Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. Juha Eskola, The Latest Indie Discovery From Finland, On His Journey Into Watchmaking
"I had no Plan B" - Juha Eskola.
The independent watchmaking scene is as wide as it is deep, and we regularly stumble upon new and exciting projects and brands. And since indie watchmaking is also at the core of MONOCHROME Watches, we try to serve you as many of these as we can. For the next new indie discovery, named Juha Eskola, we set course for Finland again, a country with a remarkably high concentration of talented watchmakers, both veteran and new. Juha Eskola had a very clear goal in mind when he started his watchmaking studies, and one we can fully get behind: to become an independent watchmaker.
As a 36-year old watchmaker based in Helsinki, Finland, Juha Eskola makes unique and limited-production watches with a lot of craftsmanship involved. When he’s not behind the bench, he mostly takes orders from his 4-month-old daughter, as he says so himself. Whenever there’s a bit of free time, which I can confirm is very rare with young kids, he also finds joy in playing guitar, painting and playing tennis. But above all, his passion for watchmaking is what drives him forward.
Robin, MONOCHROME Watches – Juha, where did your passion for watchmaking come from?
As a kid, I wore a watch on my wrist 24/7. In the early 2000s, I took a short break from watches, as my Nokia 3310 took over my timekeeping duties. In 2005, we went on a family vacation, and that’s where I saw an automatic watch for the very first time. It had a skeletonised movement and an open dial. I was completely hypnotised by it.
From that moment on, my interest in mechanical watches grew deeper year by year. When I was finishing my marketing studies at the University of Turku, I realised that Excel and PowerPoint weren’t for me. I wanted to create something with my hands. At that point, combining my interest in watches with my passion for making things, watchmaking felt like a no-brainer, so I went with it.
What appeals to you in watches, and who inspires you?
I’m an aesthetics-first kind of guy at heart. But just like with music, art, books, and other forms of media, my taste is quite diverse. While I can appreciate a simple dress watch, I enjoy a complex, eccentric design just as much.
One thing I always look for, though, is balance. The case, dial, and hands need to be perfectly proportioned. Once you get the fundamentals right, there is almost no limit to what you can do creatively. While there are many great classic designs, it’s often the ones with a touch of oddness that really stand out and make you pause. That being said, I don’t believe in making things different or weird just for the sake of being different. Even those peculiar design choices need to be purposeful and serve the design as a whole.
I’m inspired by people who pursue their passion and unapologetically do their own thing, regardless of their medium. From the horological world, Kari Voutilainen is definitely a big inspiration. Coming from the same watchmaking school, he has shown Finnish students that the sky is the limit when it comes to what a Finnish watchmaker can achieve. Outside the horological world, some of the people who inspire me are legendary musicians such as Steve Vai and great artists like Paul Cézanne.
You studied watchmaking in Finland and graduated in 2018. Then what did you do?
Making watches under my own name was the only reason I applied to the Finnish School of Watchmaking. I had no plan B. Going out on my own gives me the freedom to carry out my vision without compromise. After graduating, I started expanding my skill set and developing the first prototypes of the watch I had originally planned.
Your debut watch was the N1. What’s the philosophy behind it?
The driving philosophy behind the N1 was simply to make a watch by hand and put my own name on the dial. The N1 was also built around two specific features: a moonphase and a German silver three-quarter plate bridge.
The moonphase has always been my favourite complication. There is something mystical and inspiring about the moon. Even before I started my studies at the Finnish School of Watchmaking, I knew that I wanted a three-quarter plate bridge in my watch. And specifically, the ratchet wheel had to be hidden under the bridge. At the time, I really liked the clean interpretation of the three-quarter plate bridge used by A. Lange & Söhne, and that’s definitely where the inspiration came from. Everything else was built around these two features. In retrospect, I can easily say that the biggest driving force was borderline dumb stubbornness. Sometimes it pays off.
What was the biggest challenge in creating that watch?
The biggest challenges were limited resources. While the school gave me an excellent foundation, I had no experience in making a watch completely from scratch. My workshop was also very modest, and I ended up doing many things by hand that would normally be machined.
At the same time, I still had to make a living. These are challenges many aspiring watchmakers face, and in many ways, it is part of the process. Looking back, creating the N1 was like attending a second watchmaking school.
The next step was the N2. How does it compare to the N1? What changed from one to the other?
The biggest changes were the size and the case material. I wanted to make a classic dress watch in a 37mm gold case. Even though the two watches share a similar classic design, the smaller gold case and the small seconds subdial make a big difference. The philosophy behind the manufacturing process, however, remains the same.
Why did you choose a vintage Longines 30L calibre as the base movement?
As I mentioned, I wanted to make a classic dress watch, and the ETA 6498 used as the base movement in the N1 was simply too large. I wanted a hand-wound movement, and there really aren’t that many suitable options among modern movements. An in-house calibre was out of the question at this point.
The first iteration of the N2 was actually two unique pieces I made for my parents. After they got married, they bought a pair of matching Longines watches, so I felt a Longines movement would be a meaningful choice. That’s when I discovered the calibre Longines 30L. It’s perfectly sized and, overall, a high-quality movement with a beautifully balanced layout.
You do a lot of work in your own atelier. Can you tell us more about that?
From the beginning, I wanted to make watches, not just design them. I enjoy working with simple tools and making things the old-fashioned way. Obviously, I don’t make everything in-house, but I still spend over 100 hours on each watch. Almost the entire case, the hands, and the dials are made in-house, with a few exceptions. For example, the applied Arabic numerals come from a dial factory in Switzerland. However, all movement finishing is done by me as well.
I share a workshop with Pietari Kupias and Reima Koivukoski, which creates a nice synergy, as we can subcontract work to one another but also share and discuss ideas. I’m constantly learning new skills and applying them in prototypes. In the future, I aspire to become even more self-sufficient.
You’re about to launch your next watch, an evolution of the N1. Can you give us a little hint as to what’s coming?
Let’s just say that it gives you the best of both worlds, from the N1 and N2. So with a little bit of imagination, you might be able to deduce what it will be.
Looking a bit further ahead, what do you hope to achieve with your own atelier?
I will continue pursuing my dream of creating unique and limited-production timepieces that reflect my vision of what is beautiful and purposeful. If I can craft watches that I’m proud of and bring a smile to people’s faces when they wear them, I will have achieved more than I ever imagined. Design-wise, I also want to explore the more creative and artistic side of watchmaking, with something completely new planned for later this year.
In the future, I hope to give back to the community by supporting young aspiring watchmakers. With my experience gained through trial and error, I may be able to help someone avoid some of the common pitfalls along the way.
How can people get in touch to learn more or potentially purchase a watch?
People can always send me an email, use the contact form on my website or DM on Instagram.
For more information, please visit JuhaEskola.com.
