Reima Koivukoski
Escape Wheel & Pallet Fork
Fabricating escape wheel and pallet fork utilising LiGa technology gives significant advancement in precision engineering.
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About: About
The story of Koivukoski
I started creating my own Koivukoski timepieces - elegant wrist watches as soon as I graduated from The Finnish School of Watchmaking.
Reima Koivukoski is a watchmaker based in Southern Finland in his hometown of Espoo. After attending the Finnish school watchmaking, he spent time in Austria working for Habring2 in micro machining. He then moved to Germany a few years to work in after sales repair and restoration - and leading teams. Lastly, he returned back to Espoo to start Koivukoski Watches and KronowerK where his focus is on watch design, manufacturing and prototyping.
Blog
Below You can find my blog where I am updating some interesting new projects and progress of them.
Patinated Escapement Model. One of the few students that completed escapement model during the school.
This escapement model will be shown in Finnish Watch museum (Suomen kello- ja korumuseo KRUUNU) in Espoo Finland in an exhibition starting 16th October 2024.
Watchmakers Note
It all starts from design idea - idea of the design that fulfills and exceeds demanding needs in our environment today. A unique combination of the latest technology available, easy to wear, easy to service and last but not least a piece of beauty that serves your eyes for decades.
Key core services and techniques developed over the years with a passion and love to mechanical wristwatches have been the drivers to create and release an elegant wristwatch dna baseline to follow.
As an example - inspiration in Wanderer family comes from a combination of technology and new way of life and at a same time design idea has a strong link back to decades. A real classic that combines old days glory in globetrotting & travelling and today's demands on internet era - meeting the past and future.
Details matters: A good example is blued hands - a watchmakers tradition found in the Swiss mountains. To find a way to prevent watch hands (which at that time were not water resistant) from corroding under the tough climate conditions, where the watchmakers invented the process of bluing. This expertise is utilized in our atelier in a unique way. Several detailed phases and techniques are required to achieve a final product.
Sustainability: Our products - mechanical wristwatches - are sustainable. This is easy to understand to anyone who imagines the mountains of batteries included in quartz watches that have to be disposed of every year. Mechanical wristwatches, on the other hand, are products for generations, if regularly serviced.
Our watches are reliable, durable and easy to wear - targeted for everyday life and making owners happy - a small luxury to wear day after day.
We provide two(2) years international warranty for all our manufactured products.
Materials
Stainless steel
We are using very high grade SAE 904L acid and corrosion resistance stainless steel in our watch cases. 904L gives better sheen in polishing and corrosion resistance compared 316L. In our hands we are able to give a superior finished surface and beautiful glare for the cases to wear in your wrist. The entire process is mastered in-house to fabricate high quality stainless steel watch components.
In my experience 904L grade steel stands out as superior material when it comes to achieving a flawless polish. Its consistent, resulting in a smooth, bright and reflective surface.
Stainless steel discs from where case is fabricated.
Tantalum
Why Tantalum? Because, in the end, the effort is more than worth it. Tantalum possesses a unique blue hue beneath its lustrous gray/silver overtones. Think “Winter is coming”, as The Ice King himself would wear a watch made of tantalum. This deep, icy-gray hue is entirely unique among metals in watchmaking; nothing comes close, not even titanium. What’s more, tantalum has incredible corrosion resistance and hypoallergenic properties, making it suitable for those with skin sensitivities.
See: https://www.fratellowatches.com/how-watches-work-what-is-tantalum/#gref
45 mm x 45 mm x 4 mm solid tantalum metal sheets to be turned to back bezel, central case and front bezel. Each sheet weights 138g approx. before hand fabrication process.
Titanium
Titanium ? Titanium was first discovered in 1791 by a priest and amateur chemist named William Gregor in Cornwall, England. He first called it Manaccanite. Four years later however it was independently discovered by a renowned German chemist by the name of Martin Heinrich Klaproth – who more adequately named the metal Titanium, also known as ‘the metal of the Gods’. Its name derives from the Titans of Greek mythology. Titanium has some unique properties that make it a perfect material for watch cases. Titanium is surprisingly lightweight, hypoallergenic and it doesn’t rust. Titanium is about three to four times stronger than stainless steel. While being stronger than stainless steel, is 45% lighter than steel. Titanium does not rust. Its natural coating of Titanium dioxide prevents oxidation in the atmosphere. Nor does corrosion occur when Titanium is exposed to acidic or alkaline conditions. Because of its properties Titanium watches will stay beautiful in any climate and won’t be affected by sweat. Unalloyed metals such as Titanium are the least likely metals to cause an allergic reaction and are therefore often used in medical implants.
Titanium sheet from where case, bezel or back bezel is fabricated.
Platinum
A Platinum watch? Rare and expensive, the most noble of the noble metals, platinum is reserved for the pinnacle of watchmaking. To be called platinum, the entire piece must be at least 95 percent platinum. The metal is widely celebrated for its luxurious luster, incredible corrosion resistance, and distinct heft on the wrist. At the same time, it takes a master metalsmith to finesse platinum into the perfectly polished and refined masterpieceI. Platinum is 11 per cent denser than gold. This density makes machining and polishing platinum more difficult, often requiring specially made tools.
Platinum granules from where process starts to fabricate precious wrist watch.
Gold
A Golden watch? In my opinion, there is no shortcut to make a high-class gold watch. In our atelier we use Daniels method to create elegant golden wrist watches.
24K pure gold is slightly reddish yellow and very soft. It is usually alloyed with other base metals for a diverse variety of uses. Considered to be the premium standard in watch and jewellery making, 18K gold (with at least 75% pure gold) provides the ultimate balance between purity and usefulness. Traditional 18K white gold is alloyed with palladium-copper and offers an excellent resistance to corrosion, while being highly bio-chemically inert. It provides a beautiful hue that suits wearers even with sensitive skin.
Gold granules from where golden Koivukoski wrist watch is started to create.
Montana sapphire
Sapphire is a hard and durable gemstone, and there are multiple colors available. The hardness of a sapphire is 9 on the Mohs scale and therefore sapphires are well suited to be used in jewelry.
Rock Creek sapphires are found in Montana, USA. Sapphires are separated by modern equipment in accordance with high nature conservation standards. The mine uses state-of-the-art equipment and, for example, its own water treatment plant, which recycles the same water several times. The stones are available without treatment, as well as with heat treatment. The heat treatment is also done in Montana, and no additional substances are used in the treatment, just heat. The heat treatment strengthens the colors, as well as melts any rutile inclusions, making the stones cleaner.
Beautiful blue hue. What makes Montana sapphires even more valuable to many people is the way they are ethically sourced and mined, with consideration for the environment and an easy to trace “mine to market”. Just as with other sapphires, a Montana sapphire’s value (and price) will depend on its color, clarity, cut, and carat weight.
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