CHRONOTHEORY&Co is a project launched by CHRONOTHEORY, a watch retailer in Ginza, Tokyo, with the concept of “a fun watchmaking journey” and an interior reminiscent of a futuristic spaceship, to preserve the cultural assets of the watch industry for the future. The logotype, with ” & Co ” added to it, expresses the desire to “take on the world” together with Japanese engineers from a wide range of fields , and is designed in the image of logos seen on watch dials from the 1940s .

　The first release, the “AV-98 (Advanced Vintage 6498),” is available in 3 colors: “Piano Forte Black,” featuring a black lacquer mirrored dial with yellow gold indices and hands; “Strato Navy,” featuring a blue lacquer mirrored dial with silver indices and hands; and “Timpani Rose,” featuring a bronze-colored hairline dial with silver indices and hands.

　　　　　　

　The exterior, designed by Watanabe, who originally worked as a graphic designer, incorporates the case structure and details of various dress watches from the 1930s to 1950s, but the concept of this series is a “smart casual watch” that places emphasis on practicality. Rather than being a “dress watch” that is too formal for modern lifestyles, the overall balance has been adjusted to create a watch that blends seamlessly with everyday casual and business fashion, and that you’ll want to pick up even when you’re heading out to a nice restaurant.

　The complex case, inspired by 1950s dress watches, is manufactured by Kyowa Seiko Co., Ltd., the company that operates MINASE. The middle case, with its three-dimensional curved sides, expandable lug tops, and flat lug sides, is machined into a single piece rather than welded. This eliminates any traces of brazing. After CNC machining, skilled craftsmen perform Zaratsu polishing and hand polishing to achieve a mirror finish while maintaining sharp edges and minimizing irregular distortion.

　The tops of the lugs are raised one level above the top of the middle case, creating a twist-free, expandable surface on the lug tops. This allows the lug tops at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock to appear aligned in a straight line.
　Furthermore, by placing gaskets on all mating surfaces—between the box-shaped crystal and bezel, between the bezel and the middle case, between the middle case and the screwback, and between the screwback and the sapphire back—the watch boasts a high water resistance of 6 bar despite its antique design. This makes it suitable for everyday use in subtropical regions such as Japan and Southeast Asia, without worrying about sudden downpours or high humidity.

　The dial, which makes use of polished lacquer and hairline finishes, was manufactured by Shokosha Co., Ltd., which handles many high-end models for major domestic manufacturers. The Breguet numerals, designed with a complex, accented design reminiscent of the 1940s, are applied to the 0.4mm thick dial with a thickness of approximately 0.15mm, the same as those used in pocket watches.

　The typefaces for the Breguet numerals and the numbers in the small seconds area are all original designs created in-house, inspired by watches from the 1930s and 1940s. Unlike typical fonts intended for double-digit use, the weight and italic level of each part have been carefully adjusted to ensure optimal balance on the dial.
　Furthermore, the hands, not only for the hour and minute hands but also for the small seconds hand, feature C-chamfered bevels. When viewed from an oblique angle, the design creates a three-dimensional impression reminiscent of the pocket watch era.

　While the dial features a polished lacquer finish, the small-seconds area is formed as an integral part of the dial rather than being a separately attached component. After the brass base undergoes electroplating and lacquering, the small-seconds area is machined to create a recessed step; the exposed brass is then rhodium-plated and lacquered, and the uppermost surface is polished. This process achieves both a perfectly uniform top surface and sharp edges at the step, all while maintaining an overall dial thickness of just 0.4 mm.

　The movement used is based on the highly reliable ETA6498-1 (18,000vph), with unique modifications such as changes to the shape of the bridge and the addition of a triovis-type regulator.

　Rather than being machined using a CNC machine, the bridges are reshaped by hand by watchmaker Iizuka using metal files to create the unique shape, return angle, and wide (0.6mm) chamfer. The surface is then polished to a mirror finish, and through a proprietary process that is a trade secret, semicircular Côtes de Genève are applied using a wooden rotary tool. These semicircular Côtes de Genève are carved with much less force than the standard quarter-circular Côtes de Genève, resulting in less unevenness on the bridge surface. Furthermore, the finished bridges and baseplate are plated with 24K gold (pure gold) instead of the usual rhodium plating, resulting in an exceptionally vibrant gold color.

　The 2nd, 3rd and 4th wheels, which make up the watch’s main train wheel, also have a return angle on the spokes (the parts), and are broadly chamfered.The pallet fork and pallet bridge are also broadly chamfered, allowing you to enjoy the 3 dimensional feel of each part, just like in the pocket watch generation.

　The parts related to the operation system, such as the crown wheel, ratchet wheel, click wheel, gear and small set wheel, are adjusted to a unique shape and polished all the way to the tip of the teeth, resulting in a smooth winding feel without any impurities while still having a clicking sensation, and a smooth hand-turning feel that does not make you feel the presence of gears such as friction or vibration.We aim to make winding the mainspring and setting the time a joyful experience for our customers, rather than a hassle or tedious task.

　At CHRONOTHEORY & Co., we do not provide bulky, impractical presentation boxes made of paper or wood. Instead, each timepiece comes with the “WATCHCUBE”—a carrying case uniquely designed by Chronotheory and crafted from genuine leather, both inside and out. Featuring cushioning on all interior surfaces and a construction that prevents the zipper from coming into contact with the watch, it allows you to carry your timepiece safely in your daily life.