The beginning
S.U.F Helsinki was founded in 2003 alongside Sarpaneva watches in Stepan`s early independent watchmaking path. Stepan went to the Finnish school of watchmaking by a little accident in 1989. He was to follow his father footsteps into fine jewellery but was not accepted to that line of studies. He did get into the watchmaking side. After a year working on more mechanical things it felt like his thing and to pursue. Many of this is coming from Stepans early days. Stepan was repairing his own dirt bike even from young age and it was no surprise, that steel was to become the material to work with. Steel is real.
Pure great luck to all of us and all the Sarpaneva watch owners out there. After graduating he moved in Switzerland for further his studies at WOSTEP. During ten years in Switzerland, Stepan had worked with many prestigious watchmakers but he felt coming back home in Helsinki and turn a new page. Perfectionism, enthusiasm and passion for traditional watchmaking inspired Sarpaneva to create watches of his own. In 2003 Stepan set up the workshop in the old cable factory and the rest is history.
SarpanevaUhrenFabrik is Finnish trough and trough. The range of watches reflect into the timepieces we would like to wear everyday and there is a classic element in every watch created. As Sarpaneva models are known to have bold designs, S.U.F`s are easier to wear in everyday life and have a strong link to the things he loves. They have the same steel as a base of the material and the limited editions are inspired by Finnish pioneers of engineering, speed and design.
Talking about limited editions, there is passion for creating something new in all the time. We never want to make huge amounts of these timepieces. We actually do not even have the capacity to do so. Everything is due the urge of creating new. When something is ready, Stepan much like his dad or uncle, doesn’t want to lay down, but to evolve and create. There is no secret wish to sell more. Stepan explores, makes mistakes, prototypes and keeps the hunger for new challenges.
We guess it all come down to Sisu and bit of madness. Tough word to translate, but it is about stoicism and sheer guts.Very much same as what we reflect into our watches. Being Independent watchmaker in Finland is not the easy path, but keeping the production, materials and partners close to us is essential. Our timepieces are designed and assembled in the heart of Helsinki by the Baltic Sea. The style has classic touches and design is always made simple and long lasting. Build quality has Scandinavian pedigree and materials chosen with passion and understanding the whole process of creating something that will last longer than lifetime.
