History / About
SKF (Svenska Kullagerfabriken) of Gothenburg, Sweden is a bearing maker, not a toy company. According to the Yo-Yo Museum, in the mid-1980s it introduced plastic and wooden yo-yos with miniature SKF ball-bearing axles, sold only in Europe. The yo-yo may have been made by Wigart AB of Helsingborg, Sweden, and bears ‘ROYO’ imprinted in red on the reverse. It was never patented, and the Museum suggests it was a company novelty or advertising item. YoYo Wiki credits SKF with the first ball-bearing axle yo-yos (1984), with a large bearing, narrow gap and riveted halves.
The wooden version was painted in solid colors and sold in a display box, according to the Museum. It is hollowed out like the plastic version but, unlike it, is a take-apart model.
