Fullerö Sword - Midnight blue

The new GoS collection honors the skills of master craftsmen of bygone times by adapting the patternwelding in the blade of the worlds best-preserved Viking sword to the size of a watch dial.

The sword in question is known as the Fullerö Sword among bladesmiths who´ve admired the work ever since it was excavated in Fullerö, north of Uppsala Sweden, 1969. Swedish master bladesmith, Conny Persson has skilfully created a hand forged Damascus steel dial, emulating the Viking sword’s pattern-welded core. Back in the day, the makers of these swords combined two different types of steel. Initially, rods of forged steel, comprising 7 – 9 layers formed of the two types of steel, were twisted around their axis. Thereafter, two or three of these rods were forged together, with the harder steel used for the edges of the blade.

Conny has made the dial of the Fullerö Sword using the same technique, albeit using modern steel and adding a thin layer of nickel in between each layer to enhance the dial’s appearance. Initially, the Swedish master bladesmith sought to forge 4 rods together, repeating the arrangement used for the historic sword; however, with experimentation both Patrik and Conny chose to go further. They agreed that by creating 17 layers in every rod they could produce a pattern better suited to the proportions of a watch dial, culminating in a richly textured dial surface. Patrik Sjögren then applies a combination of traditional finishing techniques from both knifemaking and watchmaking to achieve the relief effect of the details and finish with heat tempering the whole dial to a combined black and blue result. 

This model is the first watch in a new collection, named Völund after the famous Norse blacksmith. This collection will feature all future GoS watches with Damascus steel dials. We’ve continued to explore the use of sapphire crystal for index elements and developed a thin ring that enhances focus on the dial while improving the legibility of the hour and minute markers. Additionally, there is a bespoke Super-LumiNova element that shines from behind the sapphire ring in the color of glowing steel, reminiscent of steel ready to be forged.