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.