Kortela Valta, a New Independent Watchmaking Discovery From Finland

Finland has birthed a number of the most fascinating watchmakers outdoors of Switzerland and has lengthy left its mark on the watchmaking business. Consider names like Kari Voutilainen and Stepan Sarpaneva, to call simply two. Maybe lesser recognized, however to not be neglected, is Reima Koivukoski, whom we launched to you about a year ago. Now, although, we now have the subsequent discovery from the “Land of the Thousand Lakes” lined up for you: Kortela Valta. This duo of watchmakers, Roope Kortela and Rene Valta, discovered a mutual ardour for watchmaking when finding out on the Finnish College of Watchmaking and have joined forces to create one thing very cool known as the Eka. Greater than sufficient motive to take a seat down and speak to the pair!

Robin, MONOCHROME Watches – Roope, Rene, you’re a younger two-man model from Finland. Are you able to introduce yourselves briefly?

The model may be younger, however the founders aren’t a lot.

Nicely, my title is Roope, I simply turned 40 and have a background in a Finnish premium-branded client items firm known as Fiskars. I labored in numerous roles starting from enterprise management to account supervisor in b2b gross sales. Nonetheless, it was solely after attending the Finnish College of Watchmaking that I felt that I used to be lastly in the appropriate place. In Kortela Valta, I’m accountable for the inventive route, design lead, and 3D modelling, and a lot of the machining that’s executed in-house plus working with the fibre laser. Hand-finishing of the motion and particular person watch parts is one thing that each Rene and I work on.

Rene is a 27-year-old multi-talent able to submitting excellent inside angled bevels in addition to restoring a wrecked W124 Mercedes-Benz. Principally, something mechanical goes. Rene appears to be resistant to the concern of failure which is why he naturally takes the lead after we do prototyping at Kortela Valta. He’s additionally the one at present restoring the previous Omega actions in addition to doing the ultimate meeting of all our watches.

How are you aware one another and what made you determine to launch a watchmaking model collectively?

We met on the Finnish College of Watchmaking and attended the identical class. Throughout the first yr, we didn’t spend that a lot time collectively, however in the course of the second yr, one thing simply clicked and we began working collectively on tasks such because the pair of brass precision miniature vices. Usually I might have an concept about one thing I want to make however felt unable to do it on my own. And that’s the place Rene would slot in completely as he was simply in a position to overcome the sensation of not realizing the place to start out and simply begin making an attempt issues out.

After we acquired to know one another higher, we observed that we had comparable concepts of what we needed to do after we graduated – watchmaking as a substitute of simply doing service and repairs which is what the varsity prepares you the perfect for. This closely influenced our decisions of the place to use for coaching. I used to be very fortunate to be accepted for 3 weeks within the workshop of Christian Lass in Denmark and Rene did 4 weeks at Torsti Laine in Switzerland.

For a really very long time, we thought we must transfer to Switzerland after we graduated and collect three to 5 years of watchmaking expertise earlier than we may even dream of creating our personal watches, however we have been in a position to pursue our dream straight out of faculty with the help of our great mentor. We met him when he was filling in for a instructor for six months in school throughout our third yr. It’s a blessing to be mentored by somebody who has labored for ten years at Kari Voutilainen and is at present working for Petermann Bedat!

The place does your ardour for watchmaking come from?

Roope: I utilized to the Finnish School of Watchmaking most of all as a result of I understood in 2019 that I needed to work with my arms. Naturally, the truth that I’ve been excited about watches for so long as I can keep in mind helped with the selection. My watch enthusiasm went into overdrive in 2016-2019 and the fever ended solely after I bought my (on the time) grail watch, a white gold Lange 1, in 2019. That watch served its goal below a microscope in school and have become our Schaublin 102N lathe after we wanted to finance the beginning of our enterprise. The years main to purchasing the Lange have been stuffed with numerous hours of studying and making an attempt to grasp completely different motion ending strategies. It’s protected to say that my ardour for watchmaking lies inside the pursuit of perfection and hand ending of the very best order.

Sharpening jewel sinks

The ending of the minute hand in progress.

Rene: For so long as I can keep in mind metalworking and mechanical tinkering have been an expensive passion and an escape for me. From making tiny trebuchets as a child to engine work and knifemaking afterward, and all the way in which into watchmaking right now. Handmade and visually pleasing mechanical work has all the time been a means for me to wind down and overlook every little thing else for a second. My curiosity in watchmaking actually began on the Finnish College of Watchmaking, as I had no data about watchmaking as a career beforehand. However the second we started working submitting away within the first yr of faculty, I knew that this was what I needed to dedicate myself to, and from that second onwards, my goal has been to be taught as a lot as I can and to share that information going ahead.

You name yourselves “ The Livestreaming Watchmakers”; what’s that every one about?

Merely put, we livestream (at present on Twitch) the creation of our watches. It matches completely with one of many core values of the Kortela Valta model, which is transparency, and it’s a pleasant solution to up the stakes from the content material advertising that everybody does and that we now have to do as properly. The dwell stream continues to be very small by way of dwell viewers, however we now have already deliberate modifications on what we stream dwell and what’s greatest for YouTube movies. Understandably, trying on the similar piece of steel being polished with a picket stick for 3 hours straight (with out with the ability to quick ahead) is a tricky capsule to swallow for even essentially the most fanatic watch lovers. Dwell streaming our prototyping as a substitute lets us be extra relaxed on digicam and work together with the viewers whereas the content material proven on digicam provides way more selection in comparison with exhibiting hand ending week after week.

Your debut watch, the Eka made fairly an impression on social media. Are you able to clarify a bit extra about this watch?

From the start, our goal was to create the best hand-finished timepiece (no less than at present) made in Finland. Some nice Finnish watchmakers are working in Finland, however we really feel that nobody has the identical sort of focus and ambition in hand ending as we do. We knew that we needed to make a smaller than 40mm case which excluded utilizing ETA/Unitas 6497/6498 as the bottom caliber. For the watch dial, we drew heavy inspiration from an image present in one of many school rooms on the Finnish College of Watchmaking. The motion shapes have been drawn utilizing geometric traces discovered within the mainplate, and we knew that we needed to suit just a few, however not too many, sharp inside and outer angles within the motion to showcase our skills. The design of Eka won’t carry something revolutionary into the world of unbiased watchmaking, nevertheless it has introduced us this far, and for that, we’re grateful.

What’s the concept of utilizing classic Omega actions versus fashionable alternate options?

High quality and availability, principally. To cite certainly one of our lecturers: “Omega cal. 266 is the best mass-produced mechanical watch motion ever made.” It’s the appropriate measurement in order that it matches and fills watch instances between 35 and 39 millimetres. The supplies used when making the motion within the 1950’s are of nice high quality and there may be sufficient materials to shine the pivots to a new-like shine and to make bevels within the spokes of the wheels if we so select. The stability has a Breguet spiral and stability screws and the motion is initially chronometer graded. Want we are saying extra concerning the high quality?

As for the provision, we felt that there have been not many (if any) good choices out there to be bought in small portions if we had chosen a contemporary motion for the bottom of our watch. When utilizing Omega cal. 266 as the bottom we are able to leverage our personal time and abilities to revive the motion to its authentic glory. We make certain to buy leftover actions in working order so no Rancheros or Railmasters are being destroyed to make our watches.

The motion appears slightly spectacular, what’s been executed to it?

Nicely, thanks. The bridges are designed by us and machined for us in Finland by our good good friend, Kupias Watches. Afterwards, every little thing is finished at our workshop. We use German silver for the bridges because it’s a pleasant materials to work on with hand instruments and produces a tremendous polish with the appropriate abrasives. The bevels are hand-filed and polished, whereas the edges get a pleasant straight-grain end. The ultimate polish for the bevels, in addition to the countersinks, is finished by hand with exhausting pegwood or boxwood and abrasive. We’re particularly pleased with our Geneva stripes, that are floor with wooden and abrasive, leaving a really good end, whereas the right angles are a results of many late evenings making an attempt out the smallest of modifications time and time once more.

As a part of the restoration of the unique motion, the pivots and stability staffs are fastidiously examined below a microscope and principally all the time given correct polish utilizing the Jacot device. The unique screws that we nonetheless use and different metal components are black polished to their former glory. For the ratchet and crown wheels, we at present do a easy snailing at our workshop.

The one mechanical enchancment executed in Eka for the motion is the movable stability spring stud holder. That is a part of the stability bridge within the authentic calibre, however to make the positive adjustment of the timekeeping a much less tedious process, we needed to modernize that by making it movable. The half is made fully in-house together with drilling a 0.29mm gap and making a 0.35mm thread. It’s hardened and tempered and is lower than 0.20mm thick at its narrowest level. But it contains tiny handmade and polished bevels and a black polished prime floor.

Bridge screws in numerous levels of ending.

Pivot sharpening.

What else do you do in-house for the Eka?

Rather a lot, actually. The dial, watch arms, stud holder, bridge screws, motion holding screws and the crown are produced from begin to end at our workshop. As for our watch case, the form of the center case is being electrical discharge machined for us by a neighborhood machine store, however the remainder of the machining is finished fully at our workshop. Naturally, the case can also be polished and hand-finished in-house.

You informed me you’re engaged on a follow-up watch. Are you able to elaborate on that a little bit bit?

The follow-up watch will supply the identical high quality of hand ending discovered within the Eka, however with just a few design decisions that make it attainable for us to drive the beginning worth decrease than what we’ve been asking for Eka. The watch shall be named Oma, which in Finnish means (your) personal, which factors in direction of the massive distinction between Eka and Oma – customizability. The dial may be the spotlight this time round as we’re providing two to a few several types of enamel dial decisions made fully in-house. The beginning worth contains black polished screws and mirror-polished arms, however no ornamental warmth therapies. We will do all of the completely different shades starting from plum to blue metal, however that comes with a worth. The identical goes for the Geneva stripes – they’re nonetheless out there, however for the beginning worth, the motion will get a matte frosted end. We may even be bringing a brand new case measurement out there subsequent to the 38.5mm case present in Eka. The brand new case is sized 37mm with a forty five.5mm lug to lug and it’s 8mm thick.

The primary sequence of the Eka is nearly bought out, when can we count on the second sequence to be finalized and able to order?

We’re very near having a prototype of Oma prepared, however as it’s greater than only a single design, we need to have completely different kinds of dials, arms and motion finishes to point out earlier than we launch the Oma. We’re assured that we’ll have every little thing finalized within the subsequent two to 4 weeks, and Oma shall be able to order proper after its launch.

Lead time for brand new orders proper now’s comparatively fast, 2-3 months. At the moment (and so long as we’re not overbooked), we’ll gladly tackle customized tasks for something between 5-10 timepieces, the place we are able to go even additional with the motion ending and even make a brand new design based mostly on buyer needs in terms of the components we make in-house. i.e. dial, arms, watch case and the crown.

The place do you see your model evolving sooner or later? What can we count on in, say, the approaching three or 4 years?

We’re steadily working in direction of our aim of constructing a perfectly hand-finished timepiece with a complication or two, designed from scratch and fully made in Finland. The steps alongside the way in which embrace perfecting the remaining motion ending strategies not but in our arsenal, comparable to polished bevels within the ratchet and crown wheel enamel. Within the shorter time period, plans additionally embrace designing a brand new mainplate for use together with the Omega cal. 266 gear prepare. This would come with a free-sprung stability with a Breguet spiral that shall be bent in-house.

Typically talking, within the coming three to 4 years, you may count on watches with issues and extra distinctive designs, each dial and movement-wise, in comparison with what we at present do, supported by elevated in-house machining and ending capabilities.

How can individuals get in contact or keep updated together with your work on future tasks?

At present, Instagram could be one of the best ways to remain updated on what we do. We extremely advocate tuning in for the dwell stream and hitting us with questions as each little bit of interplay in the course of the stream could be very welcome. We’re additionally on YouTube below the title @KortelaValta. A small revamp of our web site can also be within the plans with an choice to subscribe to a e-newsletter.

For extra data, please go to KortelaValta.com.