Otsuka Lotec… The Japanese brand (or should we call it an atelier) that is causing a stir in the global watch collecting community, despite not being available outside of Japan – which may partly explain its popularity. A true JDM sensation, Otsuka Lotec is the brainchild of Jiro Katayama, a car designer turned self-taught, independent watchmaker specializing in industrial, steampunk-inspired watches with unusual displays inspired by the world of instruments and cameras. Following the recent launch of the stunning No.9 with an in-house movement featuring a tourbillon, hour strike mechanism, jumping hours and minute retreat, it is time for the brand to return to its more accessible roots with the new Otsuka Lotec No.8 model.
Jiro Katayama of Otsuka Lotec is inspired not by the world of watches, but by the industrial world where his career began – cars, trains, planes, all kinds of vehicles, measuring devices, music, hi-fi instruments and also cameras. In recent years his watches, all based on an industrial, highly mechanical expression of watchmaking and combining rough surfaces with original displays, have gained incredible popularity. Its success is also due to its low production volume and the inability to purchase them outside of their country of origin, Japan. The No. 5 Kai even made it into the pre-selection of the GPHG 2025.
Previous creations by Otsuka Lotec
As a brand focused on original displays and industrial designs, in recent years we have covered the No.6 with its double retrograde display, the No.7.5 with its camera-like openings and the current No.5 Kai with satellite hours. And for a long time, all of them were based on an automatic Miyota movement with a self-developed display module on the top. That changed drastically with Model No. 9, a far more expensive and complex watch with an in-house movement. But with the No.8 Jumping Hour and Retrograde Minute, Otsuka Lotec returns to its roots.
A “simpler” watch with a base Miyota caliber at its core, the Otsuka Lotec No.8 feels like the natural continuation of the previous No.5 Kai, No.6 and No.7.5 while still somehow incorporating some of the No.9’s features into the equation. As for the overall design, we are once again faced with a watch-style UFO that mixes modernism and vintage industrial inspiration, like the vision of a modern item in a 1970s or 1980s film – this watch would have looked perfect in the original 1982 Blade Runner film. Made from straight steel, the case is rectangular with faceted surfaces and measures 31 mm wide and just under 48 mm long. The thickness is under control at 10.8 mm and the watch retains the classic, deliberately rough-looking crown at 4 o'clock and a curved sapphire crystal that reveals the right side.
But Otsuka Lotec is Otsuka Lotec, the new model No. 8 is not a classic when it comes to the display. Again, there is no traditional dial with a pair of hands rotating above it. The Otsuka Lotec No.8 combines two attractive functions, a jumping hour mechanism and a retrograde minute function, both linked together for simultaneous action. As you can see in the video at the top of this article, the joint movement is purely mechanical in its movement and sound, but it is also deliberately slowed down. The left side of what looks more like a control panel than a dial is dedicated to the jumping hour, indicated by a large rotary knob in an almost classic 12-hour style. At the top you can see a small section that provides space for the running seconds display, with a disc rotating once every 90 seconds.
On the right side there is an arc on which the minutes are displayed in retrograde. A module moves along the curved rail from bottom to top and jumps back to zero when it reaches the 60 mark, at the same time the hour jumps by another number. However, the retrograde minute is connected to a flywheel (visible in the upper right corner) that dampens the rate and protects the movement, making it more visually appealing. Both this flywheel and the minute arm are equipped with ball bearings for smooth operation.
The heart of the Otsuka Lotec No.8 is a Miyota 90S5 base caliber (automatic, 4 Hz frequency), on which an in-house display module is attached. The module consists of 62 components and uses an ultra-small 1.5mm ball bearing from MinebeaMitsumi, currently the smallest in the world, as well as two additional 2.5mm ball bearings. Due to the complexity and energy consumption of such displays, the power reserve is estimated at 32 hours.
The Otsuka Lotec No.8 is worn on a 24mm black rubber strap and is available for 990,000 JPY (including VAT) or approximately EUR 5,390 at the time of publication. As with the brand's previous releases, the watches will be awarded through a raffle (opening on March 23, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Japan time). Only applicants with a credit card issued in Japan and a delivery address in Japan (no shipping abroad) are eligible to apply. For more information, visit otsuka-lotec.com.
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