The dials in these series are fitted with a one-piece rehaut style ring (in gold for instance on the Winter Nights) that serves as the hour markers. The tribal blade-style hands match the aesthetic very nicely. The GoS logo is placed at 6 o’clock, and thankfully does spin, serving as the seconds hand for the time. When we first talked about GoS years ago we said that the brand had a very heavy metal aesthetic. It turned out both Gustafsson and Sjogren were heavy metal fans. Thankfully, none of that has changed, and the semi-goth medieval look of the designs still define the GoS watch collections.

One thing that is important to say is that prices for GoS watches have really climbed over the last few years. At first I complained about this, and while price increases are never fun for consumers, there is a good reason. First of all there is the increased amount of hand-made Damascus steel in each of the watches – which are still produced in limited editions of typically just 10 or more pieces. Then there is the matter of the new in-house movement that was produced as a collaboration between Patrick Sjogren and well-known watch maker Martin Braun (now of high-end brand Antoine Martin). That is something for watch lovers to be excited about.

Of course the most important aspect of the new movement was for it to include a large 3/4 Damascus steel plate on the rear of the watch. Sure enough it does. You also have the GoS logo again placed on the mainspring barrel, and a power reserve indicator. I always like a power reserve indicator with a manually wound movement, and it is great to see one here. The movement is called the GoS Caliber 1, and operates at a relatively slow 18,000 bph with a 72 hour power reserve. Martin Braun has this thing for slow beat movements right now, but he does focus on accuracy by using a silicon anchor and escapement.

You’ll notice that the Caliber 1 features a free-sprung balance wheel as well. From a decorative standpoint there is a lot of hand polishing and beveling. GoS also has the ability to customize each of the movements with a different style of Damascus steel. As it stands, no two movements will be alike because the grain pattern on the metal is totally organic, based on how it was individually made and hammered. Getting a combination of GoS aesthetics with Martin Braun engineering is really something special that no one else even comes close to offering. In the scheme of “wow”, unique watches items from Gustafsson & Sjogren are certainly on the list. Once again, we absolutely adore these. Price is $19,000. goswatches.com