Horological Meandering

SJX
[Purist]
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Japan and watch collecting

In the past some of the most compelling limited edition and piece unique watches were made for Japan. Amongst other models Patek Philippe made several Calatrava watches for Japan that I know of, and probably more than I am unaware of. IWC too has done numerous limited editions for Japan, two of the most notable being the Portuguese rattrapante chronograph with a display back and the Doppelchronograph with white dial.

IWC Japan editions

Photo courtesy Jester

That was the result of Japan once being the most important watch market in the world, though it has since been eclipsed by other markets in the primary market. China is now the biggest destination for Swiss watch (the market for vintage watches is another story). Nevertheless Japan is still a vital market for many brands – it remains large even if growth is negligible – and several noteworthy Japan-only limited editions are still unveiled each year.

Sinn for instance last year unveiled a 556 styled after the 1950s RAF pilots watches. This is the sort of watch that military watch aficionados would love, but it is a limited edition of 50 pieces only available at Isetan stores in Japan.

Coincidentally, Isetan had another exclusive edition, a steel watch from Urban Jurgensen which had beautifully a crafted dial with blue steel hands. This is a limited edition of three pieces.

Photo courtesy Web Chronos

The Sinn and Urban Jurgensen reflect very well the tastes of the Japanese in general, which tend to run towards more classical, smaller watches, sometimes with a historical inspiration.



Japan editions reflect the Japanese market which is not merely rich but extremely refined and developed in its taste. There is a focus on quality and attention to detail that is part of Japanese culture. They know quality when they see it; more than half of the Philippe Dufour Simplicity watches reside in Japan.

A Simplicity outside of Japan 



There is also significant attention to history, hence remakes of vintage watches are popular. In addition to the 556 shown here Sinn has also produced a remake of the Heuer Bundeswehr flyback chronograph for the Japanese market. And the Omega Speedmaster is enormously popular in Japan, thanks to its moon landing connection; dozens of Speedmaster limited editions have been made for Japan over the years.

But there is also tremendous respect for actual vintage watches; for instance the quality and number of vintage Rolex sports watches available in Japan is unsurpassed elsewhere.

These cultural traits are also reflected in Japanese watch magazines, which are arguably the best in the world in terms of technical content, historical research and photography. But they are almost always only in Japanese, which also reflects the general insularity of Japanese culture. It is a shame for the quality of content is unparalleled. One of the best magazines in my opinion is Chronos Japan which has incredible technical content.

Japan is experiencing a terrible tragedy now. My respect and admiration for the country, especially the culture of collecting, makes it even more saddening to see what’s happening. Let’s hope they recover well and speedily.

- SJX