Urushi Lacquer

Urushi lacquer has been used in many facets of Japanese culture for over 7000 years. The lacquer comes from the sap of the Urushi tree that grows is China, Japan or Korea. Highly poisonous to the touch, the urushi sap can only be harvested carefully and in small quantities.

urushi Dials by hakose

The case of the watch is available in stainless steel or in 18K rose or yellow gold. Movements are of Swiss origin, based upon ETA2892 ébauches, specially customized for Minase in Switzerland.

CHF 14'900.00

Junichi Hakose

Junichi Hakose works on Minase Hakose dials on the Windows collection and on Shibo Urushi dials for Divido. He is one of the most internationally acclaimed Japanese lacquer artists. Minase dials are the first horological artworks he’s done so far.

Minase are mechanical movement watches made in Japan

Windows by Hakose

Hakose begins with drawing drafts. The overall balance, production methods and coloring will be chosen specifically in accord with the sketches.

A first layer of Urushi laquer is applied and heated in order to prevent the dial from future decolorating and rusting. The procedure is repeated 2 to 3 times.

Urushi Watch

Hakose will then start decorating the dial. Alternating between painting, spreading metal powder on a urushi lacquer base and placing flat flakes of gold (hirame gold).

This process takes time as the paint or lacquer needs to dry after every step of the dial decoration.

DIVIDO SHIBO URUSHI

A tribute to Japan’s finest traditional crafts. With the shibo urushi technique, urushi laquer is mixed with paint and egg white. The viscous consistency allows the artist to play with the puddle-like color spots.

Minase are mechanical movement watches made in Japan

Shibo Urushi Dials

After blending and straining the Urushi, the brass base dial is painted with a first layer of lacquer. As the urushi lacquer hardens, it absorbs moisture from the air which makes the dial perpetually shiny and slick. Urushi lacquer also withstands erosion from water, acids, alcohol and changes in temperature.

Shibo Urushi Technique

For Shibo-urushi dials, Hakose mixes urushi laquer with color and egg whites. It makes a special and viscous structure that enable the artist to play with the motives of color.

DIVIDO MAKIE URUSHI

A tribute to Japan’s finest traditional crafts. With the shibo urushi technique, urushi laquer is mixed with paint and egg white. The viscous consistency allows the artist to play with the puddle-like color spots.

New

Megumi Shimamoto

Megumi Shimamoto, based in Kyoto, is a master of the Urushi craft. For this blue Urushi and silver maki-e dial edition, she used one of the most simple techniques to produce Maki-e, as it had to display one color only and no motives. Nonetheless, she spent many hours to complete every single dial.

Minase are mechanical movement watches made in Japan

Makie – Japanese Art
of Gold Sprinkling

Maki-e is a decoration technique, that literally means “Sprinkled picture”. This thousand years old technique consists in sprinkling the lacquer with tiny particles of metal (in Minase’s case it is silver).

The resulting design is then set into place with other layers of urushi lacquer. The metal dust is applied using bamboo tubes and small brushes. It is a very old technique and only a few urushi masters remain today. Minase is proud to work with one of them.

Urushi Makie Dials

Handcrafted in the Kyoto studio of Megumi Shimamoto, a master of traditional Urushi work, makie dials need many hours to be crafted. After blending and straining the Urushi, the copper base dial is painted with a first layer of lacquer. New layers mixing the laquer and paint are applied and the silver powder is applied before everything dries.

The dials are then polished several times so that the silver powder be able to shine out. Thereafter, the dials are exposed to sunlight in order to bring out the color to its final shade. Lastly, the Minase logo is printed.