Nordic Watches 5 years

I lived my childhood dream and got to play football professionally. My hobby of watches had come into the picture a few years earlier when I got excited about it with the Leijona quartz watch I inherited from my grandfather.

In the spring 2020, we were laid off due to the corona virus and I was left with nothing. I had been thinking for some time that it would be really interesting to work with watches and now an opportunity opened up when I had more time available. I started the business and got to work. I am a third-generation entrepreneur and although I have followed it from the sidelines since I was a child and have seen the pros and cons, responsibilities and obligations of entrepreneurship, at the beginning everything was still a learning curve, I didn't know how to photograph them or edit, use an online store and accounting and other things related to entrepreneurship felt foreign and difficult.

However, thanks to the help of my family and personal persistent learning, I developed all the time and gradually got up to speed. After a few months, I returned to football and Nordic Watches remained on the sidelines as a hobby. I worked on weekdays after training, on buses and in hotels during away games, and it helped to get my mind off things. After a few years, football started to lose its fun and it became a compulsive chore. In the background, Nordic Watches had already grown a bit, the successes fed my hunger and I started dreaming of watches as a day job. In early 2022, I took a conscious risk, quit football and became a full-time watch dealer.

I felt that there was no dealer on the market that focused on more affordable vintage watches, so I decided to fill the void and create something unique.

The main idea behind Nordic Watches from the beginning has been that I want to offer a service that I would want to use myself. I felt that there was no dealer on the market that focused on more affordable vintage watches, so I decided to fill the void and create something unique. I wanted to offer watches to as many people as possible, no matter what the price range. I started the business with very small capital, so it was partly dictated by circumstances, but even though Nordic Watches has grown to this day and the selection also includes more valuable watches, the plan has not changed at all and we still have watches ranging from a few euros up to several thousand euros.

(The quality of the photos has improved quite a bit in five years, even though the equipment is still among the most affordable out there.)

From the very beginning, we have been doing business with both Finnish and foreign customers, and the numbers have grown steadily.

From the beginning, my goal has been to make Nordic Watches an international brand. Finland is a small country and the opportunities abroad, especially in the field of vintage watches, are significantly greater. From the very beginning, we have been doing business with both Finnish and foreign customers and the numbers have grown steadily. At the end of 2023, I converted Nordic Watches into a limited liability company and got some help to the background. In March 2024, we opened our new and updated online store, which in addition to watches also has boxes, bracelets, tools and all sorts of other interesting watch-related items. Updating the online store and investing in it and other activities has significantly increased the number of foreign customers and today, sold watches are almost equally divided between Finland and foreign countries. I am pleased to say that we currently have customers in about 40 different countries all over the world.

(In addition to other items, various watch boxes in particular have accumulated and are still accumulating in stock. The photo shows only a small part of the watch boxes for sale in the online store.)

In May 2024 and 2025, we also organized our own Helsinki Vintage Watches event, which will continue in the future.

In 2024, we started attending more events. We traveled around Finland to sell at various vintage and collectible events and also participated in watch industry events. We attended about a dozen events, including the traditional Billnäs Antique Days, the Watchmaker School's Kellokirppis and the Kellojen Yö. In April 2025, we also attended the Rikketik event in Netherlands for the first time abroad, which was a great experience in terms of both sales and experience and creating contacts. In the future, we plan to attend the event more often, about 2-3 times a year, and we also want to explore other watch events organized in Europe. In May 2024 and 2025, we also organized our own Helsinki Vintage Watches event, which will continue in the future. There is clearly a demand for events focusing on vintage watches in Finland, which is reflected in the large number of visitors in the event organized by us and the Watchmaker School every March.

(Our first trip to Rikketik was an eye-opening experience.)

Visitors to different events are also different and are interested in different products, so the products to be sold must be adapted to each event to suit it.

Even though going to events is now quite natural and routine, there was still a lot to learn at the beginning. Setting up the sales table, safely transporting watches and other goods, and arranging payment methods for face to face sales required a lot of learning. Visitors to different events are also different and are interested in different products, so the products to be sold must be adapted to each event to suit it. This was also learned the hard way, but fortunately it works well today. I start preparing products for each event well in advance so that there are plenty of products of interest to visitors at the sales table at the event itself. Although I have always enjoyed going to events, I was still very nervous about the first few events. Nowadays, I look forward to them and don't stress about them so much.

(The annual Kellokirppis organized by the Watchmaker School is always one of the highlights of the year.)

Although many of my future dreams and goals for Nordic Watches are somehow related to foreign countries, I still have no intention of forgetting the domestic market. I want to continue to be a spokesperson for vintage watches, inspire new people to this great hobby, and advise and help even experienced enthusiasts. We have great news coming this year regarding the building and development of vintage watch culture, so stay tuned!

Time flies when you have fun and you get to do meaningful and enjoyable work with nice people. The first five years went by quickly and I can't wait to see what the next few years will bring.

Thank you to all new and old customers, partners and everyone else I have had the opportunity to work with, without you Nordic Watches would not exist.