New: Sarpaneva x Näkki Blue Moon

Sarpaneva takes inspiration from a legendary Scandinavian/Germanic beast known as Näkki by integrating the motif into his Blue Moon collection.

Press release information with commentary in italics.

New: Sarpaneva x Näkki Blue Moon

The Sarpaneva x Näkki Blue Moon will retail at SGD 33,000 inclusive of GST. This is a special edition for The Hour Glass, and a limited edition of 30 pieces.

Commentary

Stepan Sarpaneva continues to play with the success of his Moon phase watch with yet another extension, this time working again with Finnish artist Ville Tietäväinen who was also responsible for Nocturne.

This also not the first time Stepan has worked on the Näkki theme. Two other models have been released previously, one simply named Näkki, and the other Näkki Harvest Moon which is the same watch, but with the Moon on the moon phase disc glow white and orange in lume mode instead of blue on this novelty.

Compared to white in the Näkki and Orange in the Näkki Harvest Moon.

The other difference for this edition for The Hour Glass is the Sarpaneva moon motif on the case back features blue eyes, while the standard Näkki and the Näkki Harvest Moon has reddish orange eyes.

The movement and case in all the Näkki also standard across all models. This Hour Glass Blue Moon Edition brings the total Näkki watches to 90 pieces with each of the three models being limited editions of 30 each. The pricing remains the same across the entire Näkki range at EUR 21k before taxes.

Release details

“ONCE IN A BLUE MOON”

Sarpaneva has taken inspiration from a legendary beast of Scandinavian and Germanic culture, a ferocious and elusive creature known as Näkki. “Under the cloak of moonless nights, it would emerge from the shadows, ensnaring the lamenting village women and drawing them into its watery domain. ” Näkki or Nixie creatures are humanoid, and often shapeshifting water spirits.

“One fateful night, Näkki found itself entangled in the silvery bridge cast by the full moon, unable to escape its grasp. As the night wore on, its skin began to desiccate, and its eyes grew dim. With the dawning of the sun’s first rays, the bridge dissolved, and Näkki let out a soundless cry as it sank into the abyssal depths of the bog. Since that moment, Näkki has vanished from those waters. Some believe it met its demise, while others conjecture that it gathers newfound strength in the unfathomable darkness,” is the story that the dial of this new watch tells. ” Contemplating why the moon had turned blue proved fruitless, for as its cerulean light pierced Näkki’s being, it realized it had fallen victim to an astronomical betrayal.

This occurrence was of exceptional rarity that it gave birth to the adage “Once In a Blue Moon”.

The design of the watch’s dial is inspired by the Finnish mythology of the Näkki, reproduces an illustration by Ville Tietäväinen, a Finnish comic book artist who was also responsible for last year’s Nocturne.

It depicts a Näkki rising out of the marshes at night with the Sarpaneva moon “face” above.

This automatic self-winding wristwatch features a classic Sarpaneva case with its scalloped sides and crown at 4 o’clock, measures at 42mm x 11.4mm x 46mm and is made in high-grade Outokumpu stainless steel from Finland with multi-layer succession of fully opened steel plates with no fewer than 650 cutouts.

The lower plate has been hand-painted with a total 15 different colours, revealed by the dial’s cutouts… And they’ve been painted using Swiss Super-Luminova® colours These have two objectives. One, telling the story during the day, in a relatively discreet way, by revealing a nature morte of a swamp, a Moonface and, hardly visible on the right side (it’s a norctunal creature after all), Näkki.

The back of the watch reveals a modified Soprod A10 calibre, a classic automatic movement now fitted with a moon phase complication and decorated by hand with perlage, rhodium-plated parts and a partially lumed stainless steel winding mass with Sarpaneva Moonface.

Sarpaneva x Näkki Blue Moon Specifications

Movement

• Modified Swiss made Soprod A10 calibre, 11.5 lines, 28,800 vph (4 Hz), in-house phases of the moon complication

• Mechanical automatic self-winding

• Hours, minutes, phases of the moon (29.5 days)

• 25 jewels

• 42-hour power reserve

• Rhodium-plated, perlage finishing

• Stainless steel winding mass with Sarpaneva Moonface ( partially handlumed ), white gold weights

Case

• Sarpaneva case in high-grade Outokumpu stainless steel from Finland (SUPRA 316L/4435)

• Case size: 42 mm

• Case thickness: 11.4 mm

• Lug to lug length: 46 mm

• Front and back sapphire crystals with multi anti-reflective coating on the inside

• Double secured, water-resistant screw-down crown at 4 o’clock

• Water-resistant to 10 ATM

Dial & Hands

• 7-part stainless steel, hand-finished, hand-painted with Swiss Super-Luminova®

• Hand-finished stainless steel index ring

• Total of 15 different Swiss Super-Luminova® colours

• Two-tone hands in Blue with Swiss Super-Luminova®

• 650+ openings

• Moonface diameter: 11.8 mm