Unable to buy the watch he wanted, he made it himself. "Montre Ordinaire" is the realization of that dream. While influenced by Breguet, its style is quite ambitious, and the level of craftsmanship is breathtaking.
Text by Masayuki Hirota (Chronos-Japan)
Edited by Yuto Hosoda (Chronos-Japan)
[Article published in the July 2026 issue of Kronos Japan]
A masterpiece born in Japan, overflowing with admiration for Breguet.
This is the first Nouvelle Chronométrie model to feature an in-house manufactured tourbillon. The dial is even made by J.N. Shapiro. While certainly not inexpensive, its sheer brilliance, unlike anything seen in current production watches, is truly unique. Manual winding. 19 jewels. 18,000 vibrations/hour. Power reserve of approximately 52 hours. 18K rose gold case (38mm diameter, 11mm thickness). 3 ATM water resistance. Estimated price: 33 million yen (including tax).
Please allow me to begin with a personal anecdote. I have a longtime friend named Noritaka Sakurai. He was simply a watch enthusiast, but for some reason he quit his job and started his own watchmaking company called "Nouvelle Chronométrie." He said he was making the watches he wanted because he couldn't afford them, but I never imagined he would actually go through with it.
The company's first model is the "Montres Ordinaire," which means "ordinary watch." Its design is an homage to the original Breguet he once owned. You can see its strong influence in the extremely small logo and the dial with its extremely dense guilloché engraving. However, the Montres Ordinaire is by no means a rehash of past works. As proof of this, the small seconds subdial at 7 o'clock has been made extremely wide, and the minute and hour hands have been made as thin as possible.
Furthermore, the movement employs a tourbillon designed and manufactured in-house. While this is extraordinarily ambitious for a debut model, it's commendable that the overall design and meticulous details don't overwhelm the entire watch. In addition, the 38mm diameter case provides excellent packaging. Even setting aside any bias due to it being a friend's creation, it was unexpected that a newly established manufacturer (especially one founded by someone outside the watch industry) could produce a watch of this caliber. Incidentally, the actual watch features a black mark above the small seconds subdial, reminiscent of an observatory chronometer.
Only a few pieces have been announced for the year so far. With a dial made by JN Shapiro (!) and a hand-finished case and movement, the estimated price is over 3000 million yen. However, for those who are drawn to its appearance (I am one of them), this watch will undoubtedly be the holy grail.
