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Less than a decade ago, Henrik Rye was still looking for his career niche. Having studied finance at the U.K’s Southampton University, the Norwegian had tried his hand at everything from banking to working for a food start-up in Los Angeles before settling in to flogging a diverse range of excess stock goods that included umbrellas, coffee, footwear and hunting kit.
But it was a move to Sagane, in old Oslo, that led him to his true vocation after he rented a tiny space at the back of a traditional watch and clock shop. “The watch maker is a man called Erik Sutterud, and he’s a really old-school guy,” explains Rye, 38. “He has jazz music playing all day, he holds cigar nights, everyone wants to come in to talk to him. It has made the place a sort of social hub where people just drop-by and chat.
“One day in 2019 I was sitting in my little space behind a curtain and I heard someone asking Erik if he could make a small series of watches for an elite military unit.” It was then that Rye’s ears pricked-up. He had established some useful connections in the Swiss watch business as a result of selling low-value, excess-stock timepieces, so he emerged from behind the curtain and joined the conversation.
Rye quickly hit it off with the visitor – who asks to be known only as ‘Martin’ – and a couple of months later they had organised the design, creation, and production of 200 watches custom-made for the Norwegian military’s special operations division. It led to the pair co-founding Micromilspec, which has since established an international reputation as the go-to maker of bespoke, fit-for-purpose watches for army, navy, and air-force units, and emergency services personnel.
Just four days after the official founding of the company on May 29, 2019, Micromilspec was asked to create 330 watches for the search-and-rescue squadron of the Royal Norwegian Air Force, which last commissioned a timepiece in 1972 – from Heuer. “The Heuer connection set the bar high for us, but we must have done something right because, after that, it was as if the company had been picked up by a whirlwind – now we take on a couple of military projects per month, making around 100 – 200 watches for each one,” says Rye.
After little more than five years in the business, the roster of clients that have turned to Micromilspec to produce custom-made watches incorporating their insignia, symbols, emblems, mottos or other specific tropes has come to read like a “who’s who” of the world’s elite operating units. Among the list you’ll find the French Special Forces, America’s Asymetric Warfare Group, the Swedish Paratroop regiment, and the 335 Hercules Squadron.
“The process starts with a basic brief from the representative of the relevant unit, after which our lead designer, Trym Horgen, and the technical development team create a hyper-realistic sample based on the initial idea and our own research,” explains Rye. The design process is provided free-of-charge, with the finalised version being made available for pre-purchase with a price tag in the €1,900 – 2,000 range (although Micromilspec has made an exceptional, unique piece that cost its client nearer €30,000). For a limited time each year, meanwhile, production focus shifts from making custom military pieces to what Micromilspec calls its “annual collection” of watches, limited-edition models that are available for civilian purchase. Often based on previous commissions. But almost always with the special, identifying features removed, annual-collection models typically cost a little more than those supplied to military units, but still represent surprising value for money. A good example is the recently launched Milgraph that is based on a piece originally developed for a special forces unit, features a left-hand crown to reduce the risk of wrist injury, Micromilspec’s own QuadGrip bezel that’s easy to use when kitted up and a red-alert crown marking to warn if it isn’t screwed down.
The 42mm titanium case is water resistant to 100 metres, and the watch is fitted with a tough, integrated rubber strap. As with all Micromilspec watches, the Milgraph uses a Swiss-made movement (in this instance by La Joux Perret, although other models use Vaucher and Sellita mechanisms). Just 50 examples of the £2,900 watch will be available per year, with other annual production models starting at £1,375 for the minimalist Field-testing Unit.
