Japan’s Most Hyped Affordable Watch Brand Dresses Up a Classic

Brand founder and master watchmaker Hajime Asaoka birthday watch is a present to us all.

Close-up of a pink textured watch face with black hands, day and month subdials, and a date window under a domed crystal.

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Published October 15, 2025

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Hajime Asaoka is among the few modern watch designers that horology fans know by name, thanks primarily to his brand Kurono Tokyo.

Founded in 2019 as an affordable alternative to the five-figure bespoke watches that established Asaoka’s reputation, the Japanese boutique brand has cultivated a ton of hype. And the master designer just outdid himself with the Grand Jubilee Calendar.

Silver wristwatch with a textured pink dial, black leather strap, and subdials for day and month. — The Grand Jubilee Calendar brings refinements to the dial and case.

This automatic triple calendar watch is built on the discontinued Kurono Calendrier I blueprint, layering on more refinements. Asaoka designed it to mark his 60th birthday, hence the name referencing a diamond jubilee that celebrates a 60th anniversary.

Despite creating exquisite luxury-tier watches under his eponymous label, Asaoka explains in a press release that he wears Kurono nearly every day. “By doing so, I notice points for improvement,” he said. “And those insights then feed directly into the next new model.”

Silver wristwatch with a pink dial, black leather strap, and subdials for day and month on a black textured surface. — The Grand Jubilee Calendar’s dial is salmon colored to mimic Tokyo’s autumn foliage.

The updated dial features more depth through added details, and the new case is more elegant with cleaner lines and a fully mirror-polished surface.

The Grand Jubilee Calendar is the result of an artist’s endless tinkering with his design, and the result is one of the finest dress watches in the $2,000 range.

Reaching new depths

According to Asaoka, the primary flaw with his previous triple calendar dial was the date window. The date disc rotated deep beneath the lacquered dial, making it difficult to read.

To remedy this, a sunken circle with the date window cut into it was added to the dial plate, dropping it to the level of the date disc.

Close-up of a wristwatch with a pink textured dial, black numerals, subdials for day and month, date window, and black leather strap. — The date window, day dial and month dial have been sunken to create depth and enhance legibility.

The previous lacquered dial required the day and month dials to be applied from behind, making the whole thing look too thick to Asaoka.

Despite the same basic design, with the day displayed at nine o’clock and the month displayed at three o’clock, the calendar dials are now built into the dial plate with etched recesses.

A new guilloché pattern at the dial’s center adds texture and connects the different layers, making the dial feel thinner.

Kurono’s signature syringe and leaf hand combination remains, along with the railroad minute tack and printed numeral hour markers, although the font has changed to a modern one.

Silver wristwatch with a pink dial, black numerals, two subdials for months and days, date window, and black leather strap. — The hands and dial markings have a matte black finish to match the onyx cabochon set into the crown.

What’s special about the hands and dial markings is the color. Asaoka and his team painstakingly replicated the exact shade and finish of black exhibited by the onyx cabochon set into the crown.

To me, the most striking detail about the Grand Jubilee Calendar is the salmon dial color, which reminds Asaoka of the vibrant foliage decorating the trees in Tokyo during autumn.

Polishing it off

Asaoka’s refinements extend to the Grand Jubilee Calendar case as well. Gone is the coin-edge bezel of previous triple calendars, and the box sapphire crystal is now framed by a thin convex frame with a mirror polish.

Side view of a polished silver watch case with a black crown and black leather strap against a black background. — The coin edge bezel of previous triple calendar references is replaced with a polished convex edge.

The rest of the 38mm case shape remains unchanged, retaining a uniform mirror polish. The crown is slightly different, featuring the new onyx cabochon mentioned above, but the coin edge grip is still there.

To mark Asaoka’s diamond jubilee, a gold emblem is set into the caseback engraved with the master watchmaker’s hanko — a stamp used in place of a written signature in traditional Japanese culture.

Close-up of a silver watch back with a textured rose gold medallion and engraved text around the edge. — The caseback has a gold medallion of Hajime Asaoka’s hanko, a Japanese stamp that serves as a signature.

The Grand Jubilee Calendar’s look and finish almost bridge the gap between Kurono and Asaoka’s luxury label, but it is still powered by a humble and respectable Miyota caliber 9022 automatic movement with a 40-hour power reserve.

Availability and price

Despite its elevated, dressier appearance, the Grand Jubilee Calendar maintains Asaoka’s commitment to making high-quality watches at an affordable price.

It is available for $2,380, but the Japanese brand is clear up front with American customers that all sales are final and a 15-percent baseline tariff must be paid to the carrier upon purchase, along with additional local taxes. That brings the price to at least $2,737 for the U.S. market.

This limited edition run will go on sale on October 17 at 10:00 AM EST.

Round silver wristwatch with a pink dial, black numerals, two subdials, date window, and black leather strap.

Kurono Tokyo Grand Jubilee Calendar

Specs

Case Size	38mm
Movement	Miyota caliber 9022 automatic
Water Resistance	50m

$2,380 at Kurono Tokyo

About the Author: Brad Lanphear is an associate editor at Gear Patrol covering watches and style. Before joining the publication, he previously wrote for Heddels and Men’s Health. Now, he’s on a never-ending quest to find the perfect pair of Japanese denim.

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