Levenaig is a watch brand out of the ordinary, manufacturing (by hand). The brand’s timepieces are often steeped in a distinctive nautical theme which is further enhanced by the choice of materials – bronze, brass, titanium, stainless steel and aluminium.
Levenaig’s philosophy is just as much about HOW as WHAT. There are many watch brands out there, but only few of them have an authentic image/identity based on their background and stay true to it.
“Taking Scandinavian watchmaking to the next level”
“The old stone bridge in Uaininynglen” (Levenaig, 2013)
It began with music…
Having never owned a “proper” watch, I decided to buy one. And I knew what I was looking for. The year was 2013 and searched the internet for this beautiful watch. But it became clear that it did not exist.
Luckily, a friend of mine came up with a great idea: to buy a mechanical movement and make the rest of the watch myself. And so I did.
Perhaps I should point out that I already had a long experience when it came to manufacturing techniques, technology and operating machines (my father started teaching me these things when I was six years old) so the idea was not that far-fetched. Thus is was that my first proper watch was made. Out old junk, basically (a scrapped bronze propeller sleeve for the case, an IKEA photo frame became the crystals, etc.). But the watch did not have a name. Not yet.
Designing and making the watch had been such fun that I soon started work on the second watch. But now I needed a brand name. Something different. Something unique.
What About the Name?
This is where we turn back the clocks… …back to about 2010, when I wrote and recorded a double album of mostly instrumental music that was the soundtrack for a story a had mapped out in my head. Once the album was finished, I decided to turn this story into a novel which saw the light of day in 2013. Its title was LEVENAIG.
Since that then, every new watch model is named after a place or a character in the novel that in one way or another is linked to the watch, for instance as a source of inspiration.
– Holme Finnilä, Founder
“The seabed off Strandalun” (Levenaig, 2013)
“The old red boatyard from the 1920s housed the most incredible machine shop. Traces of it can still be found in my own workshop.”
– Holme Finnilä
“Once my home… Living on an island without ferry connections teaches one a thing or two about patience, resilience and ambition.”
– Holme Finnilä
About Me, Holme Finnilä
Born and Raised by the Sea
I had the fortune to, more or less, grow up in my father’s work-/machine shop where I very early on learned a lot about manufacturing techniques and product development.
And, yes, as some of the pictures here hint, I come from an island where we became very used to driving our own boats to wherever we had to go. Even to school. There might be more seawater than blood in my veins 😉
Later I ended up as a Design Engineer focusing mainly on different disciplines within ship design, and on mechanical engineering.
Ambition or Madness?
I am not exactly known for choosing the easiest path. Let me give you some examples.
When I decided to learn to play guitar, I first built the instrument myself and then practiced as much as I could.
When I cycled from my home in Sweden to southern Germany (some 150 km per day), I did so in my everyday clothes and a cheap helmet.
Do you spot the pattern?
And when I wanted a certain watch… …I ended up making it myself.
The thing is that skills, experience and the best anecdotes cannot be bought. You need patience, ambition and a strong will to obtain these things. The difficult path is usually where you learn the most.
– Holme Finnilä
The Finnilä Way
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