t was probably the last place on Earth where I expected to find high benches and testing machines – which in my mind is intrinsically linked to Switzerland. But in a spacious basement of a concrete building belonging to a start-up incubator by the Aalto university in Espoo (west of Helsinki), you can find Jurmo Watches.

Here, the brand even houses its own CNC machines – one 3-axis and one 5-axis, and a laser cutter. “We are a part of an entrepreneur-driven business community,” said Kim von Gerich, who co-founded Jurmo together with Martin Kalland in 2017. The name Jurmo comes from an island in the Finnish archipelago, and nature is a strong inspiration for what the duo calls “adventure-driven watches for land, sea, and water”.

The watches have Swiss movements, but apart from that, the team of seven, including the founders and the in-house designer, Vikenty Gryaznov (who also worked with Konstantin Chaykin), make “just about everything except for the lume parts and crystals.” As this includes cases, bezels, dial-making from scratch to finished product, hand-making, and a unique, slightly star-shaped crown, it opens up a lot of customisation possibilities.

Jurmo’s Sisu collection has recently been upgraded with improved water resistance and new colours.

“Nobody else offers customisation on this price level,” said Mr. von Gerich, about the core offer, which ranges from €1,500 to €2,500 (plus VAT). He added that around 50% of the 130 watches sold in 2023 were customised in one way or another.

Jurmo Stark draws inspiration from the world’s of field watches.

“Most of our customisations are about special hands or dial colours or prints, and if somebody wants a unique case it obviously ups the price. Once, we also made a moon phase on top of our skeleton model, for which we made all 23 moon phase parts ourselves,” he said of the Sisu model based on a Unitas movement. In 2023 it received an upgrade, the Sisu X (€2,242 plus VAT), with composite colourised bridges, a 14-facet bezel, and increased water resistance to 100 metres.

What else is in Jurmo’s collection? For starters, there are two flyback chronograph models using 7750-based ETA movements. One is inspired by vintage racing, and aptly called R0 Siro (2,403 +plus VAT); Siro being a Finnish word for petite, and its diameter a mere 37.8mm. The second one is called YSI (€2,403 plus VAT), the latter inspired by military and vintage airplane fonts.

Kim von Gerich, who co-founded Jurmo Watches together with Martin Kalland in 2017.

On top of that there are two three-hand models: The 39mm Stark (€1,927 plus VAT), which was introduced in September 2023; a robust, field watch-inspired model, which also features the brand’s unique 14-facet bezel. Lastly, and smallest in size, there is also a 32mm ladies’ watch called Karu (starting from €1,500 plus VAT). Purist ladies love that it is a “real” automatic watch powered by an ETA 2892.

Jurmo’s in-house designer, Vikenty Gryaznov

With volumes of 100-150 watches per year, it might seem over the top to have such production capacities, but they also share their joy with other brands. Mainly Finnish, for which they supply everything from design to prototypes, or low volumes of parts including hands and cases. “For us it was a necessity to become independent. When corona came it was next to impossible to get parts. And then there is also the problem of large numbers when it comes to getting parts from suppliers,” said Mr. von Gerich.

Several models feature the 14-facet bezel. Jurmo Watches has two CNC machines in its headquarters just outside Helsinki.

The brand is aware of the shaky times – but the team is working at full capacity for existing orders, at least until summer. “Our clientele is attracted to the fact that we can produce their vision. We are growing in all departments, including B2B, which means we need more staff, both in watchmaking and decoration,” said Mr. von Gerich. “The dream for the future? A watch where we make everything ourselves in Finland.”