Independent Japanese watch brand Naoya Hida & Co. typically operates discreetly, with only a series of new releases per year and a severely limited production capacity. Last week the brand released its entire model range for 2026/2027, a total of 10 new watches and 7 new references, including a spectacular chronograph, a compact Calatrava-style watch and a porcelain dial. But that's not all the brand had to show… In its third partnership with The Armory New York, both parties introduce the Floating Feathers Reference Type 4A-2, an artistic expression with an engraved dial and an intricate pattern.
The Floating Feathers Reference represents the third collaboration model between The Armory and Naoya Hida & Co. On the one hand, it is a men's fashion brand founded in Hong Kong in 2010 by Mark Cho and Alan See and is represented in both Hong Kong and NYC. On the other side is one of the growing names in Japanese indie watchmaking, a brand founded in 2012 that focuses on delivering ultra-classic timepieces with vintage Calatrava inspirations. While their first collaboration was about typographic craft (the Type2C-1 Lettercutter), Floating Feathers draws inspiration from nature, particularly the intricate structure of a bird's feather.
The design was created by The Armory co-founder Mark Cho and designer Elliot Hammer. Both fans of mid-20th century decorative dials, such as cloisonné dials featuring birds, plants and nature scenes, have managed to create a unique pattern thanks to Naoya Hida & Co.'s in-house engraving expertise. The dial, as always with Naoya Hida watches, is made of hand-engraved Argentium silver, a silver alloy chosen for its tarnish resistance. Designed by Keisuke Kano, the brand's master engraver, it consists of three feathers that float across the bead-blasted dial surface, each with individual barbs and the lifelike texture of a flag. The engraving is highly precise and brings out the shimmer of exposed silver underneath.
Surrounding the base dial is an angled inner flange with 12 hand-polished 18k yellow gold spherical minute markers, individually built into the minute track. The brand logo and scales are engraved using a micro milling machine. The time is indicated by a pair of sharp faceted hands, specific to the Naoya Hida Type 4 collection. These elongated, diamond-shaped hands are made from solid 18-karat gold and are paired with a blued steel seconds hand with a distinctive “caviar spoon” counterweight.
Based on the reference Type 4A, the Floating Feathers for The Armory is housed in a 36mm 904L steel case with polished surfaces and polished side bevels. Compared to the rest of the collection, it has a slightly more elegant, less retro design, but does have vintage elements such as the box-shaped sapphire crystal to protect the dial or the screw-down caseback. The case is 42.9 mm long and 11 mm thick and has a water resistance of 50 m.
Inside is the Caliber 3020CS, a hand-wound movement with an originally developed click-and-click spring for comfortable winding. It is based on the Valjoux 7750 gear train and was then completely redesigned to remove both the chronograph and automatic functions and transform it into a three-hand movement with central seconds. The movement with a custom-made three-quarter plate and balance bridge beats at 4 Hz and has a power reserve of approximately 45 hours.
The Naoya Hida Reference Type 4A-2 Floating Feathers for The Armory is worn on a hand-stitched anthracite calfskin strap by Jean Rousseau and will be released in 2026 in a limited edition of 10 pieces $33,000 or HKD257,400. For more information, visit www.thearmoury.com.
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