Customization Becomes A Watch Brands Calling Card
According to the makers of Jurmo Watches, customers often fall into two categories: those who know exactly what they want, and those who have no idea or have no idea and need advice.
In fact, the Finnish brand, founded in 2017 by Martin Calland and Kim von Gerich, makes customizable mechanical watches that require some decision-making. (Think about ordering a pizza or getting a tattoo.)
Many watchmakers outsource watchmaking and charge high fees for service, but the men say their goal is to make watches more affordable, sometimes by thousands of dollars. "For people who know what they want, we've gotten to the point where we can do anything for a reasonable price," Calland said. "For those who don't know, we're trying to narrow things down to a few options."
Most of the Jurmo's modifications involve small changes – the shape of the hands or the color of the dial – to one of the four models that are sold on the site for between 2,000 and 3,000 euros. But a brand can also make a big difference.
"Our goal is to make watches that mean something to people," Mr. Kaland said.
Combining hand tools and high-tech machinery, Jurmo manufactures most parts in-house, except for the mechanism, which is supplied by Swiss supplier ETA; sapphire crystal; seal; feathers; Ruby and metal belt or bracelet. Today he sells about 120 watches a year, half of which are personalized and the rest from his collection.
In addition, revenue from the annual production of more than a dozen watch brands worldwide and sales of 4,000 pieces, representing about 30% of the brand's sales, supports custom work and the range. Watches at affordable prices. Mr. Calland Dr.
When two CNC (computer numerical control) machines enter the market this fall, the company expects to at least triple its parts production capacity.
Jurmo also does customization for other brands, and any work it can't do is outsourced to someone who can, Calland said in an interview at the brand's headquarters. 180 square meters (1,940 square feet) area, in Aalto's stone building. . University campus outside the Finnish capital Helsinki.
On a July afternoon, some of Jurmo's six employees were working on lathes and laser cutters or clock machines or laptop computers. Vicente Gryaznov, who has designed watches for more than 20 brands, including Konstantin Chaikin and Gelfman, was half-hidden behind the big screen. Techno music was playing in the background, which gave the whole event a fun vibe.
"Every project brings new challenges," says Mr Kalland, 38 "I would say that my main role is to be a solution developer." He is the company's production manager and trained in watchmaking through YouTube videos. Herr von Gerich, 35, CFO.
At the request of Hungarian collector Tamás Miklós, Jurmo recently upgraded one of its R0 watches: the ETA 7750 self-winding chronograph movement was replaced with a manual winding system, and the sapphire crystal case was replaced with a titanium plate. A: As a result, Mr. Miklos wrote in an email, the watch became slimmer and fit better on his wrist.
To show his support for Ukraine during the Russian invasion, Mr Miklos also ordered a bright blue and yellow sundial and added an engraved version of the Ukrainian coat of arms, a shield with a trident, to the back. The finished watch costs around 4,000 euros. - about 1000 euros more than the original price.
"The watch has become the crown jewel of my collection," Miklos, 44, wrote. He adds that the partnership is almost as significant as the watch: "I realized that I needed to downsize my current collection and focus more on individual pieces."
According to tradition, Jurmo clocks were called "Hope for Ukraine". "We gave each project a name," Mr Kaland said. “I don't want the number of projects. I want them to be personal."
Another customer, who ordered a blood-red textured dial to symbolize his Christian faith and the difficulties associated with his chronic illness, feared that coordination problems related to his illness could damage the watch. But Yurmo has ensured the stainless steel case is subjected to what is known as ice-hardening, where it is exposed to extreme freezing temperatures to increase durability.
Mr Calland said the watch, which he and the client called the Discovery, was a bespoke model and not a modification of the Jurmo watch; According to him, the client paid about 6,000 euros.
However, some requests can significantly increase the price: once the buyer asked for 56 diamonds to be installed in the bezel, which required a jeweler's consultation, and another 11 diamonds to be set in a special mother-of-pearl marker. According to Mr. Calland, as a result of the change, the price of the Jurmo watch has increased by 7,000 euros, which is about 2,000 euros more than the original price.
Both men say they try very hard not to copy others' work and not infringe copyright. "We don't put Nike on the face of the watch," said Mr Kaland, who sadly realized he had studied law but never got a degree because he had decided to focus on the watch business. “We don't print logos or create anything that someone else has done. If we are not sure, we will not succeed. So far, no customer has offered us anything we couldn't implement.
The company - and its name - alludes to Mr Calland's unsuccessful 2015 search for a watchmaker who could make a dial featuring the Yurmo, which his family saw during summer cruises to the south-west coast. Finland.
"I'm like, 'Hey, why don't you do it?' How heavy can they be?" recalled Mr Calland, who eventually gave the watch to his father on his 50th birthday.
The numbering project was so successful that Mr Kalland and Mr von Gerich, who studied together at Helsinki's Arkada University of Applied Science, considered setting up a rebranding company, but ultimately settled on clocks. personalized
As the pandemic reduced supplies of parts from weeks to months, the men decided to buy machines, many of them second-hand, to build their own.
"It was tough, but we had time to build everything and figure out what we wanted to do and what we didn't want to do," Calland said. "And we realized that this was a strategy that we wanted to implement as much as possible."
Some industry observers note their success. "To be honest, I thought Martin and Kim were a bit misguided," Matti Eraksinen, editor of the Finnish watch blog Tyliniekka, wrote in an email when they started making custom watches. "But they believed in themselves and worked hard."
"They offer consumers an affordable way to own a watch with a personal touch," he continued, "that the big guys just can't."