Alongside his own Sarpaneva watches, Stepan Sarpaneva founded S.U.F Helsinki in 2003 for steel watches that are easier to wear every day, with limited editions that honour Finnish pioneers.
How it began
Stepan Sarpaneva came to watchmaking by a small accident. In 1989 he meant to follow his father into fine jewellery, but was not accepted on that course. He got into the Finnish school of watchmaking instead.
He had repaired his own dirt bike from a young age, and steel became his material. After graduating he went to Switzerland to study at WOSTEP, and spent ten years there working with prestigious watchmakers.
Back home in Helsinki, he set up a workshop in the old Cable Factory in 2003. S.U.F Helsinki was founded that year, alongside the watches that carry his own name. Its first watch was the Ässä, a classic pilot’s watch that honours the flying aces, made in 110 pieces with a 38.5mm steel case.
Steel and sisu
The initials stand for SarpanevaUhrenFabrik, and the house calls itself Finnish through and through. Sarpaneva models are known for bold designs. S.U.F watches are meant to be easier to wear every day, with a classic element in each one.
Both lines share the same steel. The cases are cut from Outokumpu stainless steel from Finland, and the watches are designed and assembled in Helsinki, by the Baltic Sea. The limited editions are inspired by Finnish pioneers of engineering, speed and design.
The house explains its drive with sisu, a Finnish word it translates as stoicism and sheer guts. It says it never wants to make these watches in large numbers, and does not have the capacity to.
The watches
The Paroni honours Jarno “Paroni” Saarinen, the motorcycle racer who was a childhood hero of Stepan’s. Saarinen won the Grand Prix title in 1972, and the brand says he remains the only Finn to have done so. The red and white dial echoes his racing helmet.
The Flying Finn of 2009 drew its 44mm case from motorsport, with a chain sprocket milled in Finland. It returned in 2022 as the VB77, designed with the Formula 1 driver Valtteri Bottas. On its date wheel, his racing number 77 replaces the 7.
The Vetehinen, the first S.U.F diver, is water resistant to 300 metres. It takes its name from a Finnish wartime submarine and from a water spirit of Finnish mythology. Its dials come from Kari Voutilainen, Stepan’s mentor in his early years.
The house today
For almost 20 years the watches were made in the Cable Factory. In late 2021 the workshop moved to Mestaritalo, the former Fazer candy factory near Helsinki’s shipyards, which later housed small metalworking firms. In 2022 the Finnish Museum of Horology and Jewellery, Kruunu, told the brand’s history in an exhibition called Made in Helsinki.
The Kaaos was made with Sarpaneva Watches as a tribute to the path that began in 2003. It brought the Sarpaneva moon face to an S.U.F watch for the first time. Both houses belong to the same Helsinki company, Sarpaneva Watches Oy.
At a glance
- Founded: 2003
- Founder: Stepan Sarpaneva, watchmaker
- Based in: Helsinki, Finland
- Known for: Everyday steel watches; limited editions for Finnish pioneers, from the Ässä to the Paroni and the Vetehinen
- Independent: Yes, by its own account; made by Sarpaneva Watches Oy, which also makes Sarpaneva
Sources: S.U.F Helsinki’s own website (Logbook: The beginning, Ässä, The Workshop, Paroni, The Flying Finn; the Paroni, Vetehinen and 180 pages; Kaaos; Made in Helsinki; Terms and Conditions).