Stian Lofstad
Founder
Northern Watches Sàrl
Northern Watches is a new name in the world of Swiss-made timepieces. What inspired you to launch the brand now, and what story does it aim to tell?
I remember being very fascinated by a silver pocket watch with a railroad motif when I was a young boy and stayed interested in watches. It however took me three careers before I finally decided to go full time into the watch industry. Over the last 20 years I have become a certified watchmaker and as many watchmakers I dreamt of launching my own brand.
Northern Watches has actually been in the making since 2017, when I first started working on the designs. I am a vintage lover and wanted the case and lugs on my watches to be something very special indeed, but that created a lot of problems for my manufacturing partners. Combined with Covid-19 these issues meant I am only able to launch the watches now.
As a Norwegian I feel a strong closeness to nature and spent my formative years in the mountains and forests. I am lucky enough to currently live in one of the most beautiful places in the world – at the edge of Lake Geneva in Switzerland – with a full view to Mont Blanc and the Alps. I wanted to try to emulate some of my love of nature in my designs; using natural stone dials and the dramatic features of the case, in particular the long, twisted lugs.
The watch industry is full of heritage-driven names. Do you believe there’s still room for new, independent brands to make their mark?
Yes, there is always space for something new, but you need to bring something to the table. In my view, microbrands are the ones really driving innovation and creativity in today’s markets, while the big brands play it completely safe. Sometimes heritage can even work against you, as it might narrow your thinking and limit both your courage to try new things and the creativity to go beyond what you’re used to. Especially that latter point is quite evident in today’s markets with all the re-editions of old watches happening. Yes, as a vintage lover I certainly love seeing for instance the Ultra-Chron being revived, and that’s a great base to draw on, but you also need to look forward.
How do you see Northern Watches standing apart from other microbrands in today’s competitive landscape?
The most unique feature of Northern Watches are the 24 hour dials. Our slogan “Time, Naturally” conveys what we strongly believe in; that it’s much more natural to show the whole day on the dial rather than just half of it, which pretty much all other watches do. That was initially a solution to the small sizes of watches, ensuring the legibility of the dial. Nowadays, watches are however at a large enough size that it doesn’t really make sense to show only half the day on the dial, in my opinion.
It is also more natural to have 0 midnight at the bottom of the dial and 12 noon at the top of the dial, those are after all the positions of humankind’s real timekeeper the sun at those times.
Another aspect of “Time, Naturally” is that the date window is where your eyes will seek in the morning when you check the time and date, rather than where most watches put it just out of convention.
Lastly, “Time, Naturally” also conveys the use of natural materials, such as stone dials, leather straps, wooden warranty cards etc.
These choices will certainly also not be for everyone. I have already heard quite a few comments basically saying that it’s sacrilege to have the date window at the left side of the dial and that it will limit the watches’ appeal to a lot of people. That is not necessarily a bad thing; we would rather that people either love or hate our designs than just think they are “okay”.
Many collectors value history and legacy. How do you convince them to invest in a brand that’s just beginning its journey?
Yes, history and legacy are important to many watch lovers and collectors, but getting in early on a brand with a unique profile and strong future prospect is any collector’s dream. Our first two models, NW1 - “Bronze Age” and NW2 – “Northerner” are hopefully the start of something big and getting in “on the ground floor” should be attractive!
What, in your eyes, truly defines luxury in watches today — is it craftsmanship, rarity, innovation, or emotion?
As I see it, mechanical watches in themselves MUST be luxury items, simply because they are not a necessity any longer. It’s been decades since mechanical watches became obsolete purely based on their timekeeping function, so the main reason to buy one nowadays is due to the way they make you feel. You might feel proud of wearing a particular brand or a particular design on your wrist and you might be fascinated by the craftsmanship or the features.
In that vein, I strongly believe that any mechanical watch produced today must have a display case back, in particular watches costing more than a few hundred francs. Seeing the movement tick along is such a fascinating feeling to probably most watch buyers, so it’s really crucial to offer them that possibility.
Northern Watches proudly carries the “Swiss Made” label. How important was it for you to root the brand in Swiss craftsmanship?
Swiss Made is the strongest trademark in the watch industry, giving buyers the confidence that their watches have top notch mechanics and build quality. To me personally Swiss Made is important as I pride myself on professionality and high quality outputs.
For Northern Watches I feel Swiss Made fits in very well with the overall philosophy and vision for the brand. We want to position ourselves as a high quality brand with designs inspired by dramatic nature, and even though Switzerland is not actually in Northern Europe, it very much feels like home for me.
Building a brand from scratch is never easy. What has been the biggest challenge — and the most rewarding moment — so far?
Hopefully the most rewarding moment is the successful launch on Kickstarter on 28 October!
It’s a massive challenge to get your product in front of prospective buyers but I had a trick up my sleeve; a few years back I started a YouTube channel for my other company Vintage Watch Services, where I restore and repair vintage watches. I actually started that channel in order to have an audience for launching Northern Watches, so that was the plan all along. I was hoping to maybe have ten thousand subscribers by the time my brand was ready to launch, but eventually I have more than 130 thousand subscribers. So that gave me a good boost.
That alone is however not enough to reach a broader audience, so I also established a social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, X etc and then started running ads there, which has gained quite a few followers also. I have also sent the watches to a couple of big YouTube watch review channels, and will do more of that in the future. Lastly, I’ll also try to get the watches featured in traditional channels like magazines and printed ads.
Finally, what message would you like to share with collectors and enthusiasts discovering Northern Watches for the first time?
Welcome! We believe big brand watches have become utterly boring and that the 12 hour system has outlived its usability.
It’s time to leave old conventions behind and embrace “Time, Naturally”.
What Makes the Debut Collection Distinctive — in Design and Philosophy
The most distinctive design element of the “Bronze Age” and “Northerner” models is undoubtedly the lugs. Long, twisted, and sharply defined, they create a striking visual contrast between their surfaces — one mirror-polished, the next satin-brushed. This interplay of finishes produces a sculptural, light-catching effect unlike anything seen on other watches.
Our inspiration came from vintage icons such as the Polerouter with its signature twisted lugs, but we wanted to take that idea to the next level. The result is a modern reinterpretation that blends heritage design with contemporary precision.
Another standout feature is the natural stone dial. Each dial is cut from genuine stone, ensuring that no two watches are ever identical. The unique texture, grain, and color variations of the material mean that even if someone owns the same model, their watch will have a character all its own.
The third defining aspect is our guiding philosophy “Time, Naturally.” While 24-hour watches have existed before, we’ve reimagined the concept through thoughtful design details, such as the placement of the date window and the use of ‘0’ for midnight. Interestingly, 24:00 does not actually exist — midnight is 00:00 — and we wanted our watches to reflect that reality. Using ‘0’ rather than ‘24’ is a subtle but meaningful nod to the natural cycle of time.
