Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The Kurono Tokyo Malachite 2026 Special Projects
Japanese indie watchmaker Kurono Tokyo continues its exploration of natural stones.
Created by Japanese independent watchmaker Hajime Asaoka, a man capable of creating superb watches and movements, Kurono Tokyo aims to apply his design language to a more accessible price range. While the entire production of the brand is limited and relatively difficult to obtain, the “special projects” collection adds a sense of exclusivity through the use of specific crafts or movements. Earlier this year, Kurono Tokyo started to use natural stones, with the 37mm Inseki and its meteorite dial. Now, it’s time for the Japanese brand to continue its exploration of stones with the 2026 Special Projects Malachite.
Hajime Asaoka, a member of the AHCI, is one of the most revered independent watchmakers of Japan. Not only is he behind his eponymous brand, but he is also a member of Precision Watch Tokyo (PWT), which gathers names such as Kurono Tokyo, with a focus on his refined design paired with outsourced movements at accessible prices, and Otsuka Lotec, led by Jiro Katayama. His work can easily be summarised with the Tsunami, a high-end time-only watch of superb elegance. If you’re after something far more attainable, the Kurono Tokyo is a brand to explore.
In line with Asaoka’s classic design codes, the new 2026 Special Projects Malachite is housed in a restrained and compact case of 37mm, made of polished steel. Classic and elegant, it is lightly retro-styled with a box-shaped sapphire crystal and smooth surfaces. Overall, a familiar design and case that is shared with the Inseki or the Grand Urushi Aoyama. The caseback is solid steel, and the watch is water-resistant to 30m only, in line with its dressy vocation (even if a bit more resistance would be appreciated).
The dial is what sets this edition apart. As indicated by its name, the star of the show is the centre dial made of malachite, a stone known for its vibrant green colour shifting from deep forest green to vibrant emerald, as well as its striped structure – the latter being a lithic recording; each band on the dial represents a specific period of seismic water flow and mineral concentration. On the 2026 Special Projects Malachite, only the centre of the dial is made of stone, and Hajime Asaoka personally inspects every piece to ensure consistency (which explains the vermillion seal, a mark of his final approval. The external chapter ring is made of brass to form a convex dial. It is coloured with a hand-mixed rokusho (verdigris) green pigment (a reference to the copper-based malachite stone), and later decorated with Kanji Zodiac indices, used in East Asia to denote time and cardinal directions.
As always with Kurono Tokyo, this new Malachite model is powered by an outsourced automatic movement produced by Miyota, in this case, the time-only calibre 90S5. Running at 28,800 vibrations/hour, it stores about 40h of power reserve. The watch is worn on a black calf leather strap (20mm lug width) with a steel pin buckle.
Priced at USD 1,850 (excl. taxes and import duties), the Kurono Tokyo Malachite 2026 Special Projects will be available online from Thursday, May 28th, 2026, with two order windows (at 11 AM JST and 11 PM JST). Purchases are limited to one watch per customer, and Kurono indicates that all orders placed within the two specified time windows will be honoured. The watch can also be previewed in the brand’s boutique in Aoyama and Shanghai. For more details, please visit kuronotokyo.com.
1 response
The dome nut winding crown is comical. And any crowns that are unsigned or simply have a plain finish is a key detail that I feel most watch designers gloss over.