GoS introduces the Skadi – the Norse goddess of Winter. This new model combines black damascus steel with red gold and glacier-blue luminous Mother of Pearl to illustrate the landscape ruled by Skadi – the Winter Goddess in Norse Mythology.
Gustafsson & Sjögren, GoS Watches, is a partnership between the master bladesmith Johan Gustafsson and master watchmaker Patrik Sjögren. We carried a report on the extraordinary artisan works of the GoS brand, and were impressed with the detailing and the use of damascus steel in the watches. Here is our report on another model – the Sarek Akka.
Patrik wrote us to introduce a new limited edition (5 piece only) with a red gold and damascus steel case, an intriguing blue mother of pearl dial.
Press Release with some commentary
Skadi is pronounced Skah-dee and she personifies strength, courage, and endurance. Her most mentioned attributes are her bow and skis as she is very skilled at using them both to hunt and to engage in battle.
GoS hands and movement components in Johan Gustafsson’s damascus steel have been featured in previous GoS models but they are re-introduced with further refinement in Skadi .
The engraving on both case lugs and movement is done by master knifemaker Anders Hedlund, who also does the outstanding engraving work on another model, known as the Sarek Trollius. The gold casting is done by Dutch/Swedish gold smith Peter Dewit with the jewel setting is done by a Swedish master who was known as “one of the best” in Manhattan for the decade he worked there. The viking-inspired and elegant engraving is done by Anders Hedlund, who was involved in the development of the Sarek Trollius.
GoS developed the black damascus steel during 2018 and it was first introduced in the collaboration with Singer Reimagined and the unique piece Track1 Black Damascus for OnlyWatch 2019. A damascus steel pattern can become less visible when coated and the contrasts within the pattern is lost. However, the qualities of the industry strength PVD coating that GoS use beautifully show the contrasts of the pattern. The black polished elements of the patterned steel arew indeed deep black but also sparkle with light reflections.
The dial is made from white mother of pearl, which is both colored and backlit through clever use of modern Swiss Super-Luminova. This technique was developed by Patrik Sjögren during 2018 and was first introduced in Sarek Glacier during Baselworld 2019. The icy blue glow has a close resemblance to the light reflections in a snowy landscape during a moonlit night.
The collaboration with Master knifemaker Anders Hedlund continues as he engraves both the sides of the lugs with a viking knot pattern and the damascus steel bridges of the movement.
The movement bridges are manufactured from one solid piece of Johan Gustafsson’s artistic damascus steel. The finishing is done by Patrik Sjögren who has further refined the finishing from damscus steel movements GoS introduced in 2012. The goal is to achieve a maximum contrast of the damascus steel pattern and to combine that with high gloss polished bevels. Anders suggested to draw inspiration from Viking shield decoration and to fill the engraving with gold for maximum contrast to the damascus steel. During 2018, Anders Hedlund received “Best in Show” aw ard at the Solvang Invitational custom Knife show and also received the “Wooden Sword award” presented by the book “Knives 2018”. That award is widely regarded as being acknowledged as the worlds best knifemaker.
As we understand it, everything the entire watch, except for the crystal and movement internals, are made by the GoS team. And Patrik makes all the final manufacturing and finishing of all metal (gold and damascus steel) in the GoS workshop + the luminous mother-of-pearl dial.
GoS Skadi Technical Specifications
– Limited to 5pcs
● Case: 44.5mmx10mm (5ATM) ● Lug width: 22mm ● Glass: Flat sapphire glass with double sided AR coating, extra hard on outside
● Movement: Soprod Chronometre grade 6498 with screwed balance. Bridges made from one solid piece of damascus steel handforged by Johan Gustafsson.
● Dial: Three-layered dial with premium white mother-of-pearl on top and a thick layer of Swiss SuperLumiNova below for the best available afterglow and colored luminescence. The luminescent material is enclosed by a thin rhodinated brass plate with hand-soldered dial feet. The dials have a EU design protection and are manufactured and assembled by hand in the GoS workshop. ● bezel: Black damascus steel made from stainless damascus steel. ● Index ring/rehaut: Two layers combining previous GoS design with inspiration from viking bracelets. The upper ring and the GoS logo are gold plated. ● Hands: GoS spear shape in Johan Gustafsson´s handforged damascus steel. The hands have a high contrast finishing on the upper surface and handpolished bevels. ● Crown: GoS design in handsculpted stainless damascus steel with a large goldfitted blue sapphire 7.5mm in diameter and with double gaskets.
● Case: Case ring in black damascus steel made from stainless damascus steel provided by Swedish masters from Damasteel and reworked by GoS. Industry-strength PVD coating by ionbond Sweden, in Linköping. Case back, glass ring and lugs from 18k gold – all handmade in Linköping Sweden. ● Strap: Handcrafted and tapered 22-20mm strap in premium Moose leather, fitted with premium GoS 20mm Swiss made folding buckle 18k gold ● Limited edition to 5pcs and every watch is engraved X/5 to indicate number in sequence. ● Five year guarantee ● Delivered in presentation box in Swedish Walnut, handcrafted by Kanevad workshop in old Linköping
