URUGA 42 Leather Model [UG03-CBKNGY-SSB]

Gray is the color that lets you look at the case. On the URUGA 42 that matters, because the case is where MINASE has spent its hours.

URUGA arrived in 2023 as a departure from the case-in-case models the brand had built its reputation on. Instead of an inner case wrapped by an outer one, the URUGA 42 uses a clamping structure: four voluminously cut clasps, each one an elaborately faceted piece of the bezel, hold the case and the crystal down together. MINASE's own reference point is jewelry, where prongs secure a stone without hiding it. The polished planes between those facets come from Sallaz hand-polishing, a technique that originated in Switzerland and which MINASE revived, working each surface flat so the mirror stays free of distortion and the edges stay sharp.

The gray dial carries the horizontal gradation the line takes from the Minase River, reading silver at one angle and near-graphite at another. It is worn here on black leather. The steel case is 42.0 mm wide, 48.0 mm long including the lugs and 10.2 mm thick with the slightly curved sapphire, and it houses the self-winding KT7002, a Swiss ETA 2892 and Sellita SW300 base finished and decorated by MINASE, with a date.

Five atmospheres covers rain and a wet sink rather than swimming. A gray dial on a black strap is about as versatile as a 42 mm watch gets.

Perfect for: gray dial watch shoppers, buyers who prefer understated dials, admirers of hand-polished steel cases.