URUGA 31 Leather Model [UG02-CBKNGY-SSB]

Gray dial, black leather, steel case. The URUGA 31 in this configuration is about as neutral as MINASE gets, until the light moves.

The dial is patterned with a horizontal gradation modelled on the Minase River, and in gray it behaves like the water it refers to, banding light and dark across the face depending on the angle. The indices are cut on a slant, borrowed from the front of a kimono, which keeps the reflections restless.

MINASE launched URUGA in 2023 alongside the larger URUGA 42, built on a clamping structure rather than the case-in-case construction used for its square-cased models. Four voluminously cut clasps, each faceted separately, hold the case and the crystal together, and the sapphire above them curves slightly along its vertical axis. Every mirrored plane is polished by hand against a flat rotating plate, which is how the edges between them stay sharp.

The steel case is 31 mm wide, 39 mm long and 9.9 mm thick, sized to sit close on a slim wrist. The self-winding KT8001 with date is a Swiss ETA 2671 and Sellita SW100 base finished by MINASE. Water resistance is 5 atm, which means rain rather than swimming.

Perfect for: gray dial leather watches, compact steel dress watches, understated Japanese craftsmanship.