Independents

I wanted to know how were his projects going and especially the 16mm Titanium Balance (is he selling it yet?) ? Maybe Ken you have some fresh news for us? Mark This message has been edited by Mark in Paris on 2014-01-06 08:04:18

he just go a new hair cut ... He is quite active on Facebook :-) I have no information about the current status of his projects, but in general I like his approach and his attention to details. Sorry, Mark! Oliver ...  

That are still news Oliver, thanks! I've juste added him on FB (only have to learn japanese now :p ) Thanks for the refreshing pictures, I would really like to find that he decides to sell his 16MM one day. Cheers, Mark

Hajime is also (relatively) active on YouTube. The last week has seen the upload of some peeks at his work in progress.

to the address indicated on his site but never got an answer. I was interested in the price and availability/delivery of the 16 mm balance wheel watch. R

A friend from Japan who knows HA told me that he received a letter from the Swatch Group regarding the titanium balance and requesting him to stop immediately to use balance wheels in titanium as he apparently was violating a Swatch Group's patent. After ... 

Yes, I heard the same story indeed... However, I sincerely doubt anyone (read: company) can actually patent the use of titanium for a balance wheel, in the same way that one cannot patent milk as a health drink ;-0) The usage/functionality 'titanium balan... 

but I understand now what seems to be the aim of SG from your post. Thanks for explaining. I hope he'll be able to find a way out. Mark

I fully agree with you but Swatch Group managed to get a "general" patent. I also think that it is amazing they got it but the fact is that they received it in Switzerland (which is easy), EU (which is more difficult), USA and Japan. I have read the paten... 

Thanks a lot for the news! That is indeed what I thought could be weird... before reading Theodore's answer. I hope he will manage to overcome this issue. Cheers, Mark

If he just made it with titanium, and did not engrave the fact on the caliber (like he did previously) no-one would have bothered with it at all ! As goldenlutin correctly pointed out, anyone can make a Swiss patent; it is not researched the same way as t... 

Thanks for explaining Theodore. Mark

It is called TSUNAMI 16 now. I hope it will settle the problem with the SG.

If someone gave me a nudge in the right direction, I too could read the patent. Why not post these letters as photos or their contents from Swatch? What is really special about the Asaoka titanium balance? Is Asaoka making an advertisement for Apple? Can ... 

Here is Breguet's european patent : EP1562087 A1 They do also have a patent in other countries like Japan.

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How could you even ask... :)?

I never saw the one on the right. From its latest FB post, it seems it's a new model. Very nice art-deco style. ...  

Two different dials and two different cases. I like them quite much. ...