Independents
Gary G introduces Antti Ronkko, a Finnish independent watchmaker, and his first commercial product: the RÖNKKÖ STEEL LABYRINTH. This post offers a detailed first look at Ronkko's in-house movement and distinctive labyrinth dial, inviting the community to explore the work of a new talent in the independent watchmaking scene.
Greetings to all! Over the past few months, I have had the pleasure of corresponding with a gifted Finnish watchmaker -- but perhaps not either of the ones you might think...
Antti Ronkko is a passionate watchmaker who began developing his first commercial product in 2007 -- and it is now ready for the market. Shall we look at a few photos, provided by Antti himself?
First, a view that juxtaposes the dial side against the escapement portion of the movement:
Antti's in-house movement itself, with the Labyrinth dial in the background. To my fairly undeducated eye this movement reminds me a bit of the Peseux 260, which is by no means a bad thing. I particularly like the use of peaks and inward angles -- reminiscent a bit of the design styles of Voutilainen and Dufour, but (at least to me) not an imitation of either.
I am eager to learn more about Antti and his work, and will be very interested to hear your views. It has been great fun to correspond with a "new" watchmaker on the Indie scene, and I am really pleased to be able to introduce his first watch here. Antti tells me that he will make this watch as a limited production (not LE) piece, and expects to be able to make approximately 8 per year.
Finally, the "press release" description of the watch from Antti:
RÖNKKÖ STEEL LABYRINTH
" I wanted to create watch with no compromises and with my own
movement, using the best materials and a very unique design"
RÖNKKÖ STEEL LABYRINTH is a hand made stainless steel watch with my own
designed movement, it takes hundreds of hours to complete one watch.
Designing and producing my first commercial watch has been a very long
journey. It has taken several years from the idea to the final product. The
reason for that is my desire to make almost everything myself. I have made
sketches, 3D CAD parts/assemblies, tool paths with CAM, machining parts
with CNC, finishing/adjusting movement etc. Control of the process gives me
complete Design freedom.
Technical Specification
Movement
AR1 self designed movement
Mechanical manually wound
Hours, minutes, small second at 7 o´clock
36h power reserve
18000 vibrations per hour (2.5Hz)
17 jewels
Diameter 35mm and height 3.5mm
Plates are made of non plated German Silver, except pallet lever bridge and escape wheel
bridge which are made from stainless steel
Finishing of the movement: bottom side circular graining (perlage), top side straight line
grinding, edges are hand bevelled and polished with many interior and external angles
Movement is connected to case without movement ring with two screws
Case
Dragon foot Design
Diameter 41mm and height 11.5mm
Hand finished, Stavax ESR hardened stainless steel case with satin finished surfaces and
polished edges, completely nickel free
Dial side curved sapphire crystal with anti-reflection coating inside
Back side flat sapphire crystal with anti-reflection coating inside
Stainless steel crown with AR logo
Water-resistant to 3 ATM
RÖNKKÖ WATCHES OY
Kalakontintie 1 f 56
02230 Espoo Finland
Phone: +358504836628
Email: [Email address suppressed for privacy]
Website: www.ronkkowatches.fi i
Dial
Complex labyrinth textured dial with black DLC coating
Stainless steel index ring with 4 screws
Hands
Hands made from stainless steel
Strap
Hand finished, Stavax ESR hardened stainless steel buckle with satin finished surfaces and
polished edges, completely nickel free
Genuine horn back crocodile strap
_________________________________________
Hope you enjoyed! In the spirit of full disclosure: I am not an investor in Antti's business, nor have I received any sort of inducement, gift, or discount offer for any purchase of his watches. I'll have to talk with him about that 
All the best,
Gary G
Think he cased a VC or JLC movement in his design and also was it Alex(?) that first introduced him? I did a quick google check and found only one project of his on lone, a recased minute repeater. Will find out more. Sarpaneva should know him. Thanks for bringing notice to this very interesting piece and creator. Best, Horo
Not 100 percent sure about all of the wording on the dial, but I do really like the look of the movement and the big balance Great to have some great upcoming new independents! Best, Gary G
But I bet he would consider customizing it to a degree... and one has to imagine that this is till a rendering only, and could change. I do not KNOW if he would customize the dial, but... independents are usually open minded. I would take it as is, though. I love it!
Always fun to discover new Indies. It makes me curious to discover what novelty can be put forward by the author. By the way, how did you discover it? Just typing on google to see what it brings? I like the fact that he created his own movement instead of just performing an aesthetical-only work. I was maybe waiting to read something different/new/original about the caliber's design, but it must already need a lot of work to design its own. Concerning the watch, the style of the caliber's decora
the writing issue is acceptable as it is Yet a reduction of some writing would be Perfect. beautiful watch and even more beautiful movement. Faisal
This shot seems to be more photo-like, and might be an actual photo? The red 16 on the dial balances the red seconds hand... something I had not 'thought of' before. Perhaps the dial is just right. Some makers can please with a lot of writing... Rolex, of course, and a selection of others sometimes defy the rule that writing on the dial is not desirable. Anyway... another pic with some depth
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