KURONO TOKYO
Kurono Tokyo was launched in 2019 by Hajime Asaoka, the Tokyo watchmaker whose eponymous pieces are made in single figures and sell for six-figure sums. Kurono applies his design vocabulary to watches produced in larger series at a fraction of that price, using Japanese sourcing and Asaoka’s own aesthetic direction. It made his work reachable without diluting it.
Asaoka’s Design, Made Accessible
The watches carry the proportions, dial architecture and typography of Asaoka’s independent work, executed with reliable Japanese automatic movements rather than hand-built calibres. Cases are modest in diameter, dials use lacquered and textured finishes, and each series is capped. The trade-off is stated openly: the design is Asaoka’s, the construction is industrial.
Sold in Drops, Not Through Retail
Kurono releases in timed online drops rather than through a dealer network. Its 2019 Reiwa editions sold out in six and sixteen minutes respectively, and the pattern has held since. The model keeps the brand small, direct and independent of retail margin, and has made Kurono one of the clearest examples of a Japanese independent building an international collector base without conventional distribution.