Is it an alarm clock that is required for a good night's sleep?

Alarm clocks, travel clocks and table clocks have been something of a talking point among watch enthusiasts this autumn. It is a type of clock that can be focused on technology as well as design and the variation is great. Here there is everything from traditional manufacturers such as JLC where we find both newer table clocks and nice vintage travel clocks with an alarm. From newer manufacturers such as QlockTwo we find considerably more updated variants of wall and table clocks. But we also find newly produced travel clocks in the old style. Of the latter, Hodinkee’s newly produced alarm clock is perhaps the most written about.

At Eqotime we have a soft spot for this type of clock. And now a Swedish player has turned up offering well-designed alarm clocks. We have taken a look at the Swedish Båge & Söner.

Swedish design

Båge & Söner Table Alarm Clock is a Swedish-made and self-designed alarm clock where in the production they work with a craft tradition taken from the world's foremost watch houses. In their own atelier in Stockholm they handle both the design and the assembly of their alarm clocks. The starting point is to create a beautiful interior detail as a genuinely made alarm clock that can actually contribute to an undisturbed night of good sleep.

– Everyone feels better for a good night's sleep, says the founder and CEO Lisen Båge. For many years I have been frustrated at sharing a bedroom with a load of digital screens and started looking for an alternative to the mobile phone for getting the family up in the morning. When I was looking for alarm clocks I did not think there were any that met my demands on aesthetics and function. So I decided to develop an alarm clock of my own.

The level of ambition was high and the goal was to try to develop the world's finest alarm clock. Lisen began the work together with the watch expert Federico Casado. Federico has long industry experience and has, among other things, podcasted with Urbildningsradions own Denke in the now departed watch podcast Klocksnack – tillsammans med Nymans Ur.

Clock case in brass

Federico's assignment became to design and find manufacturers of components for the Båge & Söner Table Alarm Clock. The result was an alarm clock with a mixture of traditional craftsmanship and new technology.

– The movement is a relatively simple quartz movement, but it is a deliberate choice we have made since it gives operational reliability and high precision, Federico tells us.

The clock's other parts are however anything but simple. Apart from a clock case in brass, each clock is clad in leather from the Swedish Tärnsjö. And the dial is thoroughly worked through to say the least.

– We apply the indexes and numerals by hand and the hands are delicately shaped to frame the hour and minute markings in a clear way, says Federico.

The dial is also beautifully decorated with different patterns.

– We use a geometric tapisserie pattern in the alarm zone on the white and blue dial, Federico continues. On the green and rhodium grey dial the alarm zone has a sunray pattern of shifting lines that, just like sunbeams, cut each other at the same central midpoint.

Successful launch

The first examples of the Båge & Söner Table Alarm Clock sold out quickly already at the launch and now production is going at full speed in order to be able to deliver more clocks in January.

– The response has been really good, Federico tells us. We sold out the first edition of the clocks in a week and now production is going at full speed. We are of course super happy about the fine response. There really is a need to fill and we are in full swing not only producing more clocks but also working out more and even better products for 2021!

The Båge & Söner Table Alarm Clock currently comes in four different colourways and has a list price of 3695 SEK.