“FOR THE LOVE OF WATCHES” 

The History of Innes & Iyer

Innes & Iyer AB, the small exclusive brand of Gothenburg, Sweden, has recently launched their “revived” line of wristwatches. Their watches are based on a 1970’s collaboration between Clockmaker John Innes and the company’s co-founder and creative force, Mr K R Stenström.

Here follows excerpts from an interview with Mr Stenström

BM: Congratulations! You are getting some great response for your line of watches. You guys must be over the moon now!

KRS: Absolutely! It really feels great to have been able to build on what John and I created in the 1970’s and adapt the watches to modern technology. Realising that all the work bringing together design, craftsmanship and quality into these small items make people feeling good about themselves when they wear them. It brings so much joy to us!

BM: People really take to your designs

KRS: Yeah. It’s marvellous that people really like our versions of Swedish Grace Design as much as we do ourselves. We believe that it's our design that matters and we have put a lot of professional effort into that. From the design philosophy of “Beauty in Everyday Life”, which was the motto of Swedish Grace Design, through the aesthetics all the way down to the nuts and bolts of the final products.

The quality is of course very important, too, so we use only the best quality, Swiss quartz movements, for example. And the craftsmanship is running in our veins, if you like, thanks to John.

“Our watches embody the Philosophy of Swedish Grace Design. Design that transcends fashion trends. Nothing more to add, really.”

BM: Tell me more about Swedish Grace Design and your take on it

KRS: Swedish Grace Design is based on Swedish Art Deco from the 1920's and 30's. The term "Swedish Grace" was coined by the British journalist Philip Morton Shand to describe the, as he wrote, “intriguingly simple yet refined elegance” of Swedish design during that golden and stylish era.

Have a look at the works by, for example, the famous silversmiths and designers Wiwen Nilsson and Folke Arström and you will understand from where we get most of our inspiration.

The Flautist Logotype by Swedish Grace Design

Our watches embody the Philosophy of Swedish Grace Design. Design that transcends fashion trends.Nothing more to add, really. Its set of values. Watches to be used in your day-to-day life. No need for anyone to go for more expensive stuff as we have made use to the fullest of the essence of Swedish Grace – the design characteristics and materials like Stainless Steel. Simple and  stylish.

So, when you put an Innes & Iyer watch on your wrist you know that, well, all is done that can be done. “You don’t have to covet thy neighbour’s goods”, so to speak. That gives you peace of mind – and THAT is truly a luxury in this day and age. Period.

BM: This time around you have also been able to keep the prices down…

KRS: Indeed (laughs). You have done your background-check well! Modern production and distribution methods make it all possible for us now. Much easier to create what we want using quartz movements. Still having all the technology and design quality a watch connoisseur could possibly want.

Also, selling exclusively through our own web-shop to the whole world is great as we can spread our costs on a somewhat larger sales volume than in the 70’s. We can now keep realistic prices. In effect, this makes our watches attainable to a wider, but still discerning, clientele. We just couldn’t do that in the old days.

Talking about prices, it is interesting to note that even as many Swedish Grace products was put on the market as low-cost products for everyday use, they now come with some pretty hefty price tags as (nearly) antiques. Perhaps something to bear in mind for our customers today!

"It all started off in the 1970's"

BM: Now, tell me a bit about how it all started.

KRS: Well, it all started off in the 1970’s when I, as a very, very, very young man, met John Innes right after he had opened his work-shop in my hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden. John was a Master Craftsman, a good guy, and a real character!

John Innes in his workshop (1973) at historic  Kronhusbodarna, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Courtesy: The City Museum of Gothenburg

I was then already a watch lover and knew all about Breguet (who hasn’t longed to be “A dandy on the boulevards with his Breguet”, by the way?), Patek Philippe, Jaeger le Coultre, Queen Elisabeth’s 1947 Vacheron Constantin and all the big names in classic watchmaking. My background, though, was essentially in Swedish textiles, fashion, and design as I was born into the textiles business and the “rag trade”.

What John taught me was the names and works of the great British clockmakers like Harrison, Dent, Mudge, Tompion and contemporaries like George Daniels, but also a lot out of his very own area of expertise, like escapes and tourbillons and complications and …. Well, just about everything I know, or at least have some understanding of, in this field.

 “A dandy on the boulevards ... , strolling at leisure until his Breguet, ever vigilant, reminds him it is midday."  Alexandr Pusjkin in Eugen Onegin

John and I instantly became friends (we quickly discovered that we were both “anti-austerity”!), and we realised that we had the same admiration of the classic, simplistic designs as well as the fascinating interiors of fine vintage timepieces. So, after a few spirited discussions we decided to start our own company making handmade, bespoke wrist watches for connoisseurs and collectors. All based on Swedish Grace Design, of course!

BM: You were the creative force of the two of you? 

KRS: Yeah, that was my area. John was the craftsman. What I brought to the table was an admiration of Swedish Grace Design PLUS some design and business ideas for watches.

I had it with me from my textiles and art background. Actually, one of my family’s companies that I was involved in at the time, in furniture fabrics, played an essential part of the giant IKEA’s successful move away from their old demure “continental-style” design into a new era of “light and blonde” Scandinavian design. A style that still prevails. No bad start in the design industry for a kid!

However, John liked my design ideas and with his expertise in minute metal work and a myriad of components from a variety of (today!) big brands, he set out to make some prototypes. I recall now that I funded these prototypes by winning rather big at the horse tracks!

BM: Did you start a production after you had these prototypes made?

KRS: We managed to produce 5 model prototypes (Round, rectangular, elliptic, a bold equilateral-square and a beautiful tonneau), all with a variety of clear and clean dials, hands, and crowns. Twelve of each under our proud brand name “J&K” (John & Kent, Göteborg). We intended to use them as, well, templates for bespoke watches but, to our great surprise, John managed to sell all sixty of the prototypes to some of his international collector customers! I recouped my money but (laughs) I do hope I will find some of them at an auction some day and be the highest bidder!

BM: And then it all went down the drain…

KRS: Yes, it ended abruptly, I’m afraid. Much due to the new quartz watch trend that, as you recall, ravaged the whole traditional watch industry – as watchmaking was based on the mechanical movements until then.

But to be honest, our productions became far too expensive, and we had a much too unknown brand to fetch the prices we had to achieve. In today’s money, at least USD 15 - 25 000 per watch to reach the quality thresholds we were aiming for in mechanical movements, glass and precious metals, wristband materials, etc, etc.

So sadly, after another one of our spirited discussions we decided to fold our fledgling business. When I look back, I feel that we were just a bit ahead of our time - by a few decades or so!

“... to start again.”

BM: Well, no shame on you two. Even the big names went south during the quartz crisis. Anyway, you decided to start all over again. Why and when?

KRS: John and I discussed starting over several times, but every time it came to nothing. John had moved back to the UK, and we were both into new strides of life. Not until a few years ago when I through a mutual friend, Ms Tanja Kisker, met another watch lover, Murali Iyer of India, did I feel the urge to start again.

For all those years I had brought with me my ideas and designs from my youth (and added a few new ones along the way) and I felt that now was the time to start a development process of the original classic, mechanical movement, watches. It was like a "now or never moment".

As a bonus, the fabulously strong and vibrant Indian colours and patterns came into our designs with Murali. You will find them in some of our, soon to come, collections.

BM: I understand that John was no longer with us at that time?

KRS: No, that is right. Sadly, by then John had passed away and I let the old brand “J & K Göteborg” quietly go to sleep and decided on a new brand name, “INNES & IYER” to mark the birth of a new company, Innes & Iyer AB. John’s views on craftsmanship and quality still has a huge impact on our thinking, though.

"... J & K, Göteborg" to "INNES & IYER"..."

BM: A bit more about your brand name, please.

KRS: It’s of course pretty self-explanatory; “INNES” is in honour of John and the past and the Old world. “IYER” is in expectation of the future, our entry on the global scene, and all models and variants that now will flow out of our workshop. That’s the way we view our brand name.

The Innes & Iyer Logotype with the Scottish Saltire as a tribute to John Innes' Scottish roots

BM: A lot of work starting up again, I imagine?

KRS: You bet! We are today twelve people involved in Innes & Iyer and I can tell you that we really have had our plate full! Having plenty of general business experience helped, of course but we really had to start the operations from scratch. Building a corporate “framework” if you like. Finding reliable manufacturing partners (we are outsourcing our production now) as part of a steady supply-chain, people who understand what “eco-friendly” means. Establishing quality control and reliable transportation. Of course, sustainability and ethics in the supply chain have top priority.

Apart from all that we have had to deal with establishing funding and financing, registration of trademarks, deciding on marketing and sales and so on and so forth. The painstaking work with our reference numbers nomenclature not to be forgotten - O.M.G.! I tell you, Blood, SWEAT and tears - but still very enjoyable! It is called Passion with a capital P, I believe!

I often get the feeling that I – who knew John at a personal level - am still around to remind all in the team that we mustn’t lose John’s spirit. A lot of hard work but also a lot of fun defined his life.

Anyway, our design process made all the hassles worthwhile. Working with the little canvas, if you like, that a wristwatch provides - where a millimetre or so can affect so much of the design - is just so fascinating.

It was sheer joy to go from the underlying philosophy, to conceptualisation, to sketches and prototypes (it is truly a unique feeling having the first pre-production piece in your hand. Feeling its weight) all the way to making our watches work IRL together with our manufacturing partners. Sheer joy. Again.

BM: Coming back to your re-introduced watch models, you decided to start out with the equilateral square shape. Why?

KRS: Frankly, it was just because we found it a bit boring to put another round watch on the market. Having said that, though, we shall introduce the modern, revamped. versions of the other of our 1970’s models in due course; the round, the rectangular, the ellipse and that beautiful tonneau I mentioned earlier. All slightly revamped to suit a modern customer - but with the same feel as the old ones, we hope. We have plenty of surprises for our customers still on the drawing-board. By the way, bringing together Swedish Grace Design, Craftsmanship and Quality, as we do, leads to products that go beyond fashion trends - uncomplicated and stylish but still having some "pizzazz". Here, at Innes & Iyer, we like to call it Class + Attitude.

"... we like to call it Class + Attitude."

BM: And, all your models are uni-sex?

Yes, as you have noticed, our watches are all uni-sex, and especially our square Ref. 1602 Mixed colours has been a hit with both women and men. There are no more definitive Ladies or Men sizes and styles. Women now often enjoy collecting and wearing big bulky vintage mechanical timepieces and men can wear small, exquisite quartz cocktail watches. Maybe it's really all about making a statement or perhaps projecting the real image of yourself to other people.

BM: What do you have in store for your customers?

KRS: New shapes and designs are planned to follow several times every year from now on. We will be delighted when we can introduce our Cocktail watch line. Truly “jewellery that tells the time”.

But there will also be introductions of intriguing graphic patterns as well as ornaments for some versions. Colours, too! And, come to think of it, a brand-new sports series! Don’t you worry, there will be plenty more to come from Innes & Iyer!

Work in progress in Innes & Iyer's design studio

BM: I am not worried! Any plans on a mechanical movement collection, like your 1970’s watches?

KRS:  Hmm, would love to do that but that is all in the future. Yeah, why not a hybrid, a meca-quartz? Watch and see!

BM: Sounds awesome. Great talking to you. Many thanks for sharing your thoughts and plans. I’d love to visit you a bit further down the road. Good luck!

KRS: Thank YOU! You're always welcome.