Minase in Europe
I dropped by the only Minase AD in Switzerland and had a look at a couple of their models. The seven/five windows are cool, but a little too thick for me. I found the Horizon much more appealing.
They had a smaller version too, but I preferred the larger one thanks to its very modern aesthetic. It wears like a large Santos but much more industrial.
I would have liked to see a Divido too, but they didn't have any in person at the time. Does anyone else have experience with the brand? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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Jacob
Welcome to my WatchCrunch profile.
London, UK
Member since
Last active: 2 days ago
7.00” / 17.78 cm
Looks cool, not familiar with the brand.
Love it! Thanks for sharing that. I have a new-to-me brand to explore.
I just saw them and tried them on for the first time this past weekend at the District Time Watch show. I have been researching them since. I am fascinated by their designs for sure.
Looks cool, not familiar with the brand.
I should have linked the history! Basically, they are a drill and metal machinery company, founded in 1963, that eventually got cmissiomed to work on watch cases, then eventually started making watch cases for other companies, and finally ended up just making the watches themselves.
They don't make their own movements, so I think most of their watches use ETAs. Their trademark is what they call a "case in case" that creates the floating dial effect. They also use zaratsu polishing on all different components of their watches, though I think they tend not to go all in on polished cases like Grand Seiko and use it more to add highlights to bracelets, bevelled edges, indices, etc. And now they've started to do some quite complex lacquer and enamel dials, though sadly I didn't get to see any, so I can't vouch for their quality.
I think I'll end up waiting until I make it over to Japan before seriously considering one because I'd love to see more of their offerings and they just aren't easy to find. The AD said that they're relatively popular in the Netherlands, so maybe that's another place to look!
https://minasewatches.com/history/
I should have linked the history! Basically, they are a drill and metal machinery company, founded in 1963, that eventually got cmissiomed to work on watch cases, then eventually started making watch cases for other companies, and finally ended up just making the watches themselves.
They don't make their own movements, so I think most of their watches use ETAs. Their trademark is what they call a "case in case" that creates the floating dial effect. They also use zaratsu polishing on all different components of their watches, though I think they tend not to go all in on polished cases like Grand Seiko and use it more to add highlights to bracelets, bevelled edges, indices, etc. And now they've started to do some quite complex lacquer and enamel dials, though sadly I didn't get to see any, so I can't vouch for their quality.
I think I'll end up waiting until I make it over to Japan before seriously considering one because I'd love to see more of their offerings and they just aren't easy to find. The AD said that they're relatively popular in the Netherlands, so maybe that's another place to look!
https://minasewatches.com/history/
Thanks for the information! They have some nice looking pieces!
I really like Minase’s designs and the visual interest they bring with the dials suspended within outer cases. They have a limited edition blacked-out DLC version of the Horizon that is absolute 🔥🔥🔥.
I’ve got to see them at several watch conventions in Austin and DC and they’re amazing watches!!
Wow ! That’s an interesting piece !