Urushi Series MAKI-E “FIVE WINDOWS Mid ~Nagare Sakura” Leather model [VM07-CBKMA6-SSD]

Some brush lines cannot be redrawn. On the MINASE Urushi Series maki-e dial “FIVE WINDOWS Mid ~Nagare Sakura,” the trailing lines of blossoms on the wind are pulled in a single breath, with pressure applied to the tip of the brush alone.

Urushi is the refined sap of the lacquer tree, laid down in thin coats that are dried and polished between each pass. Maki-e supplies the picture: gold and colored powders sprinkled into the lacquer while it is still wet, sealed under further coats, then brought back to the surface by polishing. A dial in MINASE's JAPAN ART COLLECTION takes months of that cycle, decorated by hand by a master urushi artisan.

The name means cherry blossoms drifting in the wind, and the composition is built on movement rather than symmetry. The FIVE WINDOWS Mid case is stainless steel at 32 mm wide, 40.3 mm long and 11.6 mm thick including the sapphire, hand-finished with the distortion-free Sallaz polishing MINASE applies to every face. The case concept is a garden admired from inside a box: light enters through sapphire panes in the flanks and the back and falls across the lacquer, so the petals read differently as the day turns. The self-winding KT8001, based on the Swiss ETA 2671 / Sellita SW100 and finished in Akita, shows the date. Black leather strap, 5 atm.

MINASE positions this case as suiting any wrist regardless of age or gender, and at 32 mm it proves the point.

Perfect for: cherry blossom dial watches, compact Japanese luxury watches, urushi lacquer enthusiasts.