URUGA 31 Rubber Model [UG02-RBKNIB-SSD]

Black rubber under an ice blue dial gives the URUGA 31 a colder, more graphic character than any of its leather versions.

MINASE keeps the same architecture underneath. Four voluminously cut clasps, each faceted on its own, clamp the case and the crystal together in the way prongs secure a stone, and the sapphire they hold has a slight vertical curvature. It is the collection's stated contrast, sharp edge against smooth curve, and it survives the switch to a sport strap intact.

The pale blue dial carries the horizontal gradation pattern the brand draws from the Minase River, the water running through the Akita valleys where the workshop sits, and its obliquely cut indices, shaped after the front of a kimono, keep the light from settling.

At 31 mm wide, 39 mm long and 9.9 mm thick, on black rubber, this is the version to wear when a leather strap would be a nuisance. The self-winding KT8001, a Swiss ETA 2671 and Sellita SW100 base finished by MINASE, shows the date. Water resistance is 5 atm, which is splash and rain protection only.

Perfect for: ice blue dial rubber strap watches, compact everyday automatics, warm-weather watch rotations.