S01E17: Japan, Part 2 of 2, The Indies: Hajime Asaoka, Naoya Hida, Masahiro Kikuno, Kurono Tokyo, & Kuoe

S01E17: Japan, Part 2 of 2, The Indies: Hajime Asaoka, Naoya Hida, Masahiro Kikuno, Kurono Tokyo, & Kuoe

S01E17: Japan, Part Two, The Indies: Hajime Asaoka, Naoya Hida, Masahiro Kikuno, Kurono Tokyo, & Kuoe Note: A reference is made when talking about Kuoe and Smiths. This was recorded prior to the passing of Eddie. RIP brother. Description: In Episode 17 of What’s on Your Riste?, Watchovski explores the quiet apex of Japanese watchmaking: the independent makers operating outside the institutional system, often alone, producing some of the most extraordinary watches in modern horology. From Hajime Asaoka teaching himself watchmaking with George Daniels’s book and machines bought on eBay… to Masahiro Kikuno going from military rifle technician to one of the world’s most respected independent watchmakers… to Naoya Hida spending nearly three decades inside Swiss luxury before launching the dress watches he always wished existed — this episode dives deep into the people, philosophy, and craftsmanship shaping Japan’s indie watch renaissance. Plus: Kurono Tokyo, Kuoe Kyoto, the AHCI, Wadokei temporal hour watches, mokume-gane dials, and the direct lineage from George Daniels to modern Japanese independent horology. If you love independent watchmaking, quiet luxury, craftsmanship, and the stories behind mechanical watches, this is one of the most important episodes of the series so far. Keywords: Hajime Asaoka, Naoya Hida, Masahiro Kikuno, Kurono Tokyo, Kuoe, Kuoe Kyoto, Kenji Uchimura, AHCI, Japanese watchmaking, Japanese independent watchmaking, independent watchmakers, indie watches, George Daniels, Roger W Smith, Philippe Dufour, Rexhep Rexhepi, F.P. Journe, haute horlogerie, luxury watches, mechanical watches, horology, watch collecting, watch podcast, watch enthusiast, watch collector, Tsunami watch, Project T, Wadokei, mokume-gane, Hiko Mizuno, WOSTEP, Type 1 watch, Type 2 watch, Valjoux 23, vintage inspired watches, Japanese microbrands, Kurono, Kuoe Old Smith, Royal Smith, Tokyo watchmaker, Kyoto watches, artisan watchmaking, handcrafted watches, What’s on Your Riste, Watchovski, quiet luxury, collector watches, independent horology, British watchmaking teaser, Daniels method, watchmaking history

S01E16: Japan, Part 1 of 2: The Country That Quietly Won the Engineering War (Seiko, Grand Seiko, Citizen and Casio)

S01E16: Japan, Part One — The Country That Quietly Won the Engineering War (Seiko, Grand Seiko, Citizen and Casio) Description: For decades, Switzerland has dominated the story of luxury watchmaking. But what if Japan quietly won the engineering war while the West wasn’t paying attention? In this episode of What’s on Your Riste?, Watchovski dives deep into the extraordinary rise of Japanese horology — from Seiko’s shocking performance at the Neuchâtel and Geneva Observatory competitions in the 1960s, to the invention of Spring Drive, one of the most technically fascinating movement architectures ever created. We explore the origins of Grand Seiko, the legendary Snowflake dial, the tragic and inspiring story of Yoshikazu Akahane, and the hidden world of Credor’s Micro Artist Studio — where some of the finest watch finishing on Earth is happening in near secrecy in the mountains of Nagano. Plus: Citizen’s astonishing Caliber 0100, Casio Oceanus, King Seiko, Orient, and why Japanese watchmaking deserves to be viewed not as an alternative to Swiss horology — but as a parallel tradition entirely. This is Part One of a two-part journey into Japan’s watchmaking culture, engineering philosophy, and quiet pursuit of perfection. Keywords: Japan watches, Japanese watchmaking, Grand Seiko, Seiko, Credor, Citizen, Casio Oceanus, Spring Drive, Yoshikazu Akahane, Snowflake SBGA211, Seiko Observatory Trials, Neuchâtel Observatory, Geneva Observatory, Japanese horology, luxury watches, independent watchmaking, Credor Eichi II, Micro Artist Studio, Philippe Dufour, Citizen Caliber 0100, Eco Drive, King Seiko, Orient Star, mechanical watches, haute horlogerie, Swiss watches, watch collecting, horology, watch podcast, Watchovski, What’s on Your Riste, Spring Drive history, Grand Seiko Snowflake, Seiko history, Japanese engineering, watch enthusiast, luxury timepieces, automatic watches, watchmaking history, Seiko vs Swiss, quiet luxury, high horology, independent watches, precision watchmaking, titanium watches, GS Snowflake, Zaratsu polishing, Seiko Epson, Shinshu Watch Studio, Shizukuishi, watch collectors, mechanical engineering, Japanese craftsmanship

S01E15: American Watchmaking - The Industry That Died and Is Being Rebuilt (Vortic, Cincinnati Watch Co., Weiss, RGM, J.N. Shapiro)

Episode 15: "American Watchmaking — The Industry That Died and Is Being Rebuilt" You can find a ton of info on more American brands here: https://americanwatchmakingdirectory.org Description: America was once the watchmaking capital of the world (Waltham, Elgin, Hamilton, Gruen) producing over 100 million pocket watches between 1850 and 1950, inventing the railroad-grade accuracy standard, and teaching American production methods to European manufacturers. Then, across the second half of the twentieth century, the industry almost entirely collapsed. Hamilton's last movement rolled off the Lancaster, Pennsylvania line in 1969. The next American-made mechanical movement wouldn't appear for 38 years. This episode traces both the collapse and the quiet, determined rebuild; through five brands working at very different levels and price points. Vortic Watch Company in Fort Collins, Colorado, restores antique American pocket watch movements from Illinois, Elgin, Waltham, Ball, Hamilton, and Hamilton and converts them into wristwatches using cases made in their own Colorado facility...the most direct possible bridge between the original American watchmaking industry and the present. Cincinnati Watch Company, founded in 2018 by Rick Bell and Mark Stegman with WOSTEP-certified co-owner watchmaker Jordan Ficklin, is the first brand to assemble watches in Cincinnati since Gruen closed in 1958. Weiss Watch Company, founded in Los Angeles in 2013 by WOSTEP-trained Cameron Weiss, makes the Caliber 1003 in- house — machined, hand-jeweled, plated, and finished in California. RGM Watch Company, founded in 1992 by Roland G. Murphy in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, produced the first American- made mechanical movement in 38 years with the 2007/2008 Caliber 801, and then the first American tourbillon with the Pennsylvania Tourbillon. And J.N. Shapiro Watches, run by former school principal Joshua Shapiro in Inglewood, California, released the Resurgence in 2023... a watch with 148 of 180 components made in their California workshop, meeting the FTC's all or virtually all standard for the first time since 1969. Plus: the 2015 Hodinkee article by Nicholas Manousos, the FTC investigation into the American watch industry's use of Made in USA, and what the reckoning ultimately produced. Keywords:American watchmaking, Made in USA watches, American horology, Vortic Watch Company, Cincinnati Watch Company, Weiss Watch Company, RGM Watches, J.N. Shapiro, American luxury watches, American pocket watches, Waltham Watch Company, Elgin watches, Hamilton watches, Gruen watches, railroad grade watches, mechanical watches, independent watchmaking, in house movement, American made movement, Swiss watches vs American watches, FTC Made in USA, Nicholas Manousos, Hodinkee, watch collecting, horology podcast, luxury watch podcast, watch enthusiast, watchmaking history, vintage pocket watches, handmade watches, guilloché dial, engine turned dial, tourbillon, Caliber 801, Weiss Caliber 1003, J.N. Shapiro Resurgence, Pennsylvania Tourbillon, WOSTEP, AWCI, haute horlogerie, independent watch brands, watch industry history, American manufacturing, wristwatch history, watch restoration, antique pocket watches, horological history, luxury mechanical watches, microbrand watches, Watchovski, What’s On Your Riste

S01E23 Bonus Episode for Nate: “Between the Words:" Mühle-Glashütte and Lip (of Besançon)

*This one is for my watch brother from another mother in Idaho* Description Bonus Episode: Bonus Episode for Nate: “Between the Words:" Mühle-Glashütte and Lip (of Besançon) …I goofed with the “lip” and “nose” line, you’ll catch it, but I don’t want to re-record, so here we are…I’ve accepted my imperfections, you should not ;) Let’s get into it…in 3rd person because is sounds fancier. A listener once told Watchovski that he keeps listening because he can hear what the show isn’t saying. So this bonus episode follows that thread into two watches whose deepest meaning lives in silence. First, Mühle-Glashütte... the quiet one in Germany’s loudest watchmaking town. A family-run maker that could talk endlessly about pedigree, but instead points toward the sea, search-and-rescue crews, and watches built for the people who come for you when things go wrong. Then, Lip ... the great French watchmaker whose most immortal moment came not from a complication, a celebrity wrist, or a luxury campaign, but from the workers who occupied the factory in 1973, restarted production themselves, and declared: we make them, we sell them, we pay ourselves. One silence is humble. One silence is radical. Both point to the same truth: the watch was never really about the wrist that wears it. A very sincere tip of the hat to Nate from Idaho, whose suggestion gave this episode its shape — and who clearly knows how to listen between the words. Keywords: Mühle-Glashütte, Muhle Glashutte, Lip watches, What’s On Your Riste, Watchovski, Between the Words, watch podcast, horology podcast, German watches, French watches, Glashütte, Besançon, Mühle S.A.R. Rescue-Timer, SAR Rescue Timer, German Maritime Search and Rescue Service, woodpecker-neck regulation, tool watches, family-owned watch brand, Lip Mach 2000, Roger Tallon, Lip R27, electric watches, 1973 Lip factory occupation, French labor history, watchmaking history, vintage watches, independent watchmaking, underappreciated watch brands, watch culture, horology, mechanical watches, meaningful watches, watches with stories, Nate from Idaho, WatchCrunch

S01E14: A Reset Button - The Tool Watch Episode (G-Shock, Citizen, Seiko, Marathon, CWC, Sinn, Tudor, Damasko & Hamilton)

Episode 14: “A Reset Button — The Tool Watch Episode” Special Thanks to Vuk Radic at ItsAboutTime (https://www.itsabouttime.email)….check out his amazing watch newsletter!!! Solid, up to date new releases and awesome “Easter Eggs” he throws in on every update. One of the few Newsletters I sign up for and I encourage listeners to do the same! Ok, about this week… After a four-episode philosophical arc on the deep end of independent watchmaking—Rolex, the Renaud & Papi diaspora, Rexhep Rexhepi, and more—Watchovski hits the reset button. Six full brand segments climb from $50 to $4,000+ through the world of actual tool watches: * G-Shock — the watch that made the category, including the 5610 Square, the GW-M5610 Solar Atomic, and the GA-2100 “Casioak.” * Citizen Promaster — carrying on the Eco-Drive solar tradition, including the BN0150 “Fugu” and the Aqualand. * Seiko Prospex — featuring the SKX, Turtle, Monster, Sumo, and the modern SPB-series. * Marathon Watch Company — the Canadian defense contractor behind the GSAR and MSAR, known for genuine tritium tubes and currently supplying watches to U.S. and Canadian military forces. * CWC (Cabot Watch Company) — the British Ministry of Defence supplier that replaced the Rolex MilSub for the Royal Navy in 1980, with the SBS Diver still issued to British special forces today. * Sinn Spezialuhren — the apex of German engineering, featuring Tegiment Technology, Ar-Dehumidifying Technology, the 856 daily wearer, the U-series submarine steel divers, and the UX GSG 9, issued to German federal counter-terror operators. Plus honorable mentions for the Tudor Pelagos FXD (commissioned by the French Marine Nationale), Damasko, and the Hamilton Khaki Field. The Thesis: Tool watches are the reset button. The watches you don’t take off. The watches whose value lives in what they let you stop thinking about. Not lesser watchmaking... different watchmaking, in service of a different relationship to time. Keywords: Mentioned in this episode: Casio G-Shock DW-5610, GW-M5610, GA-2100 (“Casioak”), Kikuo Ibe, Citizen Promaster BN0150 (“Fugu”), Aqualand, Skyhawk, Eco-Drive, Seiko SKX007/009, SRP777 (“Turtle”), Seiko Monster, Sumo, Samurai, SPB-series, 6R movements, Marathon GSAR/MSAR/Navigator/JSAR, tritium H3 gas tubes, CWC SBS Diver, CWC G10, Royal Navy MilSub history, Sinn 556, 856, U1, U50, UX GSG 9, Tegiment Technology, Ar- Dehumidifying Technology, Helmut Sinn (callback to Ep 9), Lothar Schmidt, Tudor Pelagos FXD, French Marine Nationale, Damasko, Hamilton Khaki Field H-50. Subscribe. Tell a friend. Wear something good — whatever good means to you