Hands-on: Voutilainen x Leijona Heritage

Photo: Ola Jacobsen & Staffan Danielsson

The Finnish watch brand Leijona was founded as early as 1907 and vintage examples of watches with the characteristic logo featuring the lion bearing a shield turn up at regular intervals on enthusiast forums and auctions. But the brand is still going strong and has released what they call a Heritage Collection in collaboration with the well-known independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen. Eqotime has taken a closer look at a few watches from the collection signed Voutilainen x Leijona.

Many Swedish watch enthusiasts have come across the Finnish watch brand Leijona. A brand that got some sort of start during the early 1900s when the watchmaker Johan Werner Lindroos began importing pocket watches to Finland. Lindroos's business was taken over in 1919 by the three brothers Jalo, Urho and Oiva Perkko who the year before had started up a business under the company name Perkko Ltd. The three brothers developed the Leijona brand further and released a large number of wristwatches over the following decades. Leijona became one of Finland's strongest brands and the logo with the stylized lion on the dials sat, so to speak, if not on every man, woman and child's wrist then on many.

A few years ago Leijona was relaunched by Perkko Ltd in collaboration with the well-known independent watchmaker Kari Voutilainen. The result has become a number of models that tie in to Leijona's historical heritage and which are all produced in Val-de-Travers, Switzerland. Eqotime has had the opportunity to test and photograph a number of the models Urho Chrono, Jalo Sport and the latest addition Försti Diver.

Urho Chrono

Urho Chrono is a hefty chronograph with an automatic movement from Sellita (SW510). The chronograph is of the bi-compax type and the watch has lovely inspiration from the racing chronographs of the 60s and 70s. It comes in three dial variants; black, white panda or blue. The case is 42 mm and the watch is water resistant to 10ATM.

The model we tested is the white panda variant and it gives a very substantial impression. It's a hefty piece and it wears almost bigger on the wrist than the spec says. The build quality feels very solid and the watch sits comfortably on the arm.

On the plus side, in addition to the design, is the fine build quality. The watch feels very solid and well-crafted in a way that isn't always found among smaller manufacturers. It's clearly a fun alternative for the chronograph-hungry. Especially if you have a soft spot for retro-scented chronograph design.

On the minus side is probably that the finishing of the movement doesn't feel as clear as one might have wished for from a watch with a display back. The movement feels quite "raw" visually and perhaps a solid back would have felt better.

List price: 4990 euro.

Jalo Sport

Jalo Sport is yet another retro-scented model. Though updated in size compared to similar watches from the 60s and 70s. The inspiration is drawn from older Leijona models and this model also houses a Sellita movement (SW200-1). The watch has a lovely blue dial (Royal Blue) and is water resistant to 10ATM.

Jalo Sport is really robust, the case is manufactured by Voutilainen & Cattin SA and feels really well-crafted. A somewhat special watch that maybe isn't for everyone. But if you're into the slightly heftier sports watches and have a wrist big enough to carry them off, then Jalo Sport could certainly be a fun alternative.

The list price is set at 2590 Euro

Försti Diver

Leijona's latest addition is the diver's watch Försti Diver. This is a really nice diver. The base version has a black dial, red and black bezel and a soft case in steel with sapphire crystal and screw-down crown. It also comes with an extra solid-colored, black, bezel. The size is a sympathetic 41mm and the watch comes both on link and on rubber strap. Inside spins an automatic movement from Selitta and the creation is water resistant to 20 ATM.

In addition to the version in black and red, there also comes a limited variant with a galvanized (perhaps best described as white) dial, blue bezel and an extra two-colored bezel. This one is limited to 50 pieces and is released together with the base version in nine Finnish watch shops and had its sales start at the end of last year.

Försti Diver too feels substantial and well-built. Even though it can feel a bit too anonymous at first, it has something that gives it its own character. Perhaps it's the soft feel of the case that gives it a bit of a special feeling. It reminds a little of the classic monnin cases that among other things sat on Heuer's divers, and that is said as a very positive comparison. Regardless, it sits very comfortably on the arm whether it's on link or rubber strap.

The price for both variants is set at 4490 euro.

General reflections

There isn't much else to say than that the watches from Leijona are really nice. The build quality feels impeccable and it's fun with the clear identity in the brand. Leijona is a strong brand not only in Finland. Even in Sweden there are relatively plenty of vintage models to fish up on for example Tradera. That the brand is now getting a little revival and moreover in collaboration with Kari Voutilainen feels very fun. As mentioned, we experience the build quality as very fine and even though the design feels fairly clean and doesn't offer any big surprises, the watches feel very nice. The fits to the older models from Leijona also feel nice.

What we might miss, however, is perhaps a clearer connection to Kari Voutilainen. The quality is there but we would probably call for a slightly clearer connection to Voutilainen beyond just the name and the sense of quality. Maybe an engraved rotor or some other detail could be what's possibly missing? Especially also considering the relatively high list prices set. It's a tough price segment with fierce competition. Regardless of this, it's hard not to like the watches, and it's exciting with yet another player with a clear Nordic identity that gives us incurable watch nerds even more lovely watches to choose from.