Kurono Tokyo Chronograph II White 'Shiro'

Kurono is an initiative to create high-quality, Japan-made luxury timepieces designed by independent Japanese watchmaker Hajime Asaoka. It aims to deliver to watch collectors a more accessible timepiece that shares the design DNA of Hajime's exclusive handmade atelier watches, at affordable levels.

Hajime Asaoka is proud to present the new Kurono Chronograph II in white - nicknamed 'Shiro' - a refined classical interpretation of his iconic Chronograph II design launched in black in early 2021.

Sophisticated simplicity

'This watch is my personal desire. In 2021 I really wanted to release a white chronograph but was forced to launch only black. As a small independent, we are limited in the number movements we can procure, in the year since the first prototype. I've been wearing it myself, figuring out improvements, and then making many new dial samples. As a result, I'm proud to say I have created a dial with a very high degree of perfection, and one with absolute balance. Looking back, it was good that the delay allowed me to release something exceptionally complete. I am very happy to be able to make this deferred desire a reality.'

Brilliant serenity a refined chronograph based on Hajime Asoka’s personal preference. Chronograph II white, nicknamed 'Shiro', is a refined interpretation of the iconic chronograph II design by Hajime Asaoka, a longer prototyping period has allowed for numerous improvements across the board from higher definition printing to greater depth of field, from thicker lacquer from light refraction and concentric guilloche to parallax overprinting and 'kyudo' arrow hands. We hope customers will find pleasure in the exploration of the details put into the construction of the watch.

'Simple elements such as the white on the dial is much more than just color - the brilliance of the white was achieved by fine sandblasting of the dial followed by silvering, and with the thick lacquer giving it the appearance of bright white'.

Movement

Hajime chose the mechanical chronograph calibre NE86 from one of Japan's most esteemed movement manufactures positioned by SII as its newest flagship chronograph movement and successor to the 6S a premium caliber, the 311-part movement combines traditional chronograph features like a column wheel, vertical clutch, and a magic lever winding system it has a unique three-pointed hammer system that starts, stops, and resets all three wheels simultaneously this allows for all the counters to advance continuously rather than only at one-minute intervals additionally, instead of driving the minute and hour counters from the chronograph seconds wheel, each is driven by a powered wheel with its own clutch this delivers increased accuracy and longer-term durability the movement has a power reserve of 45 hours.

Technical specifications

Kurono Tokyo Chronograph II White 'Shiro'

A single limited edition run in the hundreds

Case

• 316L high-polished stainless steel
• Diameter: 38mm
• Thickness: 13.9mm incl. sapphire
• Glass: High-curvature sapphire crystal
• Solid caseback
• Water-resistant to 30 meters (3 ATM)

Dial and hands

• Bright-white, heron-white, and red interplay of colors
• Recessed sub-dials with diamond-cut steel surrounds
• Improved multi-layer printing for exceptionally crisp text
• Pulsometer/tachymeter with date
• High-polished domed-steel hour markers

Movement

• Japan-made mechanical self-winding chronograph movement
• Number of jewels: 34
• Frequency: 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
• Power reserve of 45 hours

Functions/Indications

• Hours, minutes, seconds
• Date
• Chronograph
• Tachymeter

Strap and buckle

• Black calf leather band

MSRP: JPY 428,000 (US$3,700)

For more information, please visit kuronotokyo.com