Horological Meandering

Mr Sarpaneva dropped by Kuala Lumpur to host a dinner for the lucky enthusiasts who ordered pieces from him and also to share with us the story behind the Sarpaneva watches. The dinner was held at one of my favourite Japanese restaurants in KL, Hajime.

Stepan Sarpaneva.



His watches came in birch boxes made in Finland. Each box had a unique grain pattern and were very smooth to the touch. The cover was held closed with magnetic fixtures.





The new owners slowly opening their boxes with great anticipation. Kuala Lumpur's collectors were the first in the world to receive their Korona K3s.









Stepan explained the details on the watches and also usage instructions.







Ling and Tze Leong really enjoying their new watches.







Tze Leong can hardly contain his excitement for the no. 1 K3 as he was the first one to place an order after seeing Stepan's work at Basel.



Stepan was kind enough to autograph his brochures for those in attendance.





As we enjoyed the food... (Ooh... UNI!)



... Stepan and the gang discussed and tried on the watches...















Photo ops...







And now, we proceed to the watches. From the parts...





To the finished pieces...



Here are the watch shots (of Black Diamond and Steel cases and even Rose Gold dials).

Korona K1



Korona K2







Korona K3









Comparisons...













The much saught after Sarpaneva Supernova made an appearance!















Possibly the most Sarpanevas in a room outside of Stepan's workshop...



And a preview of things to come...



Parting shot of Stepan himself...



My deepest thanks to the organizers for the priviledged and insightful evening and thanks to all for viewing!

I am very glad you share the happy event with us. It gave me a pleasant glimpse on Stepan whom I admire and like for being the way he is, being different and having strong design that really gives out real characters of the pieces he created. My fave is K3 design. The moonphase is beautiful in a mysterious way. I can sense the realistic "moon" character. It should be that way..naturally.. Have to admit I envy you guys over there, having such a wonderful delivery of those pieces !!! A pity Singapore doesn't have agent for him.. Nevertheless, I shall find my own way into getting one of those.
Meanwhile, congrats to all who are lucky for having it and wear it in the best of health!! (",)
Regards,
LCDW

The piece with orange straps is loud!

Kong

Those cufflinks are so cool! 

The amazing thing about the Korona  is how thin it actually is.  The slimness is a nice contrast to the large radius of the dial, hence making it a very comfortable watch to wear.

Korona goes to Osaka

Cheers

Gaz

Still don't know what to think about these watches, but they are indeed original.
Now, to say that I like or not..That's another problem...LOL
best.
Nicolas

I await my K3 Rose Gold Moon Face and Black Case. Loved the "matching" cufflinks. Details on where to get those!?

BTW - shouldn't this be listed under the ACHI and independent haute horogerie section?

;-)  (sorry moderators, couldn't help myself)

Are currently not for sale... but there may be a possibility that they may be available to interested parties in the future

No message body

Bro Ling and Sleng is so fast! Not to mention our other friends who had snap up the Ks....damn...cant wait to meet the guy tmr....

Regards

Stepan and frends are friendly and down to earth.  I like them.

Sarpaneva Korona series are not for everybody.  You must understand Stepan's principle to like it more.  It happens that the watch suits my taste.

Regards

Ling

 

Stepan's principle.
Please tell.

Kong

Stepen is a simple, straight forward, meticulous, and yet generous person.  He believes what he did is original and genuine with no superfluous and unnecessary work which is only meant and catered for marketing BS.

To me, he has managed to transform these virtue into his time piece.  I hope he remains that way for the next 20 years.

Kong, you need to take a few more glance to like his watch.  But, you just need to wear it once to fall in love with it.

Regards

Ling 

No message body

Only wished they were smaller. I would have pulled the trigger on the K2 if it was 40mm. At 44mm too big for my puny wrist. Ouch! Nevertheless, it was a pleasure to meet up with the 'man' himself. Very down to earth and accomodating.

44mm is not that big

Thanks KT for the marvelous pics, as usual!

Stepan is not only a kind and down to earth gentleman, he has a great sense of humor. The minute I saw the K3 with THE moonphase in the forum, I decided to contact Stepan to place my order and got my K3 Serial No. 1.

The K3 along with the Supernova are my favorites from his humble collection and I am cetainly looking forward to more "unique, creative and out-of-this-world" creations from him.

I really enjoyed my evening with Stepan and other Purists, who will certainly share my same experience.

Kudos to Korona series, and especially to the man, Stepan who created this amazing series! The Date in K2 and the Moonphase in K3 are certainly one of its kind!

It was a great honour to meet the man himself and to have the watch hand-delivered by him. I love the K3, and having met the man himself I can only foresee more great stuff from Sarpaneva. Thanks for the great coverage and pictures, KT, and it's been a pleasure meeting you guys! May I say this to you again, Stepan.......your watches are simply "out-of-this-world"!!!