Finnish watch brands tend to be more unique than other Scandinavian watch brands, which focus on minimalism. Here are some of our favorite Finnish watches.
In the land of a thousand lakes and a million saunas, the proud people of Finland make some very interesting wristwatches. Unlike many of the other Scandinavian watch brands which focus on minimalism, Finnish watch brands tend to be more unique and have their own design language. The stand-outs to me are Grönefeld for their amazing high luxury watches. Ilmar for bring local artists together with the watch makers art. And Sarpaneva for his singular artistic vision of what a watch is and how it works. Enjoy!
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The Top Finnish Watch Brands
1. Aarni
Aarni reminds me of Italy’s WeWOOD brand as well as the Danish Brand Vejrhoj. Both brands are making watches with wooden cases and bracelets. “Aarni is a Finnish word for wild, untamed forest untouched by the hands of man.” Started by three friends, Aarni uses a variety of woods to craft quartz powered minimalist watches. The Loihi is pictured above and features a 40mm case in walnut, a Swiss ETA 902 quartz movement and a Finnish Elk Leather strap. It’s available on their website for $248.39.
2. Aittokoski
This Finnish brand is the brain child of Dr. Aittokoski and his search for the ideal wristwatch. Aittokoski is a very young brand starting in May of 2019 with The Fractalis model. They currently have another The Argyron in the works. The Fractalis has a rugged and robust design with a round 42mm case that is accentuated by large geometric lugs. Featuring a Swiss ETA 2892-A2 automatic movement, a flat sapphire crystal and clean uncluttered dial design. The Fractalis Steel starts at 5,250 Euros.
3. DeMotu Watches
DeMotu is actually based in the Helsinki-Malmi Airport in Finland. Where it makes its aviation inspired line of pilots watches. They currently have two lines the R42 and the R42 MKII, both are chronographs featuring Swiss Ronda 5030 Quartz movements. Both lines are available in brushed, polished and DLC Grey finishes. Each are limited to 200 pieces. Prices start at 1,000 Euros. The R42 MKII in grey is pictured above.
4. Grönefeld
Established in 1912 by the Grönefeld family. The third generation of Grönefeld’s, brothers Bart and Tim, are now running the brand. Together they are know as The Horological Brothers. Grönefeld won the Grand Prix d’Horlogerei de Geneve award in 2016 for their 1941 Remontoire watch. The 1941 is shown below in red gold with white gold dial. With In-House designed/made movements, precious metal cases/dials and very limited production numbers Grönefeld watches justify their lofty price tags. The model shown above starts at 50,000 Euros, place your reservation on their website today!
5. Ilmar Watches
Ilmar watches are all about bring togehter Finnish Artisain to raise the watch to an art form. Their only watch the ilmar Visa uses a Swiss ETA 2892-A2 movement. The Visa is cased in hand-forged damask steel with a fine grained Finnish Lapland birch dial. All Ilmar’s straps are reindeer leather from Finland. All of their watches are handmade in Finland, except the movement, of course. This watch reminds me of a blend of the Aarni (above) and the Swedish Brand GoS.
6. Leijona
Leijona has produced affordable watches since 1907. They make all kinds of timepieces; pocket watches, wristwatches (for men, women and children), and even wall clocks. If Sarpaneva and Rönkkö make desirable high-quality watches for connoisseurs and watch collectors, I would say that Leijona makes standard watches for the general public.
7. Polar
Polar Electro was founded in 1977 in Kempele, Finland, by Seppo Säynäjäkangas. Polar’s first product was released in 1982 and was the world’s first wearable wireless heart rate monitor. Truly revolutionizing. Measuring heart rate is still Polar’s core business, but they have been smart enough to incorporate their patented technology into running watches and smart watches.
You could argue that Polar and Suunto are competitors in the same market segment, but I would say that Suunto is more in the tactical niche with focus on navigation, and Polar is more focused on heart rate monitoring in the running niche.
8. Pook
Pook Watches is a niche micro brand founded in 2018 in Ylamylly, Finland. Focused on creating affordable diver watches with unique colors and style Pook’s watches are mostly limited editions. The name Pook comes from “Lyokin Pooki” the name of Finland’s oldest archipelago lighthouse, the area that Andreas Prepula and his father often dived when he was a boy. Pook watches are a fun and festive take on the diver watch style with bright colors and bold graphics combined with Japanese automatic movements. With prices ranging from 200 to 500 euro’s. Their newest pre-order is the Pook Torni Limited, pictured above for 348 euro’s or about 400 USD. I would love to checkout a Pook watch, they look to cool!
9. Rohje
“The name Rohje comes from the Finnish word rohjeta, to be brave enough to do, to seize the moment or opportunity.” The brand was started by 4 friends and features reindeer leather straps and clean Scandinavian design. Their current watch is the Adventurister and has applied silver dots for minute indicators which reminds me a little of my Visitor Duneshore dial, but with a more clean and simple aesthetic. I really like the Adventurister with the Dark dial, check the line out here. Also check out my full review of a white Adventurister, here!
10. Rönkkö Watches
Antti Rönkkö wasn’t satisfied with the existing wristwatches on the market. He wanted to create something of his own, something unique, from the ground up. And so he started Rönkkö Watches. Based in Espoo, Finland, Rönkkö makes handcrafted timepieces made from stainless steel. Quality and design is top notch. There are currently three models on the market; The Minotaur, Deadalus (pictured below), and the Steel Labyrinth. There are only 5 pieces each of the Minotaur Light and Dark editions, and thus prices are high; ranging from 17,000 to 20,000 Euros not including VAT.
11. Sarpaneva
CEO and chief designer Stepan Sarpaneva founded Sarpaneva Watches in Helsinki in 2003 after returning from Switzerland where he had worked for multiple Swiss watch brands, including Piaget. Sarpaneva makes handcrafted mechanical wristwatches with a focus on supreme quality and a original design. I have to admit, the design is truly unique and artistic the latest release the Sarpaneva Lunations is a particularly amazing moom phase watch. Check out the featured image of this post for the front of this watch and the back is above, check out the video of how it works, here!
12. S.U.F. Helsinki
S.U.F. is the brainchild of master watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva (see above) and stands for Sarpaneva Uhren Frabrik or Sarpaneva watch fabrication. Featuring four lines the 180, Myrsky, Paroni and Vetehinen and all utilize automatic Swiss movements. All S.U.F. watches are of high qulaity with prices ranging from $2,000 to almost $6,000 us. The design pictured above is the Vetehinen and is no longer available, but I really love the unique engraved bezel design. S.U.F. have recently come out with a new line called “Sarpaneva X Moomin” the 75 piece limited line is based on the Moomin characters created by Tove Jansson. The line is very cute and the use of lume is truly epic and worth checking out, but is already unfortunately sold out.
13. Suunto
Perhaps the most famous brand on the list, Suunto was founded in 1936 by Finnish surveyor Tuomas Vohlonen, who started his company after developing a lightweight compass housing. After 80 years of expansion, product development, and a few changes in ownership, Suunto is today a subsidiary of Amer Sports Coroporation. Headquarters are placed next to the manufacturing facility in Vantaa, Finland.
Suunto is a world-leading manufacturer of high-performance GPS and sports watches, compasses, and diving instruments. Their line of handcrafted wristwatches are perfect for tactical and military use. Suunto has a nice selection on Amazon with price point to match any budget, check it out here.
14. Voutilainen
Technically not a Finnish watch brand, Voutilainen Watches are made by a Finn, Kari Voutilainen. But he lives in Switzerland, and that’s where his workshop is located. So, maybe we can say it’s a Finnish-Swiss brand? I still want to mention Voutilainen, because the level of horology is just spectacular. Kari Voutilainen launched his business in 2002 after first working for Parmigiani for ten years and then teaching at the WOSTEP School of Watchmaking for three years.
Voutilainen is one of the few remaining small independent watchmakers that makes timepieces of the utmost quality and craftsmanship including his own movements. The finish and design is just exquisite. Prices are very high, but if you could afford one, go for it!
