Horological Meandering

Factory visit report - MINASE [mi-nah-sei] : Japan's new old brand with true qualification. I was fortunately invited to MINASE factory together with others - including a watch journalist, PR specialist, and a photographer. Minase is trying to notch up it...  

There are two series - Master Craft Series and HiZ Series. 1. Master Craft Series MORE (Minase Original Rebuilding Equation) Structure - many small parts are each polished and assembled: time consuming high-quality finish, also so that the repair can be d...  

Interview with the Brand CEO of MINASE, Mr. Tsuyoshi Suzuki. KIH: Would you tell us more about yourself? Tsuyoshi Suzuki ("TS"): After college, I worked for an office equipment wholesale company, sales division. At that time, Kyowa was not in such a good ...  

The HiZ model is by far the more unique model and the one that represents MINASE. The round model does appear to need a little more work with the design (the design is a little bland for me). It'd be interesting to see how this company evolves in the comi... 

... I will surely go back there and keep you updated! Thanks! Ken

. . . comes to light, Ken; my awareness of Minase was nil until just now. Good to see they're developing a manual winding movement, judging by the CAD image; even better if a movement shaped to fit their rectangular cases is in the works. Can you give us ... 

.. the price is very reasonable, I say, while the price range is about the same or less than GS. And, yes, the new in-house movement will be hand winding with nice finishing on the bridges and such :-) Interesting experience to be shown everything :-) Tha... 

Japanese precision machine company making Japanese precision timepieces. Sounds about right to me! So, will Akita be known for its dogs, sake, AND watches?? Really great report. Thanks!

Thanks, Matt! Ken

And nice pics... Very interesting company Do they exhibit at Basel ? (Sorry if you mentioned this point in your write-up)

... when designing their high quality watches? A Grand Seiko movement in a Minase outfit - this would indeed be a magnificent watch! Thank you, Ken, for permitting us to discover this unknown, but fascinating facet of the Japanese watch industry. Marcus

Let's see how the new in-house movement of MINASE will be like. I am very hopeful, though. Thanks! Ken

Hand finishing?

.. how MINASE will do with its own in-house movement and the new model first. Thanks, Ronald! Ken

Thank you for bringing to our attention this brand. I really like what they are doing. They are not the only recent brand that is coming from a machine tool heritage. You know that Japanese machine tools are also very prized in the Swiss watch industry. I... 

For the moment, MINASE does not have any foreign outlet - they are about to go out. Be patient! Hope they go to Basel next year.... I will keep you updated! Thanks! Ken

Dear Ken Thank you for bringing this news. The key here is 心（こころ）kokorou. It looks like Minase Watch has the 'heart' to continuously improve for their customers. Regards, MTF

.. this is like SEIKO with lots of heart poured into it.... Let's keep an eye on this as this brand spread to the world! Ken

The case and bracelet looks really well made. Interesting approach on many parts which in time will be easier to service. Interesting design as well. Kinda reminds me of some vintage Orient design in terms of the dial. Cant wait for them to participate in... 

.. will probably in a year or two :-) Ken

I find the re-awakening of 'Made in Japan' mechanical time pieces in today's electronic age (smartphones etc.) somewhat fascinating. The level of finishing of the Minase models is extremely high quality. I bet even better in person. I agree with others th...