KURONO TOKYO / Hajime Asaoka speaks on Kurono Tokyo’s First Malachite Dial

Key Highlights

• The Kurono Special Projects Malachite ‘孔雀石’ is KURONO TOKYO’s first timepiece to feature a malachite dial, released as a limited anniversary edition.
• It is priced at US$1,850, excluding VAT and duties, and is strictly limited to one watch per customer.
• Worldwide online ordering opens on Thursday, 28 May 2026, via kuronotokyo.com across two time windows: 11:00 AM JST and 11:00 PM JST.
• For buyers in Dubai (GST), the order windows open at 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM on Thursday, 28 May 2026.
• Expected deliveries are scheduled from July 2026 onwards, with worldwide shipping to most major destinations.

A Milestone Moment for KURONO TOKYO

KURONO TOKYO, the independent Japanese watch brand founded by master watchmaker Hajime Asaoka, has built a devoted following among collectors who prize meticulous craft and restrained Japanese aesthetics. Each release from the brand is an event in itself — limited in scale, precise in intent, and ordered online through a carefully structured system that ensures fairness for buyers worldwide. The Special Projects Malachite ‘孔雀石’ represents a natural, meaningful escalation: the brand’s first venture into a stone dial, chosen for an anniversary occasion.

Malachite — the vivid green mineral whose name in Japanese, 孔雀石, translates loosely to “peacock stone” — brings a depth and organic complexity that no painted or lacquered surface can replicate. Each piece of the stone carries its own banded pattern, meaning every dial cut from it is inherently unique. For a brand whose identity is grounded in the idea that a watch should feel considered and individual, the choice of malachite as the vehicle for this anniversary release speaks directly to those values.

The announcement arrives at a moment when independent watchmaking is receiving significant global attention. Alongside established showcase platforms like Watches and Wonders, a growing number of independent ateliers are finding audiences through direct-to-consumer digital releases — and KURONO TOKYO has been among the most consistent practitioners of that model. The malachite release extends that tradition while marking a new material chapter for the brand.

The Kurono Special Projects Malachite ‘孔雀石’

Framed as a Special Projects piece, the Malachite ‘孔雀石’ sits apart from KURONO TOKYO’s regular collections, carrying the weight of an anniversary release. The use of the Japanese kanji alongside the English name in the official title signals the brand’s grounding in its Tokyo identity, even as it addresses a global collector audience. Priced at US$1,850 excluding VAT and duties, the piece sits at an accessible point for a stone-dialled, independently made timepiece — and that combination is likely to generate significant demand.

To manage that demand equitably, KURONO TOKYO has structured the release around two distinct global order windows on Thursday, 28 May 2026: 11:00 AM JST and 11:00 PM JST. All orders placed within either window will be honoured, a policy designed to give collectors in different time zones a fair opportunity. In Dubai, those windows translate to 6:00 AM and 6:00 PM GST on the same date — both civilised hours for collectors in the Gulf who want to secure a piece without setting an overnight alarm. Expected deliveries begin from July 2026, and the piece ships worldwide to most major destinations.

Ordering and Availability Details

The watch is strictly limited to one unit per customer, a common safeguard for KURONO TOKYO releases that discourages bulk purchasing and preserves access for genuine collectors. There is no physical boutique component to this launch; ordering takes place exclusively through kuronotokyo.com. For collectors in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the wider GCC who have followed the brand’s previous sellouts, the dual-window format offers a meaningful advantage over single-drop formats that disadvantage non-Western time zones.

Why It Matters

The Kurono Special Projects Malachite ‘孔雀石’ marks a genuine material first for KURONO TOKYO and demonstrates Hajime Asaoka’s willingness to push the brand’s vocabulary beyond its established palette. For GCC collectors who value both rarity and accessibility in independent watchmaking, a stone-dialled anniversary piece at this price point — available via a fair dual-window online release — is worth acting on promptly when the order window opens.

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