atchmaking is a young industry in Sweden, largely dependent on import. The most established brands that still exist are from the 1990s, and movements and most parts are, with a few exceptions, imported from Switzerland or Asia, depending on the target market.

But Swedish design is putting its mark on the watch industry, and a few brands are assembling and producing parts locally, which adds value and stories for clients – who can be found all over the world.

The growing Swedish watch industry is described by Tusenö’s co-founder, Johan Holsner, as a microbrand scene with watches that “Don’t go crazy bananas in design and features. The brands are very different, but many have a Scandinavian design feeling… when it comes to being functional, traditional, and having a long life. They have a high degree of useability; watches that work in many situations.”

Here are seven Swedish watch brands, listed from the highest priced to the most affordable.

GoS – Swedish haute horlogerie with Damascus steel forged in-house with Viking-influenced designs

“We make a lot of hand work here in Sweden on every watch. We work with the case, the crown, the hands, and normally all the dials,” said co-founder Patrik Sjögren, who since 2021 is the sole proprietor of GoS Watches, which was founded in 2007.

The Sarek Frost, released in December 2023, is the first GoS watch made with dials that Mr. Sjögren is not manufacturing himself. “It is my design concept, but it was simply not technically possible for me to make a dial with 12 separate pieces of sapphire glass on the edges, so I worked with Cadrec in Switzerland, one of the world’s best dial makers,” he explained.

GoS Watches Norrsken is inspired by the Northern lights.

Photo: Björn Dahlgren

The WOSTEP-trained Breitling scholar works with case manufacturers in Germany and Swiss movements from Schwarz Etienne and La Joux-Perret. However, all the intricately layered Damascus steel used on chunky yet elegant cases, dials and bridges is made in Sweden in collaboration with a world-renowned knifesmith. Mr. Sjögren has a workshop and showroom in Linköping, 199 kilometres south of Stockholm, where he makes all the finishing and does the assembly. “Soon I will also have my own movement,” added Mr. Sjögren, who plans to gradually double production in coming years, from 20 to 40 watches.

Gos Watches Sarek Frost features an advanced dial with 12 sapphire glass inserts.

Photo: Björn Dahlgren

He grew up some 100 kilometres west of Stockholm, surrounded by “runes everywhere”, and several Viking museums, which left a lasting impression. “When I started sketching my watches, this Viking-inspired aesthetic just came automatically,” said Mr. Sjögren. “Nature is my second inspiration, which is why I make these Aurora-inspired watches,” he continued about the Norrsken (Swedish for Northern Lights) models that combine swirly handmade guilloché patterns and generous use of Super-LumiNova.

GoS Watches: The intricately engraved Sarek Trollius is sold out.

Photo: Björn Dahlgren

The Swedish touch on the GoS watches, which range from $8,500 - $42,000 (Mr. Sjögren prefers to give prices in US dollars since that is his main market), is also seen in the Swedish-made straps of moose leather and salmon skin, and Swedish crystal made for presentation boxes and some transparent index rings.

Halda – A resurrected brand that went to space, and Epoch Stockholm, worn by the Crown Princess

Henning XO is the new, made-to-order cushion shaped gold watch presented by Halda in October 2023. Halda was originally a pocket-watch brand founded in 1887, resurrected by Mikael Sandström in 2009. The Henning XO is Sandström’s vision of the wristwatch that original founder Henning Hammarlund never made, since watch production ceased before wristwatches became mainstream in the 1930s. Henning XO features a newly decorated, redesigned NOS movement made by the original manufacturing facility in the late 1800s, and the 40-millimeter rose gold case is cast in-house with Swedish red gold.

“On this watch we make everything apart from the dial in Sweden. We also do all the finishing, and the strap is tanned up north with an old-fashioned, chemical-free oak-bark method,” said Mr. Sandström proudly.

The Halda Henning XO features a NOS renovated pocket watch movement from the 1890s.

Henning XO complements the normal offering of Halda’s high-end watches and digital instruments and is known for its module system designed by No Picnic, one of the most established industrial design agencies in Sweden. This system features a bracelet or strap with an integrated module holder, where you insert either a mechanical module or a digital instrument module.

The Halda Space Discovery with the digital and the mechanical modules.

In an industry that uses the word “instrument” lightly, it is refreshing to know that these modules are de facto instruments: Space Discovery (€11,000) has been used on a space mission, and Race Pilot (from €8,900 in steel, €30,250 in gold) has been used by Formula 1 drivers, in several supercar rallies and on countless racetracks. The mechanical modules are sometimes made in collaborations, for instance some movements are NOS 1970s movements refurbished by Svend Andersen, on other models Zenith movements are used.

“We don’t want to go up in volume, but we want to make more exclusive pieces. And now that we have learnt to cast gold in-house, we will also do more module watches in gold,” said Mr. Sandström.

The Epoch Deep Diver is rigorously tested and withstands a pressure at 100 ATM.

Halda is the third watch brand founded by Mikael Sandström, who co-founded Sjöö Sandström in 1986 and Epoch Stockholm in 2002. The latter shot to mainstream fame when the First Lady was worn by Swedish Princess Victoria when representing Sweden. Epoch, which sold around 2,000 watches in 2022, has five models, three powered by Sellita movements and two quartz models. A fun Swedish touch is the Automatic calendar, which features a Swedish day/date indicator at 6 o’clock.

The most affordable Epoch is the quartz-powered First Lady, which starts at € 970, and the most expensive Epoch watch is the new Deep Diver at € 1,600, which withstands pressure up to 1,000 metres. Said Mr. Sandström: “Since we are not assembling in Switzerland, we cannot be COSC-certified, so we have made our own lab for testing complete Deep Diver watches in five positions, not just the movement. And if they pass the difficult test, which includes -3/+5 seconds per 24 hours in 38°C room temperature and in 4°C water, we issue a Delta 8-certificate.”

The new Watches of Scandinavia boutique in Stockholm carries exclusively watch brands from Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland.

Mr. Sandström is also the initiator of the boutique Watches of Scandinavia, which opened in central Stockholm (across the road from the Parliament) on December 14, 2023. “We will offer 13 brands of the circa 40 brands that now exist in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Iceland – it is a mix of high and low,” he said about the brands that include Halda, Epoch Stockholm, JS Watch, Sjöö Sandström, Ole Mathiesen, and the collaboration between Leijona and Voutilainen. “It is going to be very exciting. And now that all the Swiss brands are opening mono-brand stores, we are choosing the alternative where we work together.”

Sjöö Sandström – Minimalistic luxury, diving watches and fighter pilot instruments

Vaucher Manufacture movements, a proper watchmaking workshop on Södermalm, Stockholm, 40 retailers in Sweden, Finland, Norway, China, and St Barthelemy, and around 20 different models of luxurious timepieces ranging from €1,450 to €15,000; all reflecting Scandinavian design and longevity.

Sjöö Sandström has come a long way since its inception in 1986 by two watch-loving engineers, Christer Sjöö and Mikael Sandström. It took the duo until 1993 to finalise the first timepiece, the Automatic, which went on to win the esteemed Excellent Swedish Design award in 1995. The commercial breakthrough was, however, the 1997 Chronolink, a watch with one digital and one mechanical watch face stacked on each other with a savonette-inspired solution.

Sjöö Sandström’s Chronolink from 1997 was the breakthrough for the brand.

Since the beginning, Sjöö Sandström has imported its movements from Switzerland, but the watches are assembled in Sweden. The workshop in Stockholm has around eight watchmakers who conduct calibration, followed by multiple tests optimising accuracy and amplitude. Finally, all timepieces are engraved with an individual number.

In 2014 came the Royal Capital, a grey-dialled time-only piece with a small seconds subdial. This was the first Swedish collaboration with Vaucher Manufacture, and to celebrate the 10th anniversary of this feat, a new Royal Capital was presented in December 2023. Again, the thin 2.9-millimetre 5400 movement with a micro-rotor from the Fleurier calibre specialist was used, and the updates can be seen in the date and the sunbrushed blue and black dials.

Sjöö Sandström Royal Capital with a black dial – Stockholm elegance.

Hot off the press is also the Annual Edition 2023, a GMT watch in the Royal Steel Worldtimer collection. “It really pops out thanks to its bright orange rubber strap, and it has a bezel of tungsten,” said Kristofer Johansson, sales director and partner at Sjöö Sandström, about the watch introduced on December 11, 2023.

The Royal Capital is equipped with a micro-rotor Vaucher Manufacture calibre.

Historical highlights include the 2011 Landsort, the first diver’s watch designed and assembled in Sweden. It can withstand an unusual pressure – 459 metres, which is the depth of the Landsort Abyss outside Landsort, the southernmost point in the Stockholm Archipelago. 2011 also saw the first UTC Skydiver, the official timepiece of the Swedish Airforce. This model was developed in collaboration with Swedish fighter pilots and is equipped with the electronic Swiss Made SSG5 movement – a must to comply with 35 strict military criteria.

The Sjöö Sandström Royal Capital with a blue sunbrushed dial and snailed subdial.

“It would be a dream to make all our cases of Swedish steel and Swedish gold in the future, said Mr. Johansson about the annual production of 1,500 - 2,500 watches. “We have made a few models with Swedish steel and gold in the past, and we are discussing this direction again. Not that Swedish steel or gold would necessarily be better, but it would define our brand in a better way.”

Carl Gustaf – Elegant watches with a royal touch

The foundation of Carl Gustaf watches was forged 10 years ago by Michael Straubel and Stefan Ljungdahl. “We are incredibly interested in general in the industrial history of Sweden, and in particular the Carl Gustaf royal weapons factories in the small town of Eskilstuna. Here, the famous hunting and military gun m/1867 was produced – a symbol of precision – and the watch CG 1867 is our bestseller,” said Mr. Straubel.

Carl Gustaf’s flirt with industrial history appeals to many hunters.

After seven years of planning, designing came the first Carl Gustaf in 2020, which today has five models: CG 1867 (automatic time and date), CG 39 (automatic time and date), CG 7750 (automatic chronograph, sold out), CF 900 (automatic chronograph), and Legacy (quartz). All are designed and developed in Sweden. And just like the gun mechanism was shipped to Sweden from Remington, USA, back in the day, today’s watches are made and assembled in Switzerland. Thus far the duo has collaborated with Walca, and future models will be made by Xantia.

The Carl Gustaf 1867 is the brand’s best-seller.

The watches are stand-alone products, but thanks to the historical Carl Gustaf connection there are many hunters among its clients, who are drawn to competitively priced (CHF 840 to 3,360), solid, elegant watches with blue, green, white, or black dials. Perhaps the clients are also lured by some of the precision-derived design details such as the central cross on the dial, large numerals on 6-7-8, the red-tipped second hand, and the metal bracelets that are brushed and polished.

The Carl Gustaf 1867 comes on a steel bracelet with butterfly clasp or leather strap.

Today, three years after the first watch hit the market, Carl Gustaf presence is well established in Sweden – circa 400 watches per year are sold through its web store and a dozen retailers. In Q1 2024 the brand is launching internationally, aiming for the American market. “In the USA there are many Swedish descendants that are interested in great watches and Swedish industrial history, and alongside the web store we are also looking for a retail partner in the US who would like to distribute elegant watches with a royal touch,” concluded Mr. Straubel.

Tusenö – Sports watches with a strong community

Tusenö, based in Gothenburg on the west coast of Sweden, has a strong and faithful community that love its sports-inspired automatic Swiss Made watches. The starting point for the brand, founded by Johan Holsner and Alexander Bendz, came in 2015 with an extremely successful crowdfunding campaign, which resulted in the First series, a mecha-quartz chronograph powered by Asian movements.

Since 2018, Swiss Made and mechanical has been the melody, using predominantly SW 200 movements from Sellita. “Sellita is well known. You don’t have to explain to anybody who is into watches what SW 200 is,” said Mr. Holsner.

The sporty Tusenö Windseeker comes in several dial colours.

Currently there are three models available from the brand, whose name can be translated as a thousand islands, referencing the archipelago outside Gothenburg: Windseeker, designed with feedback from the brand’s strong community, and the diving watches Blackwater and Shellback.

Tusenö Shellback version 2 will be delivered in 2024.

Some of the brand’s unusual design features for watches ranging from $500 to $2,000 (the lower end as of 2024) are size-adjustable lock, quick-change links, domed glass, ceramic bezels, loads of Super-LumiNova, curved engravings on colourful dials, sandwich dials, and placing the date at 6 o’clock. “Personally, I am allergic to dates. But by placing it by the 6 o’clock index, it becomes part of the design without disrupting the harmony,” said Mr. Holsner.

The Tusenö Shellback features a sandwich dial and generous amounts of Super-LumiNova.

The second version of the Shellback is available via pre-order from mid-December – and this is how the brand rolls: Approximately a year before pre-order is possible it produces between 5 and 35 running prototypes that they vigorously test and make available for reviews, thus creating a hype around the model before it is released. “Normally the pre-production batch is final, but this process also gives us the benefit of making improvements before serial production,” said Mr. Holsner.

Triwa – Timepieces for a better world

At a glance, Triwa is all about fashionable and fun watches. But the watches, that may come across as quick consumption goods with most price tags ranging from circa CHF 75 to CHF 225, have a deeper thought connected with positive change. The latest example hit the market in 2023, the Fossil Free, a collaboration with Swedish steel company SSAB. This automatic (Miyota-powered) is marketed as the world’s first consumer product made of fossil free steel.

Triwa Fossil Free – a sustainability statement

Triwa’s direction to do good started in 2018 with the introduction of Time for Peace, the first watch made of what it calls Humanium – metal from destroyed illegal firearms. 15% of the proceeds of the Humanium watches is donated to conflict-torn societies; thus far the donations exceed CHF 175,000.

Triwa Humanium – made from destroyed illegal firearms

The following year came Time for Oceans, the world’s first watch made of ocean plastic. A more recent model of Ocean Plastic was also made in 2021 in collaboration with Sea Shepherd. The global non-profit organisation Greater Good Charities is another partner receiving donations from various models including one of its bestsellers, the 1950s-inspired 38-millimetre Falken with a small seconds subdial.

Triwa Ocean Plastic Octopus Sea Sheperd

“We try to create new values in our products with dynamic pricings and connections with charity,” said co-founder and creative director Ludwig Scheja, who has introduced the exact carbon footprint for many products under specifications.

“We sell around 80% of our 20,000 watches per year directly to consumers online. But now we are rebuilding the retail network again, as that is a better way to tell the story behind the product.”