Waiting at Stockholm Central train station with a trusty Speake-Marin Piccadilly.
My second Scandinavian independent watchmaker visit occurred the following day after meeting Christian Lass. I had hoped to meet Patrik Sjögren from GoS on a prior trip to Sweden, however a nasty January cold got in the way! This time health was 100% so I hopped on the train from Stockholm central station to Linköping, the town 1hr 45mins south west, where Patrik lives and works.
A brief stop in Norrköping along the way. Snow was falling and it made for a rather text book Swedish Winter/Spring day!
Linköping wintry scene as I arrived.
I was greeted by a smiling Swede in the snowy morning, and we walked the 10 mins to his atelier in the heart of Linköping. The discreet entrance off the town square and then upstairs to his atelier, office and showroom. Space to expand if needed!
The town square in Linköping, where his atelier looks out over.
Patrik’s atelier & showroom are on the top floor, conveniently above a rather good pub!
The rather quiet entrance to GoS Watches, tucked away off a side street in Lingköping town center.
Having seen Patrik the week prior in Geneva at the Watches & Wonders events, it was a change for me to visit where these lovely watches are actually created. I had been shown in Geneva the latest GoS model, the Sarek Frost, a beautiful Time Only model with two stunning dial options.
Midnight Blue Sarek Frost with addition of Damascus steel bezel in Geneva.
Ice Blue Sarek Frost with standard steel bezel in Geneva.
The Midnight Blue or Ice Blue dial with the perimeter of the dials featuring Patrik’s frost effect. Inspired by his childhood experiences in the northern woods during winter, where the cold nights would cause moisture on the inside of the windows to freeze, his depiction on a watch dial is quite artistic and works well in my opinion. The 41.5mm cases of the new Sarek model come from his supplier in Germany, made to his specifications, and then the final polishing is done in his atelier. The lugs are part of the case back, and this allows for Damascus steel bezels to be used.
The new Sarek caseback with attached lugs.
Side view of Sarek caseback.
Inside the room he uses as a showroom, were several models are set up in a showcase next to several metal Viking artifacts, the arrow head standing out!
Viking artifacts, one can see the inspiration for the hands coming from the arrow heads!
Patrik’s use of a Master bladesmith, Conny Persson’s extraordinary talent creating Damascus steel, allows for some wonderful patterned Damascus steel cases and hands, not to mention those epic dials!!! in his watches. There was a Norrsken model with a remarkable nano-ceramic green Damascus dial and black PVD Damascus case.
Two green versions of the Norrsken
The custom Schwarz Etienne micro rotor caliber used in the Norrsken model, with a nano-cermaic colored piece of Damascus steel on the Tungsten rotor to match the dial.
The Norrsken Standard Green dial with the Damascus steel bezel was a stunner too. Of course Patrik had the two latest Sarek Frost models in prominent position, the Midnight Blue and Ice Blue. I got to try both of them on again and in the confines of the GoS workshop, I got an even better sense of this watch in Linköping, their birthplace!
Inside the atelier in Linköping
Inside with the Ice Blue Sarek Frost.
The fuchsia nano-ceramic colored guilloche dialed Norrsken model stood out from the crowd. Not my personal taste, but a good example of Patrik’s horological artistry.
Fuchsia dialed Norrsken, with Damascus bezel
We then moved to his work bench/assembly bench where he has several interesting items. The first worth mentioning here was a Damascus steel 3/4 plate and balance wheel movement. Based on the venerable Unitas 6498 caliber, Patrik has crafted these parts from his bladesmith, in his workshop and this caliber typically goes into an older model of his, the Aurora. A special order and probably the last one in this tiny series. The dial made of amazing Damascus steel that is acid etched to reveal it’s extraordinary pattern then heat tempered to reveal the coloration. The case and bezel are also Damascus steel, note the slots for the lugs to slip into the case between the front bezel and the case back that is screwed using 8 screws through the center case to the bezel. This is superb metalsmithing combined with inspired Viking design and watchmaking from Patrik.
The ¾ plate and balance cock made of Damascus steel, hand finished by Patrik.
The Damascus steel milled case with the mitered cut outs for the stainless steel lugs to slot into.
Parts tray with the lugs, bezels and dial of the Aurora.
Reflected light reveals the Damascus steel dial coloration.
The other fascinating aspect that I hadn’t seen prior were the raw dial blanks of Damascus steel made by the hands of Conny Persson. The “Wildflower” patterns get revealed by acid etching and also heat bluing/tempering. The Sarek Trolius is a model that features these amazing patterned dials. Making every watch unique by definition.
Conny’s dial blanks, lot’s of work required here prior to installing in a watch!
The other watch being assembled, that I hadn’t seen prior, was another older model, the Midnight Sun. It features an amazing solid gold dial and a custom sunray semi-skeleton Guilloche caliber done in collaboration by the German master Jochen Benzinger.
The gold dial is surrounded with a Damascus steel chapter ring to depict the abstract shape of the midnight shining sun. Patrik has dedicated himself to creating Nordik themed watches that resonate with his Viking ancestry. They will not be for everyone style wise, but the artistry encapsulated within them is clear to see.
Parts tray for the Midnight Sun model
Damascus steel hands and running seconds Triskele, with the solid gold dial.
Midnight Sun Damascus steel bezel and insert
I snapped a pic of this poster of the Midnight Sun model, that reveals the inspiration for this model.
I was then given a tour of the assembly and prototyping benches, where Patrik showed me the tools and systems he uses to create the various parts used in his watches.
The rotor receiving hand bevelling from Patrik.
Pic from Geneva.
The Sarek Frost was the first model by Patrik to feature the 65 hr Power reserve automatic caliber made to his specs in Switzerland, by La Joux-Perret, their G101, with a skeletonised Tungsten rotor that Patrik hand finishes. He has it finished with anthracite grey coloration that works well with the case style and frosted back ring.
A milling machine.
He has developed a method of coloring dials using nano-ceramics that typically take 4-5 hours to apply. The solid silver guilloche dials come from Germany and then Patrik goes to town on the coloration depending upon the buyer’s choice of model.
Patrik’s nano-ceramic coloring station
Raw silver guilloche dials from Jochen Benzinger
Before and after, a raw Norrsken guilloche dial on left and a Sarek Rissa on right.
The Rissa for example, was at the request of a client who loved the color of the lakes found up North in Sweden, with the run-off from glaciers. The rich turquoise blue waters inspired the color and now others are able to enjoy it in a couple of regular GoS models, the Sarek Rissa and the Norrsken Rissa!
Another aspect that is not very well known in some of Patrik’s watches, is the use of Swedish glass around the outer circumference of dials. This is where the hour markers lie and in some watches, there is a ring of Badgerite from our friend in the west of Sweden, James “Black Badger” Thompson, who applied it to them to create the glowing colors to represent the Northern Lights or Norrsken.
An official image from Patrik, that shows the Badgerite lume glow emanating from the dial periphery of the Norrsken Rissa.
Pic courtesy of Patrik, the Sarek Rissa
The Sarek Frost, a more recent model has a ring of clear sapphire crystal blocks that do the same job around the outer perimeter of the dial. It’s these small details that elevate Patrik’s work in my view, and I think it well worth considering if his style appeals. I happen to love the Sarek Frost and will probably be adding one to my collection soon!
He then showed me his other office, where watches are prepared for final inspection and boxing up before going out to eager collectors. He proudly showed me his WOSTEP certificate of completion from 2007. His quiet Scandinavian demeanor does not reveal enough about the tremendous watchmaking skills he has acquired over the years. I have followed his work for many years and now having had the pleasure of visiting Linköping and Patrik’s GoS atelier and showroom, I am much better equipped to share his story and lovely watches.
Sarek Frost packaging
We went downstairs to the pub and enjoyed a healthy salad lunch before my train journey back. Patrik then walked with me back to the train station in the snow, where I boarded the fast train back to Stockholm.
Saying our goodbyes before I boarded the train to Stockholm.
In closing, a big thank you to Patrik for taking the time to show me your amazing world in Linköping.
Cheers,
Tim