Personalities
Tími/Tid/Aika: No matter how it’s said, these five Scandinavian microbrands are showing us a good time
Personalities
Tími/Tid/Aika: No matter how it’s said, these five Scandinavian microbrands are showing us a good time
In any case, a few months ago I was contacted by a young watch brand out of Oslo, named Micromilspec. They saw on my Instagram page that I’d be traveling to Europe for a couple of different events, and they wanted to know if I would be willing to make a quick hop over to Norway’s capital to check out what it was they had going on. There was no way I was going to say no to this invite. Talking watches with a bunch of friendly millennial and Gen-Z guys in the country that I’ve been wanting to visit for 10 years? Sign me up, venner!
The Northern Lights
Meeting with Micromilspec was my first foray into what seemingly is a new world of microbrands coming out of the northern parts of Europe. Sure, we all know of the master (Kari Voutilainen) and the genius (Stepan Sarpaneva), both out of Finland. And many of us know of Linde Werdelin, too. But who out there is the new blood? Who will impress us? Shake us up? Or even more importantly, make us open up our wallets, key in our credit card numbers, and tell all our friends on Instagram?
Sweden: Monchard
But the brand has since evolved. “What makes us stand out is that we’re very keen on making a good product that the customers will feel an emotional connection with, incorporating details that may go unnoticed by some, but that are hopefully seen and enjoyed by others,” says co-founder Jonathan Belvér. “We always try and do the best we can based on our interests, knowledge and vision, and the fact that we have many recurring customers hopefully means that we, in some way, have succeeded.”
Finland: Pook
Pook is a small, family-owned company that is extraordinarily proud of their Finnish heritage. All designs are done in-house in Finland by Andreas and the movements used are largely Miyota with the occasional ETA movement here and there. This allows for the brand to keep the price points between 250 and 500 euros for most models, with the occasional exception or limited-edition novelty.
Denmark: Arcanaut
The brand is proud to use Swiss Soprod movements in their timepieces, but what really sets them apart, in their opinion, is the quirkiness and cleverness of their watch dials. “The madness comes into play on our dials, where with each series, we try to experiment with or create a new material, process or approach,” explains Brandt. “Our last series [the ARC II D’Arc Matter] had dials made out of Swedish slate stone crushed through an industrial coffee grinder.”
Iceland: JS Watch Company
With a team of just four people, the brand sells their product exclusively to their customers through meetings and discussions that occur in person at their workshop in Reykjavik. And yes, those four people include the watchmakers, marketing person, photographer and designer. Multiple hats are worn by the same folks at JS Watch Company. They are about as old-school in a new world as it gets.
In a single year, the company produces fewer than 500 timepieces ranging in price (on average) from USD2,100 to USD3,200. Most of the models produced use Soprod movements but some of their watches have also contained movements from Eterna, ETA, and Unitas. Regardless of the movement, precision matters. Sigurþórsson explains, “All the movements are adjusted in five positions, to a maximum rate deviation of +4/-4 seconds per day.”
Norway: Micromilspec
Right now, Micromilspec is doing what only a handful of microbrands are doing; full-on customization. Their watches are made to the specifications requested by every customer, with many of those customers being in the military, police or special operation’ units. “We provide a level of customization that few [if any] other brands offer in the same category.” says Rye. “Still, our main strength is probably our streamlined process for completing complex projects in a relatively short amount of time. We oversee everything here in Norway, from design, development and production, to sales, financing, logistics and after-sales service.”
As each timepiece is bespoke, it’s hard to give a price range. Rye states, “We’ve sold watches for 950 euros and for 30.000 euros. It all depends on the materials and complications each purchaser or unit is looking for.”