Introducing Kurono Tokyo's New Calligra Special Project

Kurono Tokyo, the second company of the famous Japanese watchmaker Hajime Asaoka, following the fame achieved by his luxury handcrafted watches. Wanting to offer a less expensive alternative, Asuka designed watches called Kurono Tokyo, which are manufactured on industrial production lines and use Miyota engines rather than the calibers Asuka made himself, making his designs accessible to a wider audience. The goal is to bring his distinctive craftsmanship to high-quality watches at good prices. Now the company offers its latest watches in three versions.

The new “Korono 34mm” edition combines precision and durability with the classic elegance favored by the Japanese designer. The Caligra edition is designed to satisfy a wide range of watch audiences, thanks to its affordable price, short ordering periods and ingenious design.

The design language of the 34 mm cases stems from the "Art Deco'' approach that was popular in the 1930s. The case material is made of 316L stainless steel, a metal commonly used in luxury watches, but the case is made using a molding process. The pressure molded case is denser and stiffer. Molding methods are divided into two types, hot and cold. Hot forming makes shaping easier, even on the hardest metals. Cold forming can achieve tighter dimensional tolerances and better surface finish. Microscopic air bubbles in the metal are compressed through the cold forging process, reducing visual defects on the polished surface. Kurono Tokyo uses a cold process to manufacture the cases, resulting in a case that is polished to a high gloss. The mm case features a graduated bezel, a design detail often found on vintage watches.

The collection comes in three dial versions: dark mother-of-pearl, black, and silvery white. With these distinctive colors and small case size, the watches are suitable for both genders, and the three watches share blue hands coated with a luminous material.

The name “Caligra” stems from the font used, in reference to the introduction of Breguet numbers to the brand. Created by Abraham-Louis Breguet, these numerals embody elegance and sophistication in watchmaking. Asaoka personally designed his own version of the Breguet numerals for these watches, maintaining their distinctive style, a combination of cursive and typography.

Using traditional calligraphy tools, Asaoka draws the numbers by hand before enlarging them to use as templates. The designer says that while the Arabic numerals are designed for horizontal reading, the Breguet numerals are designed for the hour dials, so that they blend seamlessly into the design without any visual disruption. The Japanese touch shows elegance and Art Deco influence with the minute track in a classic design.

The trio uses the Miyota caliber 90S5, a Japanese automatic movement with a 40-hour power reserve and an accuracy of -10/+30 seconds per day. The price of these watches is 1,170 US dollars, equivalent to 4,300 AED.

For more information, please visit Kuruno Tokyo official website.