Introducing – The Kurono Grand Jubilee Calendar Salmon Dial

This year is pretty special for Kurono Tokyo, the more accessible brand created by Japanese independent watchmaker Hajime Asaoka. Indeed, 2025 marks the watchmaker’s 60th anniversary, which the brand is celebrating as its diamond jubilee, resulting in several special edition watches that pay tribute to design features created by Asaoka. Following the highly elegant 2025 […]

2 weeks ago

Introducing – The New and Bold Kurono Tokyo Vermilion Chronograph

Let’s get something out of the way immediately: yes, it is brightly coloured, and yes, it isn’t the easiest watch to acquire. Right, let’s now be more serious about Kurono Tokyo and its latest watch, the Vermilion Chronograph. What is Kurono? Well, that’s the accessible brand of independent watchmaker Hajime Asaoka, a bit like so-called […]

2 months ago

Introducing – The New and Bold Kurono Tokyo Vermilion Chronograph

Let’s get something out of the way immediately: yes, it is brightly coloured, and yes, it isn’t the easiest watch to acquire. Right, let’s now be more serious about Kurono Tokyo and its latest watch, the Vermilion Chronograph. What is Kurono? Well, that’s the accessible brand of independent watchmaker Hajime Asaoka, a bit like so-called […]

2 months ago

Introducing – The New Ice Blue Kurono Tokyo 2025 Jubilee Sensu EOL

After several years of covering this independent Japanese watch brand, you should now be familiar with Kurono Tokyo‘s work. And if not, what matters here is that we’re looking at the accessible side of independent watchmaker Hajime Asaoka (also behind the return of Takano), with classic designs and outsourced movements to keep the prices reasonable. […]

5 months ago

Introducing – Kurono Tokyo’s Latest Special Project, the 34mm Star Dial

A micro-brand that should sound familiar to you now, Kurono Tokyo is the brainchild of Japanese independent watchmaker Hajime Asaoka, known for his high-end tourbillons or chronographs. With this brand, Asaoka wanted to deliver his style and design ideas in far more accessible watches, without the highly complex movements, but with an equal taste for […]

8 months ago

Introducing – The new Kurono Special Projects Réserve de Marche, a.k.a the Sensu NOS

The brainchild of Japanese independent watchmaker Hajime Asaoka (also behind the return of Takano), Kurono Tokyo was defined as his vision of a more accessible take on his design language, with watches merging traditional Japanese cues and classic vintage flair. Recent introductions of the brand focused on compact, retro-inspired watches with a bit less of […]

1 year ago

Introducing – The Kurono 34mm Calligra Special Project is Asaoka’s Vision of Breguet Numerals

The brainchild of Japanese independent watchmaker Hajime Asaoka, known for his high-end tourbillons or chronographs, Kurono Tokyo is the man’s vision of a more accessible brand. Still driven by an almost obsessive attention to detail, which somehow explains the low availability of these watches, Asaoka is here focussing on design more than watchmaking. Following the […]

2 years ago

Introducing – The New Kurono Tokyo 34mm Models For 2023

Kurono Tokyo is a name that should now be familiar to the watch community. Behind this niche brand that only produces watches in limited quantities is a man named Hajime Asaoka, one of Japan’s most talented independent watchmakers. The idea behind Kurono was to offer Asaoka’s sense of design at a far more accessible price […]

3 years ago

Introducing – Kurono Tokyo Is Back With The Very Limited Grand Urushi Aoyama Trio

Kurono Tokyo, the slightly more accessible venture of Japanese independent watchmaker Hajime Asaoka, has been enjoying an impressive popularity streak, with most limited-edition models selling out faster than fans wanted. The brand has been trying to solve this availability issue with several tricks for pre-order campaigns and stringent policies for purchasing. Nevertheless, with the launch […]

3 years ago