Embodying the spirit of sisu, a uniquely Finnish cultural conception and collective identity typified by a distinct “strength of will, determination, perseverance, and acting rationally in the face of adversity,” S.U.F. Helsinki was founded by Stepan Sarpaneva as a more rugged complement to his namesake brand. The present watch, featuring a sunburst blue dial, date window between four and five o’clock, and signature elongated Arabic numerals, is a limited edition Mysrky model with an illustrated sapphire caseback depicting the Moomin character ‘The Groke’.
The Mysrky series takes its inspiration from pilot’s watches, and indeed, it is named for the aircraft engineered for the Finnish Air Force in the aftermath of the Russo-Finnish Winter War and leading up to Finland’s participation in World War II. The Myrsky aircraft was highly aerodynamic and quite agile, though its slipshod construction due to the constraints of finding suitable materials during wartime made the aircraft structurally unstable. It was built of a metal frame, with wings bade of plywood and held together by glue, the latter which was unable to withstand the realities of brutal Finnish winters. Nonetheless, it has become a symbol of Finnish grit and perseverance.
In 1945, as the countries of Europe emerged from the fog of war, an illustrated book was published that would become one of Finland’s most recognizable cultural exports – the Moomins. Conceived by famed Finnish illustrator Tove Jansson, they first appeared in anti-Nazi political cartoons before becoming a much-beloved comic strip and fairy tale book characters. Each Moomin has a unique characterization and the stories usually center on Moomintroll, a hippopotamus-like little boy who, along with his friends and family, goes on various adventures in Moominvalley, their home. This particular watch has a caseback illustration of ‘The Groke’, the main antagonist of the Moomin series. She is a mound-like creature who spreads cold and ice. Though she constantly searches for light and warmth, her nature is to extinguish it as soon as any is found.
The current lot, number one out of a limited series of fifty, is being sold to profit the new Children’s Hospital in Helsinki, scheduled to open in the fall of 2018. This piece is the last available of the fifty watches created by S.U.F. in partnership with Watch Enthusiasts Finland, as the other watches sold out in one minute and thirty-six seconds.