KUOE Old Smith 90-002 No-Date, Automatic NH38 Movement, Black, Replacement Belt Included, sliver, ミディアム

Product Information

They are well known for their Eco-Drive movements, powered by the light of the sun and never needing a battery change. It’s a practical thing to have, but they also put a lot of effort into creating impressive timepieces from a design and engineering point of view. The indirect drive seconds hand of the Miyota movement was disconcerting at first, but I've gotten used to it: it "stutters" when the watch is shaken, but that doesn't affect accuracy. The rotor is also noisier than I'm used to, and the sound it makes when the watch is shaken can be a little disconcerting as well. As I expected, the movement is "settling in" and now runs about -3 spd; still quite good so no complaint there. If you do hand-wind the watch, the action is smooth as silk. I've worn it three times now during hard rowing-machine workouts and that, at least, hasn't phased it. Besides these big prolific companies, there are plenty of smaller, independent watchmakers that have the qualities Japan is known for, like the excellent craftsmanship and the attention to detail that have made the big brands what they are today. The name of the brand is associated with the Eastern countries, as seen from a European perspective, mostly referring to the Asian continent and the coveted treasures that used to come from there in the past.

There is the possibility to add a ‘sapphire’ crystal which is a nice (but expensive) option, additionally there is a leather strap and a steel bracelet also available. A new boutique watchmaker based in Japan and born in 2005, Minase’s story began as a machining workshop and continued with making watch cases for other brands before making the leap into watchmaking and starting creating their own timepieces. Citizen is another one of the big four watch brands of Japan, a watchmaking powerhouse the world knows so well. The probably less known thing about them is their philosophy that every citizen of the world deserves to wear a high quality watch on their wrist, which is what the brand’s name stands for.Their collections are large and diverse, with a big focus on the vintage and the classiness that watches of the past boasted. They tend to be more conservative than other well established brands, but they do have their particularities, the little details that Orient fans are always expecting from their watches. All KUOE watches are made and engineered in Japan. The brand and concept of KUOE began in 2010 when Uchimura, the designer and founder, was a university student studying language in London, England. Uchimura just so happened to enter a shop that was handling antique watches, where he saw a line-up of hand-wound watches from the 1940’s - 70’s. He was instantly drawn to them and their ability to keep time even after the rich accumulation of history in the decades that had passed. It’s no wonder they have more than a few gems when it comes to the watchmaking industry, some of them maybe even exceeding the quality of Swiss watchmakers.

This premium model is equipped with the automatic movement Caliber 9039 made by CITIZEN MIYOTA. Made of 316L stainless steel, the watch has the same dimensions of the brand’s 1st model “OLD SMITH / 90-001”. Topped with a domed mineral glass, the dial adopts a sharp bar index, and it has a simple, stylish and very luxurious appearance. Two things often suffer when we start dealing with more affordable watches. The first is case finishing. The second is lume. And the Kuoe Old Smith is no exception to this rule. When I asked, I was only told the lume is Swiss and “SO-2.” I’ve never heard of that but based on the results, we aren’t dealing with a Super-LumiNova equivalent here. Indulge me, though: the lume is about as bright as one might expect on the vintage watches from which the Kuoe takes its inspiration–so maybe it’s intentional! (It’s probably not.) Kurono is a sub-brand of Hajime Asaoka, one of the high end watchmakers based in Japan. You could say that Kurono is the affordable little sister company, using Miyota automatic movements to achieve that. Having owned the Old Smith for that last week I continually found myself admiring the finesse of its tiny subtle design details that started bringing to mind the traditional Japanese art of ’Netsuke’.The elegant and perfectly proportioned leaf-style hour and minute hands have a slight crease running longitudinally down the centre, and the simple, lancet-style seconds hand features a lollipop counterweight.

The case is really nothing to get too hyped about. Polished all over. Branded crown. Big vintage-style dome. The small dimensions and curved lugs mean it’ll be at home on all but the largest wrists (which may make it look a bit too dainty). While my wheelhouse is definitely 38mm-42mm, I find a certain charm in watches smaller than that, which adds a bit to the wearing experience. Although not remarkable, there’s also nothing to complain about here. And it lets the dial do all the talking. The technologies used in the creation process are nothing but high end as well, and the brand simply represents the best of what Seiko’s over a century of experience in watchmaking has to offer. Credor is a name few have heard of. But their creations are some of the best kept secrets of the Japanese watchmaking industry. The brand is actually part of Seiko, and it’s their show-off child, born in 1974 from a desire to display the best of Seiko’s craftsmanship and horology know-how. Today, Seiko is one of the biggest watch manufacturers in the world, with the capability of producing their own movements, parts, and components, something few brands can actually do.

KUOE OLD SMITH / 90-001

Mirco was born recently, so you won’t find many timepieces, as they only have two collections out so far, a chronograph collection dubbed Type 02, and a dive watch collection, called Type 03. The movements inside are sourced from Seiko and Miyota. These high quality made-in-Japan watches comes in affordable price range. The brand itself handles all business activities including design, production and sales of its watches to reduce the costs. Every KUOE watch comes with one year manufacture warranty. KUOE OLD SMITH / 90-001 The brand started from the idea of blending the future with the past, an idea reflected in their name, which is composed from mirai (future) and kako (past). The company was created by Yusuke Kikuchi, architect, and Tomonari Nakagawa, swordsmith. Both studied the art of watchmaking in France.