Whereas Scandinavia will not be essentially the birthplace of mechanical watchmaking, there’s fairly a listing of names which have emerged from the northern European nations that exhibit nice craftsmanship and creativity. Consider people similar to Stepan Sarpaneva, Kari Voutilainen, or GoS’ Patrik Sjögren, but additionally the younger and upcoming Danish watchmaker Rune Bakkendorff. Subsequent in line to be featured on MONOCHROME Watches is Reima Koivukoski, an impartial watchmaker from Helsinki, Finland who discovered his craft within the Finnish watchmaking institute, but additionally from esteemed people similar to Richard Habring.
Robin, MONOCHROME Watches – Reima, what ignited your ardour for watchmaking?
My introduction to watchmaking was a sluggish burn. I made quite a lot of miniatures throughout elementary college and painted all of them by hand, and I nonetheless do that in my restricted free time. My father all the time had diver watches round so I had a fleeting concept watches had some significance. The earliest recollections of watches I had are of a Star Wars Digitial Droid watch with a flip-top throughout my elementary college years, and the following watch of significance was my “military Rolex”, a dirt-cheap digital watch with no model that merely regarded like a Rolex.
After my conscript service within the Finnish army, I needed to resolve the place to go research and my mom discovered an internet article in regards to the admission assessments for the Finnish College of Watchmaking, the Kellaseppäkoulu, in Espoo. It appeared thrilling to me, so I utilized and obtained accepted. I had a desire for watchmaking however was chosen to the micromechanical facet, which in hindsight was an ideal alternative because it gave me a superb foundation for making components. Throughout my years in micromechanics, I used to be contemplating a profession in high-tech however all the time returned to watches. After 3 years I had an opportunity to additionally do my watchmaking diploma, and get a double diploma. Once I was completed, I used to be chosen to enter the F.A. Lange Watchmaking Excellence Competitors, and I feel that was the purpose of no return for my profession as a watchmaker.
What made you resolve to pursue a profession within the trade?
After I completed my research, I had a crystal clear imaginative and prescient in direction of watchmaking. I feel in watchmaking I can see a mountain prime however I can by no means attain it. There’s all the time a subsequent step to be taken, a brand new talent to be discovered and perfected, and a subsequent problem across the nook. Additionally, the best motivation to proceed being a watchmaker and attempt to be higher is the folks within the trade. Numerous them are vastly motivated, which in flip pushes me ahead ti enhance and discover new alternatives as properly.
You’ve studied on the Finnish watchmaking college in Espoo, your hometown. What was that like?
The varsity was fairly enjoyable, really! I used to be setting my very own targets and excited about what I wished to do after college. Our faculty affords quite a lot of freedom to its college students and the one drawback I had was to cover in vacant lessons after college to get further hours completed on my initiatives. Considered one of them was an escapement mannequin I used to be in a position to end in my third yr. I feel in some unspecified time in the future, my class trainer obtained bored of chasing me away and simply accepted that I used to be there after college generally.
I had instruments at house however I’ve all the time wanted a separate workspace to pay attention. Even already in class, I used to be very fortunate to satisfy folks inside the trade, and in my apply durations additionally. I spent quite a lot of time researching aesthetics and determining what seems to be good and the best way to make it.
After graduating, you spend a while in Austria and Germany. Are you able to inform us a bit about that?
I obtained my first job at Habring², which is positioned in Völkermarkt, Austria. It’s a good looking city with a workshop view of the mountains, a river and the market. I packed most of my garments right into a ski bag and two weeks after I graduated, I took a aircraft to Klagenfurth the place Richard and Maria Habring picked me up. I labored for them for a couple of yr, and I discovered rather a lot from them. Most necessary the artwork of case making and prototyping, typically in metal. It was additionally an expertise the place I discovered to work exhausting and effectively, as college and dealing life are fairly completely different. I had quite a lot of conversations with Mr Habring about what I wished to do sooner or later and people questions and ideas nonetheless bear fruit to today. I feel that was the best factor I discovered from him, and I’m very grateful I had the chance to take action.
After Austria, I moved to Köln, Germany, which may be very completely different. It was the most important metropolis I had lived in my entire life at the moment, and I labored for Atelier Suché. At Scuhé I had the chance to restore and restore no matter I wished, from classic AP to Rolex, but additionally sophisticated stuff like minute repeaters and tourbillons. I additionally labored for Chronext, additionally in Köln, as a group chief for watchmakers. This was my first expertise within the buying and selling facet of the watchmaking enterprise and Chronext was one of many largest platforms for on-line watch gross sales. There I continued to work with problems and discovered the best way to polish and deal with treasured metallic instances from a Croatian grasp goldsmith, Zlatko Bozic.
What triggered you to enterprise out by yourself as an impartial watchmaker, or was that all the time the purpose?
It has been an underlying dream of mine to have my very own workshop and be an impartial watchmaker. Whereas working in Germany I already had taken some fee commitments, and in 2020 I spotted I needed to decide. Do I proceed my life in Germany or do I’m going again to Finland? At the moment, my spouse and I had flown between completely different nations and we began to consider creating the following step in our lives, and we settled on Finland. I had some service agreements so I used to be in a position to deal with my day-to-day bills with this, and do fee work on the facet to begin my enterprise, alongside a small mortgage.
What was the very first watch you made beneath your personal identify?
My first piece with my identify on it went to a Finnish assortment. It had a 38mm extensive silver case with teardrop lugs and a frosted silver dial. The gilded motion had a half-moon bridge and I used to be extraordinarily proud of the piece. The No 1 wasn’t a commissioned piece, it was a bit I had made by myself time after work and I discovered a buyer for it after I had completed it. This was again once I was nonetheless dwelling in Germany.
How would you describe your watchmaking fashion, and the way does that mirror in your collections?
I wish to suppose I make timeless designs with supplies that final. I’ve designed all my items many occasions over and every design begins fairly clumsy however will get developed and refined over time. I dray them again and again till I’m proud of the general look and stability earlier than I begin sourcing supplies and constructing components for it.
You’re a one-man watchmaking atelier, are you able to speak us via the work you set into your watches?
I had fairly a transparent imaginative and prescient of how I wished to make my very own watches from the start. I need to do it as near in-house as my sources enable me to do, and that purpose is coming nearer and nearer. I make instances from a metal bar or type gold granulate into a refined case on my own. I make the arms, from a sheet of metal, and the dial from sheets of silver and so forth. I additionally make my very own buckles for the straps. I’m nonetheless utilizing base actions in the intervening time, however I fully restore, modify and end them in my workshop.
You additionally construct bespoke watches for shoppers. Are you able to elaborate on that?
Sure, this can be a giant a part of my work as an impartial watchmaker. I get requests for watches that my shoppers would like to have after which we begin engaged on it. I talk principally by way of e-mail with my shoppers and I take advantage of 3D packages to ascertain the mission and produce my shopper’s concepts to life. The initiatives could be huge or small, easy or advanced, and I do alterations to my present designs as properly. If somebody needs a distinct dial, as an illustration, that’s completely potential! This provides me room to develop and perceive my shopper’s calls for. It additionally pushed me as a watchmaker to tackle new and extra demanding initiatives.
Are you able to share some particulars of what you’re presently engaged on?
At the moment, I’m engaged on quite a lot of enamel initiatives, in addition to chronographs. Enamelling has been a latest addition to my catalogue and I all the time get very excited by the clear and glossy surfaces it will possibly produce. It’s very difficult to grasp although, and I’m concentrating on opaque enamels just for now. It’s been fairly a journey to even discover the correct instruments and strategies to get every dial excellent!
How can folks be taught extra about your watches and get a really feel for them, or maybe fee one?
One of the simplest ways to contact me is my e-mail ([email protected]) and my work could be discovered on Instagram as properly. After all, I even have my very own web site the place folks can see my work and get in contact.
For extra info, please go to RKoivukoski.com.
