Stepan Sarpaneva was born in 1970 to a Finnish family with a long heritage of craftmanship. Son of jewellery designer Pentti Sarpaneva, Stepan was brought up to be a talented designer and craftsman.

Sarpaneva first graduated from the Finnish School of Watchmaking and then moved to Switzerland to further his studies at WOSTEP. In 1994, he began work for several prestigious watchmakers including Piaget, Parmigiani, Vianney Halter and Christophe Claret. During those ten years in Switzerland, Sarpaneva specialised in the crafting of complicated timepieces.