Schick uses real high spec bearings, gets parts machined to very close tolerances, and has a number of tricks that I am not at liberty to disclose. He is a very picky meticulous person and there's a lot of thought and experimentation behind that arm that isn't immediately apparent.
I haven't taken either apart so I don't know the inner details. The arm tube geometry might be similar to Alfred's but i think both might be copying a rarish Telefunken 12" broadcast arm that I never heard of before it was described to me. There was a lot of nice German pro gear that most Amerikaners never even heard of, particularly East German stuff.
I constant see and hear new and weird stuff from the German past, especially pro speakers, some really good ones too.
The outward simplicity of these arms is a feature not a bug, as far as I am concerned. Some like complicated arms, not me.
I switched over to the Schick because of performance. It really works great with the low compliance carts that I prefer. The quality was instantly obvious with cartridge types that I had been using for decades and knew very well.
I have the graphite headshell, but for the DL103, I prefer the heavy Audio-Technica LH-18. I've been using the graphite with misc old Shures. Still not 100% convinced that I like it over a decent cheaper aluminum headshell. It does lend a drier controlled flavor that could be the ticket for some setups and listeners. Hard to say... it depends.
Schick is very critical of most graphite headshells, which tend to ring like crazy. His blend is more self-damped. He demonstrated this to me with a few other famous brands which ring like a porcelain saucer. if you check the geometry of the headshell, it is quite well thought out too. I'm still working on figuring out what to do with it.