Sarek Frost Ice Blue
Sarek Frost Ice Blue
GoS introduce Sarek Frost
Inspired by frosty works of art on wintery window panes, the GoS Sarek Frost is offered in two dial options, Midnight Blue or Ice Blue. Both feature a sunray finish enlivened with an artistic representation of frost paired with a bewitching sapphire crystal hour track. Housed in a new stainless steel case measuring 41.5mm in diameter, the Sarek Frost tastefully combines highly polished and satin-finished surfaces. A Swiss automatic movement completes this horological ensemble. It is produced by Manufacture La Joux and personalised to GoS’s exacting requirements.
The typical Swedish summer is characterised by everlasting days, while the winter months are accompanied by perpetually dark nights. Likewise, the balmy temperatures of July eventually give way to the biting cold of December. To those individuals more accustomed to temperate climates, this extreme weather may elicit feelings of unease, however, for Swedish-born Patrik Sjögren, a Master Watchmaker and the owner of GoS, it seems quite normal. Indeed, he has grown accustomed to the unique climate of his home nation. Sweden’s unique climate, along with its remarkable flora and fauna, has provided a rich source of inspiration for the brand, manifest with its distinctive range of timepieces.
In 2016, GoS released the inaugural Sarek, a name that honours the landscape of the Sarek National Park located in the north of Sweden. This watch proved a resounding success and over subsequent years, GoS has released further versions of the model. Now, there is a new Sarek and the brand’s latest generation of nature-themed watches. These timepieces incorporate a number of refinements while still retaining the elegant, smooth lines of the former model.
Sweden’s vast landscape provides the perfect antidote to the hubbub of city life. There is an absence of distractions, just nature presented in all of its many splendid forms. Inspired by the natural phenomena in his midst, Patrik has repeatedly sought to replicate it in horological form. This time, Patrik´s inspiration came from a weathered wooden cottage in the countryside to the west of Stockholm in which he spent his early years. The windows of this cottage, framed in sturdy wood, were fitted with an inner extra window during winter to better fend off the biting chill. But this safeguard against the cold had its own charm: it transformed the glass into a canvas for frost and ice.
Patrik's desire to capture the enchantment of those frosted windows from his youth led to a unique watch dial. It's a dial that mirrors the randomness of frost and ice patterns, with the enduring charm of an icy frame serving as indexes.
GoS has a long tradition of working with like-minded parties who share the same passion for craftsmanship and creativity. However, finding a dial manufacturer and suppliers willing to tackle the intricate task of crafting the sapphire ice and frost details proved to be a challenging endeavor. It took nearly a year before manufacturing could be started with a total of five collaborating Swiss artisans that were selected for their specialist knowledge. Each artisan plays an instrumental role in the making of the various dial components, with the curved and polished sapphire pieces being the most demanding to manufacture.
The dials encompass a sunray finish, along with glossy transparent and matte white hues, recreating the sparkling, shimmering appearance of frost. An hour track encircles the dial, but unusually it is formed of 12 sections of sapphire crystal, incorporating Swiss Super-LumiNova® and presented in three-dimensional form. This is a first for GoS and, to the brand’s best knowledge, the first time it’s ever been employed in the watch industry. The spaces positioned in between each block of sapphire denote the hours. By using sections of sapphire, the dial masterfully plays with light, reinforcing the icy theme.
Customers can choose from one of two dial options, Midnight Blue or Ice Blue, two shades designed to capture the appearance of frost in different light conditions. Gleaming GoS spearhead hour and minute hands float above the wintry themed dial, clearly conveying the time. In addition, the dial is endowed with a central sweep seconds hand.
The interior of the case is designed to reflect more light, exciting the luminous elements of the dial and thereby heightening the glow of the sapphire hour track. The stainless steel case is now slightly smaller, measuring 41.5mm in diameter. Likewise, the lugs have been reworked with the help of Swiss designer, Jacques Binggeli who also assisted in refinements of the dial elements. The lugs now look more powerful and, when viewed together with the crown, bestow a more cohesive appearance.
The case juxtaposes highly polished and satin-finished surfaces. This latter treatment is employed on the caseback, the top of the bezel and the side of the case ring, while the elliptical grooves on the side of the case remain highly polished. This interplay of different finishes requires much skill to ensure each contrasting finish remains discrete and perfectly delineated. GoS also offers the option of a stainless Damascus steel bezel, an artisanal speciality of the brand. To the rear of the watch, the caseback is engraved with a frost-themed pattern, reproducing the motif presented on the dial.
A self-winding Swiss movement sits at the heart of the Sarek Frost. The G101 Calibre, produced by Manufacture La Joux, has been personalised for GoS. It features a dark grey anthracite finish, a colour echoed throughout the model. Patrik Sjögren decided to endow the movement with an added dose of exclusivity, incorporating a skeletonised oscillating mass made to his own design. Produced in Switzerland, this solid tungsten rotor incorporates the GoS triskele gold seal and includes deep bevelled edges, matching the refined appearance of the bridges below.
By virtue of its protracted creation, GoS has chosen to limit production of each dial variant to 50 pieces. As stated earlier, clients can select a stainless steel bezel or choose a stainless Damascus steel alternative.
GoS has a history of collaborating with partners in different parts of the world, including Switzerland. However, the firm’s models, including the Sarek Frost, are made in Sweden, a country where the landscape nourishes Patrik’s remarkable creativity.
Prices:US$9,500 + applicable taxes, US$10,500 with optional damascus steel bezel.
Frost
Ice crystals appear as if by magic on ground, vegetation and windows in nature's palette of wonders. The delicate and ephemeral structures created by frost leave their sculptures and swirls all across the landscape. Frost begins in wet winter conditions when moisture freezes, clinging to branches and the windows of your house.
Cottage frost window
Patrik Sjögren spent his early years in a weathered wooden cottage in the countryside to the west of Stockholm. The windows of this cottage, framed in sturdy wood, were fitted with an inner extra window during winter to better fend off the biting chill. But this safeguard against the cold had its own charm: it transformed the glass into a canvas for frost and ice.
During the quiet nights, as the world slumbered, frost would stealthily creep in, growing delicate and intricate patterns across the windowpane. These frosty works of art greeted Patrik in the morning, a fleeting beauty that vanished under the warming gaze of the sun or the crackling hearth inside. However, traces of frost always lingered, creating a frosty halo around the sash windows.
Patrik's desire to capture the enchantment of those frosted windows from his youth led to a unique watch dial. It's a dial that mirrors the randomness of frost and ice patterns, with the enduring charm of an icy frame serving as indexes.
Technical Specifications
Specification - GoS - Sarek Frost
- Case: 41.5mmx11mm and lug-to-lug 49.5mm (5ATM)
- Lug width: 21mm
- Glass: Domed sapphire glass with double sided AR coating, extra hard on outside
- Movement: La Joux-Perret G101 made to GoS specification with anthrazite finish. The solid Tungsten rotor is skeletonized and feature a GoS triskele emblem in gold.
- Dial: Sunray finish with random frost-themed pattern printed in silver white and glossy transparent to emulate frost on a window frame. The GoS logo is printed in glossy transparent – thick enough to create a three dimensional effect of ice.
- Bezel: Fine circular satin finish on top – polished edge.
- Index ring/rehaut: The index ring is made from 12 pieces of delicately shaped and polished sapphire crystal with the hour indications in the spaces between each sapphire piece. The sapphire pieces are secured onto a metal base which also hold solid white Swiss Super-LumiNova®.
- Hands: GoS spear shape in high gloss polished gold plated finish.
- Crown: GoS design in straight sanded finish with bead blasted grooves and hand-polished bevels. The 7.5mm crown features an integrated crown guard and has double gaskets.
- Case finishing: Stainless steel, designed and finished with inspiration from viking bracelets. The grooves are high-gloss polished while the outer surface of the case ring has a horizontal fine satin finish.
- Strap: Handcrafted and tapered 21-20mm strap in premium Salmon leather, fitted with 20mm GoS pin-buckle in stainless damascus steel.
- Every watch engraved with “Sarek Frost – One out of 100” and a small serial number to indicate production number in 100pcs limitation. The case back engraving also includes the random frost patter as seen on the dial.
- Five year guarantee
- Delivered in GoS presentation box made from hardwood that´s been treated to resemble black oak.
- Booklet that describes inspiration and design work is included.
Further bespoke elements such as different strap materials or colors on request.