URUGA 31 Leather Model [UG02-CBENCP-SSB]

Look at the dial of the URUGA 31 at an angle and it moves. The pattern runs horizontally in bands of shifting tone, and MINASE took it from the surface of a river.

That river is the Minase, which runs through the valleys of Akita where the workshop stands, and the brand describes the dial as an image of its glittering, languid water. The hour indices work with it rather than against it: each one is cut obliquely, a shape MINASE says was inspired by the crossed front of a kimono, so the light they return wavers instead of holding steady.

The case is the collection's other idea. Four separately faceted clasps clamp the case and crystal together in the manner of prongs securing a gemstone, and the sapphire between them has a slight vertical curvature. Sharp facets, soft curves, mirrored planes polished by hand so the reflections stay free of distortion.

This reference pairs a steel case with a leather strap and measures 31 by 39 mm with a thickness of 9.9 mm, which is genuinely slim. The self-winding KT8001, built on a Swiss ETA 2671 and Sellita SW100 base and finished by MINASE, carries the date. Rated 5 atm.

Perfect for: river-inspired dial patterns, slim automatic watches under 10 mm, leather strap watches for smaller wrists.