Kurono’s First Dive Watch Becomes a Dress Watch When You Take Off the Outer Case

In our industry, we spend a lot of time discussing things like the best dress watches and dive watches. But rarely, if ever, do those two very disparate categories collide in the way they have with Kurono’s latest timepiece.

Part dress watch, part diver, but never at the same time, the Japanese brand’s latest innovation shows how there’s still plenty of room to think outside the box in the horological sphere. But it also makes you wonder why no one has thought of this before.

A Brand Built on Restraint

Hajime Asaoka spent years building a reputation as one of Japan’s most revered independent watchmakers, producing exquisite haute horlogerie pieces under his own name, completing his first watch in 2005 and his first tourbillon just four years later. The problem was those watches were staggeringly expensive and nearly impossible to get. So in 2019, he launched Kurono Tokyo as an accessible vehicle for his design language, with the goal of delivering his ideas, but at attainable prices. The brand’s GPHG nomination for its GMT in 2023 confirmed that it was here to stay.

Up until now, though, Kurono’s sportiest releases were mid-century chronographs. A dive watch seemed almost at odds with the brand’s refined aesthetic.

The Crown Problem, Solved

Asaoka’s entry into dive watches starts with a fundamental question of, what if you just removed the crown? His argument is that a well-regulated automatic worn daily almost never needs crown intervention. And since the crown has historically been the most vulnerable entry point for water in any dive watch, why not design around it entirely?

The result is the two-in-one Diver’s, a 35mm cushion-case dress watch that slides into a 46mm sealed diving case when you need something a bit more durable and water-resistant. The inner watch is understandably compact and, yes, dressy, with heat-blued cathedral hands, luminous triangle-dot-dash markers, and a white dial that almost looks like a field watch but a bit sleeker. Kurono’s first cushion-case model, the inner watch looks superb matched with the pebble-grain calfskin strap it comes with.

The Suit-Up Sequence

To bolster the case, you simply pop the strap, drop the inner watch into the dive case, and thread down the bezel with two grip tabs. Done by hand, water resistance increases from 50m to 100m. However, if you tighten it with the included Duoseal tool, you will get 300m of water resistance, a figure verified through collaboration with official Japanese public research institutes. The bezel, cut from Extra Super Duralumin in a deep hard-anodized red, serves as both a unidirectional elapsed-time tracker and the literal lid of the case. The whole package ships in a display box styled after a waterproof boating case. The attention to detail here is thoroughly Kurono.

Inside both configurations, a Miyota Caliber 90S5 automatic keeps time at 4Hz. It’s a workhorse movement with a strong accuracy reputation, though the 40-hour power reserve is something to keep in mind if you’re not going to wear this daily.

Spec Sheet

Pricing & Availability

The Kurono Diver’s is $2,700, and it’s allocated via ballot with “expressions of interest” accepted through March 11. Applicants holding recreational diving certifications (PADI, SSI, NAUI, etc.) get priority consideration, though no guarantees. Successful applicants will be notified by March 16, with deliveries expected in May.

Recap

Kurono Tokyo Diver’s Watch

Kurono Tokyo’s new Diver’s watch is a 35mm dress watch that slots into a 46mm sealed dive case, giving you two very different watches in one $2,700 package. The former gives you 50m of water resistance, which can be bolstered to 300m with the proper tightening of the outer case.

Learn More: Kurono Tokyo