#8. Interview with Designer Hirokuni YAMAMOTO (1)
2025年6月2日
Launch of Ice Blue Dial and Rubber Strap Models from the Uruga Series
2025年7月10日#8. Interview with Designer Hirokuni YAMAMOTO (1)
2025年6月2日Launch of Ice Blue Dial and Rubber Strap Models from the Uruga Series
2025年7月10日#9. Interview with Designer Hirokuni YAMAMOTO (2)
Breaking Free from Two Dimensions
Then, how does one overturn preconceptions? From the early stages of conceptualization, the image of a "horizon" was in Yamamoto’s mind. Normally, hands rotate on a dial plate with a thickness of 0.4 mm, covered by glass. Of course, there have been past designs featuring domed sapphire glass. However, Yamamoto was convinced that a completely innovative case structure could be possible using MINASE's cutting and polishing techniques. That is why he was seeking a design unique to MINASE by transcending the two-dimensional constraints of mass-produced standards.
In this design, the four corners of the sapphire glass are curved as much as possible, and the hands rotate at a position higher than these corners. When shown Yamamoto's concept sketch of the HORIZON, technicians at the MINASE watch factory must have found it interesting but must have also been at a loss for words regarding how to bring form to this design at the same time. At any large watch company, such a design would likely have been rejected outright. However, MINASE's technicians rose to the challenge, advancing their cutting and polishing techniques without hesitation. Instead of always easily inserting glass into a circular groove, MINASE's technicians chose to take up the challenge of bringing to life a difficult-to-achieve design, thereby exhibiting their spirit of craftsmanship to the world.
One person commented that the HORIZON case exudes a sense of romance when viewed from its corners. This evokes the flat Earth/spherical Earth debate that has existed since the ancient Greek era, in which scholars advocating for a spherical Earth claim that proof the Earth is a globe is clearly evident when the lower part of a ship sailing further and further away on the ocean becomes increasingly hidden from view due to the curvature of the Earth. Indeed, HORIZON is an unorthodox masterpiece created by Yamamoto and the MINASE watch factory. What inspired this idea of a model that breaks free from mass production? What is creation? What arouses emotions in people? It feels as though HORIZON offers insights into these questions.
This is an in-depth travelogue of Mr. K. Kawakami who specializes in writing reports on various factories.
He takes a look at the fundamental value of MINASE, with incisive insight and observation refined over the years, as a seasoned expert on the watch industry.
Writer : K. Kawakami
K. Kawakami is a professional writer specializing in exploring diverse factories, reporting on their unique manufacturing practices in Japan and around the world. He travels to the factories of many manufacturers that operate on the principle of perfection, including watches, electrical appliances, shoes, fashion items, buildings, foods, confections, and traditional crafts.