Cooper visited ARMIN STROMMaximillion Cooper enters the reserved world of Swiss watchmaking

What happens when the adventurous creator of a car rally famous for its exuberant, rock 'n' roll attitude, enters the reserved world of Swiss watchmaking?

For 2015, ARMIN STROM is the official watch partner of the transcontinental Gumball 3000 rally, which has thousands of passionate fans and a huge celebrity following. Now a pop culture lifestyle brand, Gumball 3000 is the brainchild of Maximillion Cooper, a British entrepreneur, who combined his love for cars with music and fashion to create an extraordinary car event and other celebrations throughout the year.

When Cooper visited the ARMIN STROM manufacturer, he was so tremendously impressed by the firm's capabilities and passion, he wanted to personally collaborate on the design of special watches to commemorate the 2015 rally.

Claude Greisler, ARMIN STROM's director and chief horologist, began by explaining the basics of the engineering and mechanical construction of its timepieces and showed Cooper previous racing models. After discussing ideas for design treatments for the dial and movement of the watch, he created renderings on the computer. Cooper designed a number of fun and eccentric styles, while Greisler ensured the concepts would not affect watch’s movement and timekeeping capability.

Cooper and Greisler agreed on three new designs, which perfectly embody the spirit and aesthetic of both Gumball 3000 and ARMIN STROM. This creative new series will be produced in a numbered edition that will be unveiled at Baselworld 2015.

Scheduled for May 23-30, the 2015 Gumball 3000 rally travels a spectacular route from Stockholm to Las Vegas via Oslo, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, San Francisco and Los Angeles. ARMIN STROM's sponsorship includes other events throughout the year, including concerts and car shows.