The Urushi lacquer technique, using the sap of the eponymous Asian tree, creates watch dials of unparalleled beauty and depth of color. Inspired by intoxicating local landscapes or traditional motives, each dial is handcrafted by a highly skilled and renowned artisan. Urushi lacquer has been used in Japanese culture for over 7000 years. Highly poisonous to the touch, the urushi sap can only be harvested carefully and in small quantities.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A tribute to Japan’s finest traditional crafts. The urushi laquer is mixed with paint and applied on the dial. Before it dries, the artist sprinkles silver powder onto it, giving the dial this special texture.
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.
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.
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.
