The independent Swedish watchmaker offers excellent timepiece designs inspired by the methods of the automotive industry. But there’s a catch.

While it’s true that the cold North doesn’t have much in the way of watchmaking heritage, they’ve always had one things going for them: their excellent design acumen. The Swedes have been leaders there, and it seems that everything coming out of the country can be recognized by its simplicity, functionality and quality.

These are the core values increasingly being imparted in Swedish watchmaking, which is a growing industry and places Sweden among the top watchmaking countries from Scandinavia.

Another young and well-received brand carrying the blue and yellow flag is Pansar. The company was founded by Patrik Palovaara, an award winning industrial designer. And his timepieces definitely show it.

Specifically, the company founder has applied the design methods of the automobile industry, which was familiar territory for Palovaara thanks to his time working at Volvo. The brand founder is still highly regarded in the automobile space, and in fact he might spend more time talking to press in the automotive industry than in the watch industry.

The emphasis with his watches is on proportionality and dynamic lines that similarly add character to the world’s best cars. The overall result is a solid collection of stylish yet rational watches.

When the brand was officially launched six years ago, it introduced three models: Supercharged, Moonracer and X1-Airborne. The same collection is in tact today, with some variations and special editions coming out over the years.

The excellent balance and attention to detail is evident in every Pansar timepieces. And I’m a big fan of their designs, some of which actually remind me of elements used in Panerai’s timepieces.

If I were to have one reservation with Pansar, it’s they don’t offer a mechanical model. As it stands now, their watches are powered by Seiko quartz movements.

It’s a bit surprising to see that Pansar hasn’t even ventured into using the excellent valued Japanese mechanical movements, especially considering the company founder comes from the very mechanical industry of watchmaking.

Alas, the emphasis here is on design, and there Pansar excels.