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2023 Anniversary Calendrier

'AZUKI' : アズキ

Kurono is proud to introduce the Anniversary Calendrier 'Azuki' for our anniversary piece this year. A triple calendar complication that achieved finalist recognition at the GPHG Awards 2022, this will be the final edition of the Calendrier Type I model which will be discontinued after this run. As a complete calendar, 'Azuki' is one of our most complicated models from a horological perspective.

Hajime Asaoka wanted to achieve a color that harked back to cars of the past, where maroon was a popular standard color. In Japan, that car color is more commonly designated as 'azuki' (tr: 'red bean') hence the nickname for the watch.

Significant effort was put into achieving the deep maroon color of the dial, including using phosphor-bronze* as a dial material for the first time. (*phosphor-bronze is multitudes harder to machine than the more commonly used brass.) Also unique for this final run of the Calendrier Type I, 'Azuki's' hour markers are further finished in off-white to provide a perfect contrast to its vintage maroon dial color.

Ordering opens Friday May 26th 2023. As with previous anniversary launches, production numbers will be time-limited across 2 windows of 20 minutes each. All orders successfully made during this time window will be honored. Deliveries start end June 2023 thru August 2023.

Now on exhibition at Kurono Aoyama Salon.
青山サロンにて実機展示中

我们将开始有限度地向中国大陆发货。请注意,所有报价不包括任何适用的关税或消费税。这些关税和税款可能由托运人单独向您收取。对于因未支付上述费用而导致无法履行问题,珂乐诺将不承担任何责任。如果您继续订购,即表示您了解并同意所有的预购订单均不可退款,并且您的订单只能在2023年6月下旬至8月期间履行,具体时间取决于您的发票号。

"I think the last Japanese car to have a maroon color was the Datsun 240Z. I don't know if this color was exported, but in Japan, the Datsun 240Z was associated with maroon. I personally like the maroon color very much. However, it is a very difficult color to paint on a watch face. For a deep maroon color, it is necessary to add a dye to the pigment. This requires a thicker coating of paint. This is no problem for a car body, but very difficult for a watch face."

"This is why you hardly ever see a (deep) maroon watch face."

"This time, as usual, I mixed the maroon myself and gave it to the dial maker as a color sample. The coating was quite thick. I wondered if the dial maker would be able to finish the color the way I wanted. After a while, the dial maker sent me the sample. The person in charge of the project said that he had gone through a lot of trouble, but the finished dial was superb. The sample I sent was painted on a white plastic plate, but by using a reddish "phosphor bronze" material for the dial itself, they were able to achieve a deep color tone while reducing the coating film. Of course, great care was also taken in the color mixing of the paint itself."

~ Hajime Asaoka

'Azuki' is a complete calendar watch with a classic coin-edged bezel that ushers in a new design language by master watchmaker Hajime Asaoka - designed for the gentleman adventurer but still firmly rooted in his penchant for the vintage romanticism of the art-deco era. Its design intent is for it to be worn regularly and to develop character over time - a design that allows for and embraces scratches. "Blemishes accumulated are unique to the wearer and is a written record of his journey and adventures through life. Owners should spend their time in meaningful pursuits rather than worry about scratches. Hence the design embraces such blemishes, adds character, and looks better over time," said Hajime Asaoka.

The design of the Calendrier Type I has been calculated to enhance the three-dimensionality of the iconic Kurono hands and the symmetry of the dial. It aims to evoke a sense of refined adventure - with its new high-polish coin edge bezel and deep maroon dial interplaying with an audacious off-white blacklettered vintage typeface to evoke a bold regimental atmosphere for the wrist. Guilloche sub-dials with high-polish hands hint at the mechanical complexity of its triple calendar complication, with the mood accentuated by railway-track minute markers at the periphery.

Dial
Azuki's dial enhances the "beauty of symmetry" that is a component of the Art Deco style. The cylinder dial is designed to curve from the center to the outer edge of the dial, and two dial layers are pressed together to create a three-dimensional effect. The numerals themselves - this time colored in off-white for this anniversary - are also purposefully printed in a raised format. To achieve its unique deep-maroon color, the dial is made from phosphor-bronze for the first time.

Case
The case is made of forged 316L stainless steel. It is newly designed to fit the coin-edged bezel, but keeps the iconic Kurono case DNA.
The case sides are mirror-finished. The mirror finish is free from distortion, so much so that exterior reflections are beautifully portrayed.
Also, when viewed from the side, the mirror finish and the coin-edge bezel can be seen to stand out in their respective finishes.
Water resistance has been increased to 5 ATM. The case-back is finished with a circular lettering design, as seen on vintage watches.

Sapphire crystal
The scratch-resistant box sapphire crystal is raised like the acrylic glass of a vintage watch.
Designed for the Calendrier 'Type I', its shape is 0.15 mm higher than that of an ordinary sapphire box crystal.

Unique Hand-bent Hands
The combination of high-polish leaf hands for the hour and minute hands with modern hands is a typical Kurono design.
The hour and minute hands are curved at both ends, and are paired with a counterweighted second hand that is very thin.
The tips of the second and minute hands are bent by hand.

Movement
Miyota 9122 - a Japan-made movement - is used. It is a rare movement with "center seconds and full calendar,"
which is uncommon in current Swiss-made mass-produced ebauches.
Leveraging a Japanese movement allows for the Kurono Calendrier 'Type I' to be fully Japan made.

AVAILABILITY
It will be available for purchase on Friday, 26 May 2023, and there will be 2 order windows.
Deliveries start from End June through August 2023.

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Specifications
Japan-made cal.9122 triple calendar complication - 316L high-polished 38mm stainless steel case - Phosphor-bronze dial base - Unique box sapphire glass - Solid caseback - Case diameter 38mm - Thickness 10mm (11.5mm incl sapphire) - Power reserve: 40 hours - Complication: full/triple calendar (month, day, date) - Strap widths: 20mm at lugs, 16mm at buckle - Made in Japan

The Calendrier 'Type I' features a triple-calendar complication that shows the day, date and month; apart from the time.Like many other triple calendar watches, we would advise some care when setting the watch:*Refrain from changing the month when the windowed date display is showing the 31st.

Kurono is an advocate of green shipping, leveraging sustainable packaging and carbon insetting via sustainable aviation fuels for global deliveries.

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