Hajime Asaoka is one of the most respected independent watchmakers in the world, renowned for achieving the highest levels of horological mastery entirely through self-study. Trained as an industrial product designer at the Tokyo University of the Arts, his journey into watchmaking began not in a Swiss academy, but by studying George Daniels’ famous textbook Watchmaking.
Operating out of a small atelier in Tokyo, he debuted his first in-house tourbillon in 2009, making history as the first Japanese-built tourbillon wristwatch. His eponymous brand is characterized by extreme exclusivity, producing only a handful of watches per year. For masterpieces like the acclaimed Tsunami, Asaoka personally designs, machines, and finishes almost every component by hand. His work, heavily influenced by Art Deco aesthetics and traditional Japanese sensibilities, quickly earned him membership in the prestigious Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants (AHCI).
