{{short description|Finnish watchmaker}} {{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}} '''Stepan Sarpaneva''' (born February 1970 in Turku) is a Finnish watchmaker.
== Career == He enrolled in the Finnish School of Watchmaking (Kelloseppäkoulu) in 1989,<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Clerizo|first=Michael|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-finnish-line-extraordinary-watches-from-stepan-sarpaneva-1458568337|title=The Finnish Line: Extraordinary Watches From Stepan Sarpaneva|date=2016-03-21|work=Wall Street Journal|access-date=2020-04-27|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}}</ref> earned his degree in watchmaking in 1992<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.is.fi/taloussanomat/yrittaja/art-2000001867803.html|title=Suomalainen kellontekijä, tarua vai totta?|date=2015-03-08|website=Ilta Sanomat|language=fi|access-date=2020-03-27}}</ref> and then went on to study at the Swiss Watchmakers of Switzerland Training and Education Program (WOSTEP).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tempered-online.com/sarpaneva/index.html|title=Tempered {{!}} Stepan Sarpaneva|website=tempered-online.com|access-date=2019-12-23}}</ref>
In Switzerland since 1994, he has worked for several watch brands including Piaget, Parmigiani, Vianney Halter and Christophe Claret. At Parmigiani, he worked as the right-hand man for legendary Finnish watchmaker Kari Voutilainen<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.helsinkidesignweek.com/series/weekly-studio/weekly-studio-stepan-sarpaneva/|title=Weekly Studio: Stepan Sarpaneva|date=2018-11-22|website=Helsinki Design Week|access-date=2020-04-27}}</ref>
In 2003, he returned to Finland and founded a company called Sarpaneva Watches.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sarpanevawatches.com/|title=Sarpaneva Watches|website=www.sarpanevawatches.com|language=en|access-date=2019-12-23}}</ref> at the old Cable Factory (Kaapelitehdas) in Helsinki, where he makes handcrafted wristwatches. The following year,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.watchlounge.com/independent-watchmaking-in-conversation-with-finnish-watchmaker-stepan-sarpaneva/|title=Independent Watchmaking – In conversation with Finnish Watchmaker Stepan Sarpaneva|date=2020-04-22|website=Watchlounge|language=en-US|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-04-27}}</ref> he also founded S.U.F Helsinki<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sufhelsinki.com/|title=S.U.F Helsinki|website=S.U.F Helsinki|language=en|access-date=2019-12-23}}</ref> (SarpanevaUhrenFabrik) to make and sell larger batches of more affordable watches. At first, 80% of his work was for Christophe Claret, but since 2007, he has been making his own watches full time<ref name=":1" />
Sarpaneva Watches are known for their peculiar nouveau-Gothic designs. In contrast, the S.U.F Helsinki watches are inspired by Finnish landscapes,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Colston|first=Penelope|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/19/style/international/finnish-watchmaker-finds-inspiration-in-his-native-land.html|title=Finnish Watchmaker Finds Inspiration in His Native Land|date=2015-03-18|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-04-27|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> philosophies, legends, and pioneers of engineering, speed and design, such as the Finnish World War II fighter plane VL Myrsky, Finnish submarine Vetehinen, legendary motorcyclist Jarno “Paroni” Saarinen and the Finnish concept of Sisu.
Sarpaneva Watches are mainly made out of locally sourced steel,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/suf-180-field-watch-sarpaneva-hands-on|title=Hands-On: The S.U.F. 180 Field Watch From Stepan Sarpaneva|date=February 5, 2020|first=Cole |last=Pennington|website=Hodinkee|language=en|access-date=2020-04-27}}</ref> because according to Stepan,<ref name=":1" /> there aren't many colors in his world and instead, steel gets its beauty from various finishes, by polishing, sanding or brushing.
In 2009, Stepan Sarpaneva was awarded the Red Dot Design Award for his Korona K3 Black Moon moonphase watch and by the end of the same year, he was awarded two Good Design awards<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chi-athenaeum.org/assets/GDA2016_B/GOOD_DESIGN_2009_winners_list.pdf|title=Good Design 2009 Winners List|last=|first=|date=|website=|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=}}</ref> from the Chicago Athenaeum.
In 2018 and 2019, he got a lot of attention for creating an extremely precise moon phase calibre called Sarpaneva Moonment®, utilized in the Sarpaneva Lunations watch model.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://stylefellow.com/stepan-sarpaneva-revealed-his-own-inhouse-movement/|title=Stepan Sarpaneva revealed his own inhouse movement – Stylefellow|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-27}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://quillandpad.com/2019/04/07/sarpaneva-lunations-the-latest-moon-phase-tech-that-lasts-almost-forever-with-video/|title=Sarpaneva Lunations: The Latest Moon Phase Tech That Lasts (Almost) Forever - With Video|date=2019-04-07|website=Quill & Pad|language=en-US|access-date=2020-03-27}}</ref> It only needs to be adjusted for a single day of error once every 14,000 years. It launched with a matching iPhone app to track the moon phases.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sarpaneva-moon/id329003771|title=Sarpaneva Moon|website=App Store|language=en-us|access-date=2020-03-27}}</ref>
== Other == Stepan Sarpaneva's father was jewelry artist {{ill|Pentti Sarpaneva|fi}}<ref name=":0" /> and his uncle was industrial designer Timo Sarpaneva.
== References == {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarpaneva, Stepan}} Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:People from Turku Category:Finnish watchmakers (people)