fter a challenging ride, Stepan Sarpaneva, who started making watches under his eponymous brand in 1999, and the more affordable brand S.U.F Helsinki since 2003, has arrived at a comfortable annual output: around 70 Sarpaneva watches (priced between €20,000 and €50,000 plus VAT), and 300 S.U.F (priced from €2,100 to €3,800 plus VAT.) Add to that a selection of straps, bracelets, and a winder, plus merchandise like T-shirts, beanies, trucker caps, coasters, and pouches; most of it adorned with Sarpaneva’s unique man in the moon-face used on the disc of his moon phase watches.

After learning the ropes at Piaget, Parmigiani, Vianney Halter and Christophe Claret, and two decades with his own brands, Stepan Sarpaneva knows the importance of remaining agile. “I have no growth plans. If you volume up, your problems get bigger. If you stay small, your problems remain small,” he said in his well-known, sardonic manner.

“I have no growth plans. If you volume up, your problems get bigger. If you stay small, your problems remain small.”

Stepan Sarpaneva spending time at the bench

“Retail is changing. Gold and watch stores in smaller cities are disappearing, replaced by e-com. And today you can buy a watch from Australia with your mobile device. That’s why we needed a new space. We sell a lot online, but nowadays you need somewhere where you can welcome the collectors,” he said, leading me to a spacious north-facing room with high ceilings. Here, atop a greenish oriental carpet, clients can sit down in a classic, 1950s Finnish design set-up: the oval marble table and Tulip swivel chairs by Eero Saarinen (1910-1961).

“Today, everybody wants to know you and have direct contact with you. However, it is impossible for me to meet all clients,” said Mr. Sarpaneva, who still spends a lot of time at the watchmaker’s bench. His work is needed, since the team is only made up of four watchmakers to do the polishing of raw parts that are CNC-machined in Switzerland. The assembly also requires painstaking work, as all Sarpaneva watches are assembled twice.

Here, atop a greenish oriental carpet, clients can sit down in a classic, 1950s Finnish design set-up: the oval marble table and Tulip swivel chairs by Eero Saarinen (1910-1961).

The moonphase on Sarpaneva Lunations only needs one day adjustment every 14,000 years.

Before sitting down with a visiting client, Mr. Sarpaneva showed me another room dedicated to one of the relatively recent news about Sarpaneva – since 2020 the team makes all the Super-LumiNova^® paintwork in-house. On my visit, work was about to commence on a Näkki watch, which was nominated in the Artistic Crafts category at GPHG 2023. Based on an intricate illustration of a Finnish folklore water creature, it has more than 650 tiny dial openings to be filled with 15 different colours imported directly from RC Tritec, south of St. Gallen.

Sarpaneva K1 Black Enamel.

Other current models are the K1 Black Enamel and the Lunations. “This is old-school, classic black enamel. There is enamel and there is enamel. To have top quality in all the different layers, that is a different story. For me there are only two people in Switzerland who can make black enamel on this level,” said Mr. Sarpaneva about the K1, one of few models that does not have a moon phase.

Sarpaneva Näkki was nominated in the Artistic Crafts category at GPHG 2023.

The Lunations is a model where all dial parts are stripped away to give more understanding that the dial is, in fact, a bridge holding the movement parts. Now in its ninth year of existence, the latest Lunations iterations propel Sarpaneva’s moon obsession to the next level: with the aid of moon phase master Andreas Strehler, the moon phase is adjusted to 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 2.3 seconds, thus only needing a one-day adjustment every 14,000 years.

With the aid of moon phase master Andreas Strehler, the moon phase is adjusted to 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 2.3 seconds, thus only needing a one-day adjustment every 14,000 years.

Closeup of Sarpaneva Lunations.

These models are all housed in Sarpaneva’s uniquely shaped Korona case with a screw-down crown placed at four o’clock. The cases are stamped out with six surrounding crescents before being CNC-machined and hand polished. “Our cases are made in Germany, and we use high-grade Finnish stainless steel from Outokumpu. It has less nickel and more chrome compared with normal 316L; it is less yellowish and more white goldish. The initial stamping also makes them harder,” explained Mr. Sarpaneva. The distinctive case shape is also complemented with the optional tapered integrated Moonbridge bracelet, on which the central parts are reminiscent of half-moons.

S.U.F Kaaos Kirkki.

The candy factory has a special section on the company’s website. Besides the normal offer – from time to time – you can also find protos, special creations and dream watches. “We have a lot of work and orders, but for me 2024 is a year of breath. In 2025 we will present something completely different. Stay tuned,” said Mr. Sarpaneva.