It’s only been a couple of months since we talked about Kiwame Tokyo, a new micro-brand from Japan with the goal of delivering “honest watchmaking from Asakusa” and “affordable Japanese watches.” The project of industry veteran Masami Watanabe, the brand started with an appealing Calatrava-inspired pair of watches offered at a fair price, the Kurotsuki and Usuki models. Following the success of the inaugural collection, it’s already time for Kiwame Tokyo to release its second collection, a pair of field-inspired watches; more rugged, more utilitarian, but still packed with classic elegance, here are the Iwao Ginkai and Iwao Sumi.
With the inaugural Kurotsuki and Usuki watches, Kiwame Tokyo made an impressive start, offering timeless elegance, sharpness and an undeniable sense of style for a truly fair price – at least considering the attention to detail. Clearly inspired by 1930/40s Calatrava watches, paired with Breguet numerals on the dial, these debut watches caught the attention and sold out quickly. Now, the second collection, comprising the Iwao Ginkai and Iwao Sumi, looks at a more utilitarian side of watchmaking, without losing the classic elegance of the first models.
The Kiwame Tokyo Iwao are built on the same platform as the previous watches. This means an identical case and the same outsourced movement inside. It’s all about the new dial, and what a difference a dial can make. The stepped case retains the same Calatrava inspiration, with a 38mm diameter, topped by a coin-edge bezel with a vertically brushed flat surface. The central case is brushed on the flanks, polished on top. Specifications are on the positive side with a 100m water-resistance, a sapphire crystal with AR coating and a screwed solid caseback. And yes, the 9mm thickness is something we like a lot.
As said, the Kiwame Tokyo Iwao is all about the dial. Here, no more delicate Breguet numerals and syringe-shaped hands. We’re looking at sportier watches with a field-like vibe. The dial, available in silver (Iwao Ginkai) or black (Iwao Sumi), now includes an angled inner flange with the minute track printed. The dial itself is all about contrasts in textures, with a strongly grained (stamped) pattern in the centre and a satin-finished hour chapter ring, creating a two-layer structure “in which roughness and calmness coexist.” The indexes alternate between Arabic numerals at 12, 3, 6, and 9 and diamond-cut bar indexes. At 12 o’clock, an arched applied logo plate integrates naturally into the three-dimensional dial layout.
Inside the case is a well-known, solid and reliable movement from Miyota, the calibre 9039. This automatic movement runs at a 4Hz frequency and stores about 42 hours of power reserve. It is presented here in a time-only version. It is adjusted to a decent accuracy of -10/+15 seconds/day.
Worn on leather straps with a quick-release system, the new Kiwame Tokyo Iwao Ginkai and Sumi are still nicely executed, still nicely designed and still fairly priced, at USD 690 (before taxes). The watches will be available from December 25th, 2025, at 10:30 AM Japan Time at kiwametokyo.com.
https://monochrome-watches.com/kiwame-tokyo-iwao-sumi-iwao-ginkai-accessible-automatic-field-watches-from-japan-introducing-price/
AloJapan.com