Suunto

Suunto Oy is a company that manufactures and markets sports watches, dive computers, compasses and precision instruments. Headquartered in Vantaa, Finland, Suunto employs more than 300 people worldwide, and its products are sold in over 100 countries. Although globally active, the HQ is placed next to the factory, in which most of the work stages are still handcrafted. Suunto is a subsidiary of Amer Sports Corporation with sister brands Wilson, Atomic, Sports Tracker, Salomon, Precor, Arc'teryx and Mavic.

The word "suunto" can be translated as "bearing", "heading" or "direction".

History

In 1933 the company's founder, Tuomas Vohlonen, a surveyor by profession, applied for a patent for a unique method of filling and sealing a lightweight compass housing made entirely of celluloid and filled with liquid to dampen the needle and to protect it from shock and wear due to excessive motion. In 1935, Volhonen was granted a patent on his design, and it went into mass production a year later as the wrist-mount Suunto M-311. Although it was not the first portable liquid-filled compass, Vohlonen's design was compact and lighweight, enabling it to be easily worn on the wrist.