Moomintroll makes a return to Stepan Sarpaneva's dials.
Stepan Sarpaneva's first watch series dedicated to the Moomins sold out in one minute and 36 seconds. That was in 2017, when the watchmaker partnered with Watch Enthusiasts Community Finland to release the collector's Mörkö-Myrsky series in S.U.F Helsinki's Myrsky collection.
Each of the fifty pieces in the limited edition series was decorated with an illustration of the mystical Moomin character from the fairytale world conceived by Tove Jansson. Sarpaneva returned to the Moomins in 2020 to mark the 75th anniversary of the first book published about the Moomins: the Moomins and the Great Flood.
A place on the dial was reserved for the protagonist this time, where part of an illustration by Tove Jansson from the book Moominsummer Madness (1954) was depicted. Sarpaneva remained faithful to the historical illustration and kept the watch dial black and white. But that's only at first glance — the master at magically illuminating watch dials couldn't help adding a little color and light.
Details of the picture on the steel dial were highlighted by hand in eight different shades of Super-Luminova. The series was limited to 75 pieces. Another version of the model later appeared in pink gold, exclusively made for the Hour Glass to retail in a 20-piece limited edition series. The speed at which all the pieces were snapped up by private collectors wasn't the only proof of its success.
The prototype for the model priced at EUR 6,000 was sold at the Phillips charity auction for EUR 33,000. The success story continues this year in Sarpaneva X Moomin. The character the watch community is already familiar with has appeared in four limited edition versions with hands in different shades, each consisting of 25 pieces in Steel Rhodium, Flamed Blue, Red Gold and Pitch Black.
The model has migrated from the S.U.F brand's line and has been taken under the wing of the Sarpaneva brand, hence why it's received a number of new specs. To be more specific, the Sporod A10 movement has been enclosed in a large steel case with semicircular notches. The Supra 316L/4435 stainless steel is made by the Finnish company Outokumpu.
Another local touch is that the watches are sold in a special textile treasure roll made by Finnish manufacturer Finlayson. The automatic movement's rotor has been reworked and now features the glaring moon-face motif, which can also be seen on the dials of the Korona K0 Northern Lights or the K3 Northern Stars.