Kurono Tokyo opens orders for the ‘Structure’ Chronograph S1 at 9:00 AM New York time on Thursday, November 19, and that single window covers the whole production run. Hajime Asaoka designed the watch as a tool chronograph first, and the dial shows the work.
Three dial colors share one layout, one 40mm polished steel case and one automatic movement, and none of it comes back once the run sells through.
Price: $3,690
Where to buy: Buy at Kurono Tokyo
A dial built to read at speed
The dial stacks four layers so each hand sits close to the index it reads against, and the chronograph hand runs with almost zero parallax against its scale.
Both subdials are enlarged to the limit the layout allows, and their counter hands wear the same fluorescent orange as the central chronograph hand, so elapsed time reads in one color.
He calls the S1 his definitive answer, and he sums his ethos for the project in two words: “Functional Elegance.”
Asaoka frames the brief behind it in one question: “How should a chronograph be designed as a true, uncompromising tool watch?”
Nothing on this dial decorates.
Polished steel outside, an automatic doing the timing
Inside sits the NE86PWT automatic, a 34-jewel movement running at 28,800 vibrations per hour with a power reserve of approximately 45 hours, driving hours, minutes, seconds and the chronograph itself.
The case runs 316L stainless steel with a high polish, 40mm across and 13.15mm thick including the sapphire box crystal, running 50.2mm lug to lug on 22mm lugs.
A white rubber strap carries it, and the polish and the 3 ATM rating cut against daily abuse, while the slim case and clean dial read well in any light.
It times. It doesn’t swim.
One window on November 19
Kurono takes orders in one window only, opening Thursday, November 19 at 11:00 PM Japan time, which lands at 9:00 AM in New York and 6:00 AM in California.
It’s a limited run that won’t be repeated, and each customer can order one watch, with deliveries expected to start from mid-December 2026.
The S1 also opens STRUCTURE, the series Kurono calls a new style of tool watch, and the watches sit on view at the Tokyo and Shanghai salons through November 19 for buyers near either city.
Register an account on Kurono’s site before the window opens so checkout doesn’t stall, and budget for a 10% tariff on US orders, collected by the courier on top of the price.
Miss the window and the watch is gone.
Buy the S1 if you want a mechanical chronograph designed around the read: the layered dial, the 28,800 vph automatic and the 40mm polished case land at $3,690 before taxes and duties. Skip it if you need real water resistance or a second chance at the run, because it offers neither.
Price: $3,690
Where to buy: Buy at Kurono Tokyo
