery. Further, the Lady Beat is not adorned with flashy diamonds or decorative mother-of-pearl elements (although diamonds are available as an option). Instead, the designers kept it simple with a fixed bezel that’s polished — providing a subtle sheen.

Visually, the Lady Beat can be customized with a variety of colors and options to suit individual tastes. This level of customization is not common in the watch industry except at much higher price points, and Armin Strom has pioneered the process thanks in part to the fact that they are not mass producing each timepiece and can therefore change certain core components without adding significant cost.

While the movement takes elements from the brand’s existing calibers, it was not merely shrunken to fit a smaller case. The new design was created from the ground up and has notable technical changes that result in a minimalist appearance — that’s still easily recognizable as an Armin Strom.

Armin Strom’s watchmakers removed the running seconds hand (and accompanying geartrain), which when coupled with no markers and a reduced logo creates an elegance that’s quite appealing, even if the time is a bit harder to read.

Compared to the Gravity Equal Force, the visible triplet of bridges echoing pocket watch styling has been retained on the front side of caliber ALA20, but the dial-side micro-rotor from that watch has been swapped for a full-sized rotor mounted on the backside. And the rotor, like the plate behind the dial, has a moon-shape with a gorgeous stamped guilloche motif. Not to mention, right underneath the oscillating weight are that feature beautifully circular Geneva stripes.

These abovementioned changes affect how the wearer experiences the watch and ensure more winding efficiency. Perhaps best of all, the balance wheel — not a micro-rotor — now oscillates on the dial side. This offers something far more visceral to look at on the wrist than a winding rotor that swings with an inconsistent rhythm. The balance wheel, is, after all, the heartbeat of the watch, and therefore beats precisely in sync at 3.5Hz. And so as the free-sprung balance wheel oscillates 25,200 times to and fro per hour — it does it ever so gracefully.

The retail price is approximately $18,500.

Learn more at Armin Strom.