{"id":7697,"date":"2025-06-02T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-02T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/minase-watches.com\/world\/?p=7697"},"modified":"2025-11-26T18:19:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T09:19:54","slug":"explore008","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/minase-watches.com\/world\/minase-explore\/explore008.html","title":{"rendered":"#8. Interview with Designer Hirokuni YAMAMOTO (1)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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A Fateful Encounter<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In 2011, MINASE launched two HiZ Series models, HORIZON and WINDOWS. Here, designer Hirokuni YAMAMOTO provides some information on the inspiration behind his case-in-case structure design, which defies conventional wisdom.
Yamamoto first met with Tsuyoshi SUZUKI, president of MINASE, back in 2007. At that time, MINASE unveiled its iconic MASTER CRAFT Series\u2014a watch collector’s coveted lineup\u2014crafted with meticulous attention to detail. To expand the range of products, President Suzuki considered developing an innovative model that appeals to the sensibilities of the younger generation. While he was looking for a designer with unique ideas, women’s watch designer Rika OGASAWARA introduced her associate, Yamamoto, to him. Suzuki’s request was for a watch design “that no one has ever seen before.” Taking this concept into account, Yamamoto decided to create a watch without being bound by any idea of “basic design.”<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/section>\r\n\t\t\t\t

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Generally, watches have standard design elements, such as the crown hole position, mechanism fitting, and back cover design. In search of a yet-unseen design that transcends those preconceptions, Yamamoto visited the MINASE watch factory with Suzuki. There, Yamamoto caught sight of technicians carefully polishing the case surfaces with technique and passion. Convinced that this production line would allow him to pursue an innovative design without being constrained by mass production, Yamamoto gave a lecture to the cutting and polishing technicians at the MINASE watch factory titled “What is Design?” so as to build rapport. Even if a truly new, innovative design is introduced, it cannot be realized without the technicians who can make it possible. With the aim of delivering a design that makes MINASE’s unique techniques appeal to customers, Yamamoto and Suzuki hit it off immediately. Without this fateful encounter, HORIZON and WINDOWS\u2014mavericks in the history of watches\u2014 would never have been born.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/section>\r\n\t\t\t\t

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\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThis is an in-depth travelogue of Mr. K. Kawakami who specializes in writing reports on various factories.\nHe 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.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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  • \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWriter : K. Kawakami<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    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.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/section>\r\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/section>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    In 2011, MINASE launched two HiZ Series models, HORIZON and WINDOWS. Here, designer Hirokuni YAMAMOTO provides some information on the inspiration behind his case-in-case structure design, which defies conventional wisdom. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7701,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-fullwidth.php","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-7697","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minase-explore"},"menu_order":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/minase-watches.com\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/minase-watches.com\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/minase-watches.com\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minase-watches.com\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minase-watches.com\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7697"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/minase-watches.com\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10862,"href":"https:\/\/minase-watches.com\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7697\/revisions\/10862"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minase-watches.com\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/minase-watches.com\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minase-watches.com\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minase-watches.com\/world\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}