Two limited novelties to celebrate the milestone.
Over the 20 years which have passed since it was founded, the Sarpaneva brand has managed to carve out an identifiable style for itself in the watchmaking community. Elements of the brand's DNA can be seen in the two anniversary models: Sarpaneva Stardust and Stardust Nostromo.
Both were launched as limited editions of 20 pieces and both have yet again succeeded in piecing together the puzzle of Sarpaneva's signature details: from their multi-layer grille dials to the indispensable Moonface.
The half smiling Moonface is the Finnish watchmaker's own mysterious Mona Lisa — an expression that everyone has their own interpretation of.
Sarpaneva Stardust
Sarpaneva Stardust Nostromo
The novelties use the trademark Korona case. When the watchmaker introduced the Loiste model and first watch with this silhouette, Sarpaneva explained that an eight-toothed Harley-Davidson pinion had served as the source of inspiration.
Sarpaneva's passion for all things mechanical also happens to extend to motorcycles. However, other sources of inspiration for this design can also easily be traced back to the work of Sarpaneva's father: the jewelry designer Pentti Sarpaneva, whose work has been exhibited in museums around the world.
Creativity really does run in Sarpaneva's blood: his uncle Timo Sarpaneva is also a legend of Scandinavian industrial design. In keeping with tradition, Sarpaneva worked with his preferred Finnish steel from the company Outokumpu to create each case measuring 42 × 10 mm.
The winding crown is in the usual spot for this brand's watches, positioned at 4 o'clock. Both novelties use modified automatic Chronode P1003 calibers with 60 hours of power reserve. The iconic Moonface has left the dial and now appears on the rotor.
The watchmaker used to prefer Soprod movements, and he used this movement for the first time in last year's Sarpaneva x Valtteri Bottas Kilpisjärvi model. The Stardust and Stardust Nostromo models can be told apart by their dial compositions.
Sarpaneva Stardust displays bright iridescent tone transitions on hand-flamed titanium treated at different torch temperatures to create a color range from cold blue to warm yellow.
Sarpaneva Stardust Nostromo looks more subdued in daylight due to the gray DLC-treated details on its dial. But everything changes in the dark: it turns out some of the watch's elements have a multicolored Super-LumiNova coating (a total of four shades have been applied).