Let us clear something out of the way: Yes, it is colorful and yes, it's not the easiest watch to buy. Now let's be more serious with Kurono Tokyo and his latest clock, the Vermilion Chronograph. What is Kurono? Well, this is the accessible brand of the independent watchmaker Hajime Asaoka, a bit like so-called “Second Vins”, a term that is usually associated with Bordeaux wine to talk about the more accessible labels of the greatest goods. Still very good, still has part of the great character, not the same price. And while we deal with the topic of red colors, let us get a crack with this new tin letters chronograph.
As we have explained several times, Kurono is the idea of Hajime Asaoka, one of the best -known independent watchmakers Japan, who is able to create rather fascinating but expensive watches such as tourbillons or an inverted chronograph. Kurono does not play in the same league, as it is about creating elegant, easily retro watches with the man's design language and outsourced outsourced movements made inside (mostly). Nevertheless, Asaoka delivers pretty watches with a focus on traditional craft like Urushi paint.
With his latest creation, the vermilion chronograph, Kurono adds a brave model to his stopwatch line -up, which has already been made in several variants. With regard to the recipe, the recipe of the chronograph inspired by vintage with compact proportions made of polished steel with a box -shaped sapphire crystal is. The watch only has a diameter of 38 mm with a relatively sensible thickness of 13.5 mm. It is also briefly on the wrist, almost 47 mm long. The fallback is closed, the Pushers are conventional pump styles and water resistance is limited to 30 m. No chronographs for aquatic activities, but they suspected this from the design.
What distinguishes this new edition is undoubtedly the dial. This unmistakable orange-red dial with a color called Vermilion (Shu: 朱 in Japanese). This tone is often connected to nobility in Japan's culture and is used for Torii -Gates and Samurai armor, but it is also a sign of happiness. There is a small story with this dial. As Hajime Asaoka explains: “We take a prototype dial and stick it into the south-facing window of my studio. Half of the dial is covered with black tape. It remains exposed to sunlight for 40 days in summer and 60 days in winter. Orange dial, but most of the colors (pigments) did not pass this test.
The rest of the dial is classic for Kurono with sunken black battles, polished pearls as hourly markings and arched, polished hands. At 6 a.m. there is a date window that we could certainly see away. The contrast between the orange-red color and the black sub-dial is strong, and the Kurono-Tokyo-Milion chronograph certainly has a strong personality. No surprises inside. The watch is driven by Seiko Ne86 (also known as 8R46 if it uses Seiko). It is a more advanced movement than expecting, as it is based on a column wheel and a vertical clutch architecture and is an integrated automatic movement. It beats at 4Hz and stores about 45 hours of electricity reserve. The watch is worn on a discreet black leather strap.
Availability and price
No Kurono clock is easy to purchase, but the Zinnober chronograph is even more difficult to get. It is a small batch publication that is only available in Kurono salons in Aoyama (a district of Tokyo) and in Shanghai, China. No online order will be possible, and from August 22, 2025, only one clock can be bought. There is also a limited production run (no numbers mentioned) that are not repeated.
The chronograph of Kurono Tokyo Vermilion must be evaluated JPY 598.950 (including taxes) or RMB 29,300 (including taxes), around EUR 3,470 at the time of publication. For more information, see Kuronotokyo.com.
https://monochrome-watches.com/kurono-tokyo-milion-chronograph-alon-exclusiv-model-introducing-specsprice/