Let’s get something out of the way immediately: yes, it is brightly coloured, and yes, it isn’t the easiest watch to acquire. Right, let’s now be more serious about Kurono Tokyo and its latest watch, the Vermilion Chronograph. What is Kurono? Well, that’s the accessible brand of independent watchmaker Hajime Asaoka, a bit like so-called “second vins,” a term commonly associated with Bordeaux wine to talk about the more accessible labels of the greatest estates. Still very good, still has some of its great character, not the same price tag though. And while we’re on the topic of red colours, let’s get cracking with this new Vermilion Chronograph.
As we’ve explained on multiple occasions, Kurono is the brainchild of Hajime Asaoka, one of the most recognised independent watchmakers of Japan, who’s capable of creating rather fascinating, yet expensive watches such as tourbillons or an inverted chronograph. Kurono isn’t playing in the same league, as it’s about creating elegant, slightly retro watches with the man’s design language, and encasing outsourced Japan-made movements inside (Seiko and Miyota, mostly). Still, Asaoka here delivers handsome watches with a focus on traditional crafts, such as Urushi lacquer.
With its latest creation, the Vermilion Chronograph, Kurono adds a bold model to its stopwatch lineup, which has already been made in multiple variants. Design-wise, the recipe is that of a vintage-inspired chronograph with compact proportions, made of polished steel with a box-shaped sapphire crystal on top. The watch is only 38mm in diameter with a relatively reasonable 13.5mm thickness. It sits short on the wrist too, just under 47mm in length. The caseback is closed, the pushers are traditional pump-style and water-resistance is limited to 30m. Not a chronograph for aquatic activities, but you’ve guessed that from the design.
What sets this new edition apart is, without a doubt, the dial. That unmistakable orange-red dial, with a colour named Vermilion (SHU:朱 in Japanese). This tone, in Japan’s culture, is often associated with nobility and is used for torii gates and samurai armours, but it’s also a sign of good fortune. There’s a bit of a story with this dial. As Hajime Asaoka explains, “we take a prototype dial and stick it to the south-facing window of my atelier. Half of the dial is covered with black tape. It then stays exposed to sunlight – about 40 days in summer and 60 days in winter. This is equivalent to more than 10 years of exposure under normal use. At the end of the test, the black tape is removed, and we check whether there is any difference in colour. I had long wanted to create a chronograph with a vivid orange dial, but most paints (pigments) failed this test. Only two pigments passed: ‘selenium red’ and ‘vermilion.’ These were the vivid orange colours I had finally found that would not fade.”
The rest of the dial is classic for Kurono, with sunken black sub-counters, applied polished pearls as hour markers and domed, polished hands. There’s a date window at 6 o’clock, which we could certainly see removed. The contrast between the orange-red colour and the black sub-dial is strong, and the Kurono Tokyo Vermilion Chronograph surely has a strong personality. Inside, no surprises. The watch is powered by Seiko NE86 (also known as 8R46 when used by Seiko). It is a more advanced movement than what you’d expect, as it relies on a column wheel and vertical clutch architecture, and is an integrated automatic movement. It beats at 4Hz and stores about 45h of power reserve. The watch is worn on a discreet black leather strap.
Availability & price
No Kurono watch is easy to acquire, but the Vermilion Chronograph is even harder to get, being a small batch release available only at Kurono salons in Aoyama (a district of Tokyo) and in Shanghai, China. No online ordering will be possible, and only one watch can be purchased at a time, from August 22nd, 2025. It is also said to be a limited production run (no numbers mentioned) that will not be repeated.
The Kurono Tokyo Vermilion Chronograph is priced at JPY 598,950 (incl. taxes) or RMB 29,300 (incl. taxes), about EUR 3,470 at the time of publication. For more details, please visit kuronotokyo.com.
https://monochrome-watches.com/kurono-tokyo-vermilion-chronograph-salon-exclusive-model-introducing-specs-price/