Key Highlights
- The Calendrier ‘Type I’ was designed by Hajime Asaoka as a triple calendar complication, featuring a khaki dial and coin-edged bezel aimed at the gentleman adventurer.
- The Type I was nominated in the Challenge category of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève (GPHG) 2022, one of horology’s most respected annual awards.
- The 2023 Anniversary Calendrier ‘AZUKI’ : アズキ served as the final Type I edition, its deep maroon dial drawing inspiration from the colour of vintage Japanese cars.
- The Kurono Grand Jubilee Calendar, the most recent addition, was launched to mark Hajime Asaoka’s 60th Diamond Jubilee and introduced a redesigned date window set within a guilloché recess, crowned with an onyx cabochon.
- All three models are now sold out; past examples can be viewed at the Kurono Tokyo Aoyama and Shanghai Salons, with no reservation required.
A Tokyo Atelier Rooted in Purposeful Design
KURONO TOKYO occupies a singular position in contemporary Japanese watchmaking. Founded by master independent watchmaker Hajime Asaoka — a figure whose career has long been characterised by rigorous craft and restrained aesthetic — the brand produces timepieces in deliberately limited quantities, each conceived around a specific narrative rather than commercial volume. That philosophy has made every KURONO TOKYO release an event for collectors, and its calendar complication series stands as perhaps the most eloquent expression of this approach.
The calendar complication, long a hallmark of haute horlogerie, demands a precise interplay between mechanical ingenuity and legibility. For KURONO TOKYO, the challenge has always been to render that complexity in a vocabulary that feels distinctly Japanese — unhurried, considered, and grounded in material culture. The three calendar pieces reviewed here — the Calendrier ‘Type I’, the Anniversary Calendrier ‘AZUKI’, and the Kurono Grand Jubilee Calendar — form a coherent arc across several years and represent the brand’s most sought-after sellouts to date.
For collectors across the GCC, where appreciation for independent watchmaking has grown steadily alongside broader luxury market maturation, KURONO TOKYO represents precisely the kind of understated alternative to mainstream horology that discerning buyers in Dubai, Riyadh, and Doha have increasingly sought out. The brand’s global profile, amplified by GPHG recognition, has made it a credible name in collector circles well beyond Japan’s borders. More information on the full range is available on the official KURONO TOKYO website.
The Calendrier ‘Type I’ and the AZUKI Finale
The Calendrier ‘Type I’ was conceived as a watch for the gentleman adventurer — a phrase that sets a clear tone of purposeful utility over decorative excess. Its khaki dial anchors the piece in a tradition of field-ready instrument watches, while the coin-edged bezel adds a tactile, almost archival quality. At its technical core sits a triple calendar complication, displaying date, day, and month through a layout that prioritises readability without sacrificing sophistication. The nomination in the Challenge category of the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève in 2022 brought the Type I to an international audience and affirmed its standing as a serious horological proposition.
The Anniversary Calendrier ‘AZUKI’ : アズキ, released in 2023, brought the Type I chapter to a close with considerable grace. Its deep maroon dial — the colour described as inspired by vintage Japanese cars — shifts the mood from utilitarian to quietly emotive. The AZUKI is a reminder that colour in watchmaking is rarely arbitrary; it carries cultural memory and, in this case, a very specific reference to an era of Japanese automotive design that holds nostalgic weight. As the final Type I edition, it carried the additional significance of closure, transforming an already desirable piece into an object with clear collector completism appeal.
The Kurono Grand Jubilee Calendar
The Kurono Grand Jubilee Calendar represents both an evolution and a celebration. Launched to mark Hajime Asaoka’s 60th Diamond Jubilee, the piece carries personal significance that elevates it beyond a standard model update. The date window — redesigned and now set within a guilloché recess — demonstrates a refinement of the original Type I’s display architecture. The guilloché finishing, a hand-engraved or machine-engraved decorative technique with deep roots in European horology, here serves a structural purpose as much as an ornamental one, framing the date aperture with a visual rhythm that rewards close examination.
The onyx cabochon crown is among the most distinctive finishing details KURONO TOKYO has deployed across the calendar series. A cabochon — a gemstone shaped and polished rather than faceted — brings a jeweller’s sensibility to the crown, the one component of a watch that the wearer touches most often. Its use in deep black onyx introduces a formal contrast to the dial without disrupting the overall restraint of the design. Together, these refinements position the Grand Jubilee Calendar as the most architecturally resolved of the three calendar references, and its sellout status confirms that the collector market concurred.
Why It Matters
For collectors and enthusiasts across the GCC, KURONO TOKYO’s sold-out calendar series offers a compelling study in how independent watchmaking can build genuine desirability through craft, narrative, and limited availability rather than marketing weight. Each of the three pieces reviewed here has already passed into the secondary market and into private collections — a trajectory that reinforces their status as genuine horological objects of lasting interest. The brand’s continued salon presence in Aoyama and Shanghai ensures that the legacy of these models remains accessible to those who wish to encounter them in person, even if acquisition is no longer possible at retail.
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