Kikuchi Nakagawa Murakumo

Japanese independent watchmaking has blossomed in the last 5 years like few areas of watchmaking. From Norifumi Seki’s independent display watch to Asaoka’s gorgeous Tourbillon Noir, there’s a wealth of personality being expressed in metal. One, though, has recently enjoyed the brightest spotlight of all thanks to Ed Sheeran and John Mayer saying this is, ‘The most rare watch in the world right now.’ And in that exact moment their production for decades sold. So now we’re in a brave new world where Mayer and Sheeran have actually spoken into existence the hype that they envisioned. So what substance underlies this really rather pretty, spade-handed lowercase-c calatrava?

Starting at zero, the brand was founded by watchmaker Tomonari Nakagawa and designer Yusuke Kikuchi. Nakagawa trained as a swordsmith, where Kikuchi was a budding watchmaker out of school and doing repair/service work for our friends Antoine de Macedo. Both had an affection for the classics of Patek Philippe (particularly the 1941 ref. 1503 and ref. 96) which is obvious in the design. The pair make about eight watches per year. So the wait list is currently estimated over two decades long.

Their work is remarkably distinct. We’ll start at the case, 37mm and entirely mirror finished with a flat stepped bezel and drilled, cast lugs made at Matsuura Works. The dial is from Kari, or Comblémine rather, with Breguet numerals in lacquer. But the opus here are the hands, which I really would put up against the very best in the world. A beautifully finished and refined take on the classic 570 spade hand, it’s more sculptural than anything we’ve seen before. This is powered by a Vaucher 5401, used by Parmigiani and Laine amongst others.

With such microscopic production, the secondary market here is a bit strange. Retail is plus or minus 25K. But that’s only an option if you ordered two years ago. So they trade hands at 50K, much like another name you may know, Naoya Hida. This creates all kinds of controversy, particularly considering this isn’t a more vertical manufacturing effort. It is that slightly esoteric tier of independent where the watch is almost not what matters, it is the maker, their story, and their vision which one seeks to support instead. It’s for those who want to walk into a room of enthusiasts and have no one able to recognize their watch. Is this justifiable? I’m not in a mind to care. I’m glad there are more beautiful watches (and I do count this as beautiful) in the world for posterity. Besides, find me another black polish caseback. There is personality here, unlike most contemporary Rolex even, and that’s what we seek to celebrate.

This example is only the second to ever surface, though I’m sure we’ll see more as time goes on. It is pretty much perfect on condition, lightly worn and with its set.