With Seiko releasing their 145th Anniversary series, the watch world’s attention is squarely on Japan at the start of 2026. Alongside the giant of Seiko, we have the latest release from Kurono Tokyo, the accessible branch of Hajime Asaoka’s independent watchmaking empire. The new release is the Special Projects 2026 37mm Inseki, Kurono Tokyo’s first meteorite dial watch.
The focus here, unsurprisingly, is on that meteorite dial. It’s made from a thin disc of the Muonionalusta meteor, which is the most common iron-based meteorite used in watchmaking. What is unusual is the fact that every single piece of meteorite used in the 37mm Inseki was hand picked and approved by Hajime Asaoka personally. Typically, Kurono Tokyo operates by having Asaoka involved in the design process of the watch and then passing off production to his team – he’s not personally involved in the creation of each watch unlike his eponymous high end brand.
So having Asaoka involved in the practical construction of every watch, even something so relatively simple as picking the best meteorite dials based on having interesting and pleasing patterns, is a big deal. So much so that each of the meteorite dials features his personal seal to mark that it was picked by him, presented in red below the central hand stack. Literally a seal of approval.
Surrounding the meteorite disc is a white lacquer hour scale with Breguet numerals. Those numerals are an example of Kurono’s typical operating methodology where Asaoka drew the initial template by hand, which is then replicated on each watch. The peripheral edge then features a railway minute track. Between the railway track and sector style display, the watch actually feels quite Art Deco in its overall aesthetic, although that’s not especially surprising as Kurono Tokyo often dips into early 20th century design elements.
The dial is housed in a 37mm steel case with a thickness of 11.5mm that includes the box sapphire crystal. Also housed inside is the Miyota 90S5 automatic movement. Obviously not as prestigious as an Asaoka movement but that’s the point – you can’t buy an Asaoka watch but you can buy one of these.
They’re priced at $1,850 (approx. £1,365) excl. VAT & Duties and strictly limited to one per customer. Additionally, while the Special Projects 2026 37mm Inseki is a limited edition, Kurono haven’t published an official quantity that will be available – though all their watches sell out rapidly. Meaning if you don’t want to miss out, be ready for when pre-order begins on January 15th at 2pm GMT.
Price and Specs:
More details at Kurono.
