JS Watch Co. Reykjavík

Founded in 2005 by a small group of watch collectors under master-watchmaker Gilbert Ó. Guðjónsson, JS Watch Company Reykjavík set out to become Iceland's first watch manufacturer. Working from a tiny studio above their Reykjavík shop, the team designs and assembles every watch by hand using Swiss movements and European-made parts, producing only a few hundred pieces a year. Models draw heavily on Icelandic identity and Norse mythology, from the Sif N.A.R.T. (North Atlantic Rescue Timer) dive watch developed with Iceland's rescue community to the Frisland, Islandus, Vínland and 101 collections. The brand earned wider fame when its watches were spotted on the wrists of figures like Tom Cruise and chef Gordon Ramsay, and Gilbert was named Icelandic Craftsman of the Year nominee in 2009 with the company winning Reykjavík's 'Shop of the Year' in 2014.