Introducing: The Kiwame Tokyo Kurotsuki And Usuki Models

Switzerland, Germany, and Japan make up my “big three” of the watchmaking world, with France on the rise. Yet, of all these hubs, Japan has been slow to embrace the microbrand trend. Big brands, including Seiko, Grand Seiko, Citizen, Orient, and Casio, dominate the market. Recently, however, independents such as Kurono Tokyo, Hajime Asaoka, Kikuchi Nakagawa, and Minase have entered the scene, albeit with generally higher prices. Today, we look at the first affordable releases from a new brand, Kiwame Tokyo.

From a relatively early stage in my collecting journey, I’ve been attracted to Japanese watches. Like the country itself, I enjoy the different approach to watch design that many of these pieces bring. Therefore, I’ve found makers like Minase incredibly interesting, as they push the boundaries of Japanese design. On the other hand, I’ve been slower to warm to one of the recent collector darlings, Kurono Tokyo. I find the brand’s watches quite traditional in a Swiss way. However, I’m happy to be wrong, and there’s one thing I need to remember: typically, when a Japanese firm sets out to create a product, it’s executed with otherworldly attention to detail and care. For the new Kiwame Tokyo brand, that seems to be the aim, except at a wildly low starting price.

A quick backstory about Kiwame Tokyo

Kiwame Tokyo is a new brand with a base in Asakusa, the historical center of Japan’s capital city. It was founded by Masami Watanabe, an industry veteran who has worked with many European brands. During his career, he came into contact with fantastic watches and companies, as well as some that weren’t so fantastic. As he puts it, with Kiwame Tokyo, he has sought to create a global name by making watches that he believes in rather than purely chasing sales numbers. The first pieces, the Kurotsuki and Usuki, follow a traditional design path, but they should resonate with buyers.

The Kurotsuki and Usuki

Watabane has launched the Kiwame Tokyo brand with two references. The Kurotsuki and Usuki are essentially color variants. For starters, these 38mm watches are made from 316L stainless steel and have a 46mm lug-to-lug and 9.5mm thickness. The crystal is sapphire with an antireflective coating, and each is paired with a black calfskin strap and stainless steel pin buckle. As a nod to each watch’s usability, the depth rating is surprisingly ample at 100 meters.

The Kurotsuki (黒月), meaning “black moon,” features a black lacquered dial with applied, vertically brushed Breguet numerals and rectangular luminous plots at each hour. A white printed minute track and signature create a direct contrast with the dial. The Usuki (浅黄), or “light yellow,” has an ivory lacquered dial with black-coated Breguet numerals and black printed details.

Both models have syringe-shaped hour and minute hands with stripes of aged luminous material. The seconds hand on the Kurotsuki is polished but has a red tip and a luminous section shaped like Asakusa’s Kaminarimon gate. The Usuki’s sweeping hand follows a similar form, but it is made of blued steel.

The automatic Miyota 9039 inside

Each Kiwame Tokyo debut piece uses the venerable Miyota 9039. As we’ll see, this helps temper pricing while offering a reliable self-winding mechanical movement. The caliber has a frequency of 28,800vph and a power reserve of 42 hours. Accuracy is rated at -10/+15 seconds per day. Openly, I’d prefer a hand-winding movement inside a watch like this, but Watanabe has hopes that these pieces will be worn daily. Therefore, an automatic caliber is probably more appropriate.

Thoughts on the Kiwame Tokyo debuts

With its moderately sized brushed and polished case, a chamfered take on a coin-edge bezel, and Breguet numerals, it’s hard to ignore the close resemblance to vintage Patek Philippe Calatravas. Except for the clipped lug ends versus a rounded shape, these watches are dead ringers for the classic references. The watches don’t take chances design-wise, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. Ever since falling in love with these Pateks of yore, I’ve wondered why modern brands refuse to take more inspiration from them. As mentioned, though, for my wrist, I’d love to see a traditional hand-wound caliber.

Pricing and availability

If you’ve come this far, you may be expecting a four-figure price tag for either of the Kiwame Tokyo pieces. Well, prepare for a pleasant surprise, as these watches are listed at just US$650 on the brand’s official site or at the Asakusa salon. On the negative side, just 99 numbered pieces of each will be produced, which seems like a highly conservative move considering the classical styling and low-entry pricing. Essentially, it foreshadows additional variants on the way. Still, in either Kurotsuki or Usuki guise, these are approachable debuts. We’ll look forward to any upcoming announcements.