Andreas Strehler Launches Sirna as Debut Watch for New Strehler Brand

Andreas Strehler’s logic in creating the new Strehler brand is easy to follow. The creation of one of his specialist haute horology watches – his moonphases are considered the best in the world – is incredibly time consuming, difficult and expensive meaning that very few watches are ever produced and they’re incredibly exclusive and difficult for collectors to procure.

The tagline for his main brand is literally “Watchmaker for the few”. With the new Strehler project, Andreas aims to give a wider range of collectors the opportunity to enjoy his work at a more accessible level. The first watch forming part of this new venture is the Strehler Sirna.

Off the bat we see that the Sirna is a completely different flavour of watchmaking than we typically see from Andreas. Gone are the complex haute horological mechanisms, replaced by a beautifully simple three-hand, time-only watch. However, just because the concept is simpler than a watch like the Sauterelle à Lune Exacte doesn’t mean it’s lacking in quality. Every single part of the case, movement and dial has been produced in-house in the workshop in Sirnach (which is where the name Sirna comes from), right down to the steel buckle on the leather strap.

The case uses a 40mm design with flowing lines made from polished stainless steel. Often dress watches like this are made from gold but steel is required for the strength and lightweight properties of the material. That’s because the model is only 8.5mm thick and the robust metal ensures a solid foundation for the watch that won’t flex, the same reason Bulgari use titanium for watches like the Octo Finissimo Ultra.

Speaking of titanium, the Sirna features the metal for its dial. In order to produce the intricate pattern of repeating three-dimensional shapes (designed by Eric Giroud) each dial has to be machined and laser engraved one at a time. The blue colouration is then achieved by anodization to create an intense colour that won’t fade. All these elements mean that creating the titanium dial is a particularly time consuming process, especially in comparison to more common dial materials such as brass that can be embossed as it’s a softer metal.

Below the surface of the Sirna, and visible through the exhibition caseback is the new SA-30 automatic movement. Andreas made a name for himself working on prototype movements so it’s no surprise that the SA-30 is incredibly well designed – while there might not be any tourbillons or moonphases to gawk at, extra attention has been paid to make sure the basic functioning of the movement is superb. For example, it uses a Swiss lever escapement with additional pointage of the anchor, has a large, free-sprung balance wheel and features a 60-hour power reserve barrel designed to provide a consistent torque without the necessity of a constant force mechanism.

It’s also been finished to a spectacular degree with polished and chamfered bevels, circular Geneva stripes and a combination of circular and regular graining. It looks great through the , providing a beautiful backdrop for the skeletonised rose gold rotor, which itself features sweeping curves that mirror the shape of the case.

The Strehler Sirna is a really strong debut for the new brand, with approximately 30-50 pieces being produced each year at a price of CHF 20,000 (approx. £17,900). That might not sound that accessible on paper, but remember it’s in comparison to Andreas Strehler’s normal works that are typically produced in single digit numbers for £100,000+. While procuring a Sirna won’t be easy by any means, it’s a much less daunting prospect and I expect to see the name Strehler in far more collections from now on.