Inside the Mind of a Luxury Watch Founder
A conversation with Magnus Svensson, co-founder of Stockholm luxury watch startup, Bravur
A CONVERSATION WITH BRAVUR
with Magnus Svensson, Co-Founder of Bravur
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WHEN IT COMES TO LUXURY BRANDS, the smart players realize that the quality of the product is just important as the experience associated with the brand. New Stockholm-based luxury watch company, Bravur (who is a client of mine, full disclosure), has taken that importance to heart.
In Bravur, industrial designers Magnus Svensson and Johan Sahlin are bridging the gap between Swedish design heritage and Swiss timepiece traditions, and both understand the necessity in starting out of the gates strongly as a new arrival in a competitive market. After a successful soft launch in July 2013, Bravur is very much on the right track, catching the attention of Barneys NY who is now stocking them in their New York, San Francisco, and L.A. flagships this season.
I sat down with Mr. Svensson to discuss why Bravur is the newest name on the rise in contemporary luxury watches.
“We wanted to create a consistent, contemporary design language, so we looked to art and other cultural movements to evoke a modern emotion.”
Magnus Svensson, Bravur Co-Founder
Paul Munford: Magnus, let’s start off with a quick overview about what you’re doing. What’s the best way to describe Bravur?
Magnus Svensson: We have an ethos: Swedish soul, Swiss heart. My co-founder, Johan Sahlin and I are creating Swedish-designed, Swiss-made luxury watches with a distinctly contemporary feel. We’re two friends from Stockholm, who noticed that a lot of watch brands weren’t really speaking to us as individuals. We’d been talking about going into business together for awhile, and this just made sense to us. Two years of product development later, and here we are!
“Swedish soul, Swiss heart.” To me, that really gets to the essence of what you’re doing here.
Yea, it’s the perfect way to describe what we consider to be the two best things about our watches: Swedish design traditions with Swiss watchmaking expertise. What that means is that we not only focus on the aesthetics of the design—because, as Swedes, we’re design driven—but it’s also very important that the technical quality is there too. We’re not looking to make a hollow fashion statement here, you know? We want to create watches that are high quality from front to back, inside and out.
It’s come together well so far. You’re bringing some strong features to the table in your own way, and you can definitely feel that.
Well, we wanted to create a consistent, contemporary design language, so we looked to art and other cultural movements to evoke a modern emotion.
To me, the watch has a strong Scandinavian mentality, which tends to shift towards minimalistic, non-superfluous detailing. If you look at the face of the watch, you’ll notice clean, simple lines that draw the eye to the legible design of the dial. It’s elegant and modern. We didn’t want telling time with our watch to be complicated, so the graphics are pared down to only what’s necessary. On the backside, we’ve added details like the etching of the Bravur logo and the product number, and on the sides of the watch case we’ve paid homage to the “ribbing” you find on classic film camera lenses. We’ve also paid attention to the quality of our straps to create a cohesive design scheme.
That said, you’ve got some serious competition. Uniform Wares, Shinola, and Officine Autodromo are new brands that are killing it right now. You all share similarities, but what makes Bravur different?
You’re right, it’s an exciting time to be a new watch brand. I think it’s the personal aspect about us that really sets us apart, though. Since we’re new and still very small, we want to make sure our customer feels the personal approach that we take at every step.
We design the prototypes ourselves in Sweden and they’re watches that we personally would want to wear. To make sure our customers experience that sentimentality that we as founders feel—and to make sure every watch meets our standards before going out—each watch includes an inspection card that Johan or I sign after personally inspecting the item ourselves. Is it necessary? No. But again, it helps to hammer home the fact that we take a very personal approach here.
I love our packaging too: the watch comes shipped in a matte black Bravur box, and a sleek, black leather Bravur zip case that’s versatile enough to be used as a small zip wallet if you’d like. The zipper of the case even matches the color of the watch, so if the watch is stainless steel, the zipper will be silver; if the watch is gold or graphite grey, the zipper will be gold or dark grey, respectively. So again the details are important, and we try to innovate in subtle little ways.
Yea, I think if there’s one word to describe it, it would be “personal.” It’s the small batch product numbering, the intricacies with the packaging, the story, the final inspection by you and Johan. A lot of brands don’t go that far.
Yea, exactly. I think that’s one of the main things we want to communicate, the fact that we go far in making sure it’s perfect in our eyes. That, and our Swedish heritage, which we think is another important thing has clout, especially in places like the US where Scandinavian design in the fashion world is becoming appreciated more. At the end of the day, we try not to take shortcuts, we really go all in to perfect the particular aesthetic and customer experience that we’re aiming for.
When you think of the Bravur customer, who is that person?
It’s definitely a person living in a larger, urban area. Maybe creative work, perhaps fashion or design of some sort, or someone with an entrepreneurial mindset. An individual who is always on the lookout for new brands, and always aiming to create a personal expression of the brands they’re wearing. So, instead of going for a safer brand like Rolex or Omega—which are great brands in their own right—they’re comfortable enough in their own style to wear a more obscure, lesser known brand. They’re looking for something that complements their personal style instead of overpowering or defining it. There’s an element of confidence and savviness there that we believe a Bravur customer has.
Lastly, talk about a few best sellers, and in wrapping this up, what’s your personal favorite?
The stainless steel version with the white dial and the Milanese mesh strap is definitely our biggest seller right now. The gold version with the black handmade Swedish leather strap is also a big one. My personal favorite if I had to choose would be the gold with the black strap that I’m wearing right now. There’s just something sharp and classical about it. It’s a winner for sure.
To see the rest of what Bravur has to offer, visit Bravurwatches.com.
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