The name of the brand is associated with the Eastern countries, as seen from a European perspective, mostly referring to the Asian continent and the coveted treasures that used to come from there in the past. Their prices also reflect the excellent craftsmanship, meaning that you won’t find anything in their collection priced below a few thousand dollars. The fact that every component is manufactured in Japan makes this a unique and interesting piece, because of its blend of artistry and practicality it is the type of watch that could easily become a favorite in anyone’s collection. The KUOE Royal Smith/90-004 watch comes with a luxurious Italian leather strap with a gloss finish. The Royal Smith/90-004 model is limited to 50 pieces of each color. The case is really nothing to get too hyped about. Polished all over. Branded crown. Big vintage-style dome. The small dimensions and curved lugs mean it’ll be at home on all but the largest wrists (which may make it look a bit too dainty). While my wheelhouse is definitely 38mm-42mm, I find a certain charm in watches smaller than that, which adds a bit to the wearing experience. Although not remarkable, there’s also nothing to complain about here. And it lets the dial do all the talking.

Thank goodness I had an 18mm strap available. It’s not a popular width, given the larger sizes of modern timepieces. But my loose formula for acceptable lug width is L=[1/2(C)], where L is lug width, and C is case diameter. With a 35mm case diameter, you’re left at 17.5mm, which rounds up to 18mm. (If you want to know what case diameters work with what lug widths, it’s C=2L+/-2; 18mm lugs work well on cases sized from 34mm to 38mm.) He went on to develop an in-house tourbillon in four years. If that’s not an impressive feat, we don’t know what is. The indirect drive seconds hand of the Miyota movement was disconcerting at first, but I've gotten used to it: it "stutters" when the watch is shaken, but that doesn't affect accuracy. The rotor is also noisier than I'm used to, and the sound it makes when the watch is shaken can be a little disconcerting as well. As I expected, the movement is "settling in" and now runs about -3 spd; still quite good so no complaint there. If you do hand-wind the watch, the action is smooth as silk. I've worn it three times now during hard rowing-machine workouts and that, at least, hasn't phased it.This premium model is equipped with the automatic movement Caliber 9039 made by CITIZEN MIYOTA. Made of 316L stainless steel, the watch has the same dimensions of the brand’s 1st model “OLD SMITH / 90-001”. Topped with a domed mineral glass, the dial adopts a sharp bar index, and it has a simple, stylish and very luxurious appearance. Citizen is among the most powerful watchmakers of Japan, winning its place during the ’70s, when they became one the few to produce inexpensive and highly accurate quartz watches, offering them to the entire world. But that wasn’t their only impressive feat, as Seiko was also the first watchmaker to create the first automatic chronograph watch in the world, the Seiko 5 Sports Speedtimer, beating bigger names in the industry, like Breitling, Zenith, or TAG Heuer. Today, Seiko is one of the biggest watch manufacturers in the world, with the capability of producing their own movements, parts, and components, something few brands can actually do.

I've had it on my wrist or bedside table for 24 hours now and the NH35 movement is running at PERFECT accuracy. It has not gained or lost a second since I set it! I don't expect that to last, mechanical movements in my experience do drift as they settle in, but I'm sure it will be more than acceptable whatever happens. Setting it did show some slop in the mechanism, with the hands jumping around a bit as you tried to set things, but I gather that's normal for this movement. Their pieces aren’t by any means spectacular, but pleasant mechanical timepieces that are characterized by reliability and a beautiful simplicity. A gently domed, scratch-resistant sapphire crystal protects the dial, and the anti-reflective coating is very effective. The unguarded, signed crown is my least favourite thing about the watch. I’m not keen on its shape and find it a bit too small and fiddly. It’s easy to pop the crown out but not that easy to change the time or wind. Water resistance is 5 ATM/50 Metres, which is fine for a watch such as this. The Royal Smith Dial And Hands All KUOE watches are made and engineered in Japan. The brand and concept of KUOE began in 2010 when Uchimura, the designer and founder, was a university student studying language in London, England. Uchimura just so happened to enter a shop that was handling antique watches, where he saw a line-up of hand-wound watches from the 1940’s - 70’s. He was instantly drawn to them and their ability to keep time even after the rich accumulation of history in the decades that had passed.His creations are incredibly well made, taking design cues from the watches of the 1930s, boasting that old school elegance and beauty that contemporary watchmaking has almost lost. Japan is well known for their amazing craftsmanship in almost all areas, and the watch world makes no exception. Japanese watchmakers instill into their watch collections the same values that Japan’s culture instilled into its people a long, long time ago.