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Lot Essay
We are delighted to present here for the first time at Christie’s a superb hand-crafted timepiece by the highly esteemed Japanese independent watchmaker Masahiro Kikuno, the youngest member of the AHCI - Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants. Sold with the full set of accessories, excitingly, the present ‘SAKUBOU’ watch is a possibly unique platinum cased example of a model that is more usually supplied with a white gold case, in addition it features a special design for the moon phase aperture.
Extremely sought after, Masahiro Kikuno’s intricate mechanical watches are regarded as unique works of art, inspired by traditional Japanese aesthetics, they are entirely made by hand without the use of machinery, each timepiece requiring months of meticulous craftsmanship to complete.
The present model is named ‘SAKUBOU’ meaning ‘new moon’ and ‘full moon’ in reference to the watch’s moon phase function and its philosophical concept of admiring change and aging over time, of encouraging the watch’s wearer to admire the moon and the process of aging, seeing time as a beautiful, aging process rather than a deterioration. The dial design is highly distinctive to Kikuno’s timepieces, taking its inspiration from traditional Japanese culture, it is hand-cut from a traditional alloy of copper and silver called ‘Kuro-Shibuichi’ and finished with floral decoration and a matte black finish. In an aperture above 6 o’clock is the moon phase display that is accurate without adjustment to a single day over 122 years.
Powered by a manually wound in-house movement designed and built entirely by Masahiro Kikuno, the present watch offers the rare opportunity for collectors of independent watchmaking to discover the superlative timepieces of Masahiro Kikuno.
Extremely sought after, Masahiro Kikuno’s intricate mechanical watches are regarded as unique works of art, inspired by traditional Japanese aesthetics, they are entirely made by hand without the use of machinery, each timepiece requiring months of meticulous craftsmanship to complete.
The present model is named ‘SAKUBOU’ meaning ‘new moon’ and ‘full moon’ in reference to the watch’s moon phase function and its philosophical concept of admiring change and aging over time, of encouraging the watch’s wearer to admire the moon and the process of aging, seeing time as a beautiful, aging process rather than a deterioration. The dial design is highly distinctive to Kikuno’s timepieces, taking its inspiration from traditional Japanese culture, it is hand-cut from a traditional alloy of copper and silver called ‘Kuro-Shibuichi’ and finished with floral decoration and a matte black finish. In an aperture above 6 o’clock is the moon phase display that is accurate without adjustment to a single day over 122 years.
Powered by a manually wound in-house movement designed and built entirely by Masahiro Kikuno, the present watch offers the rare opportunity for collectors of independent watchmaking to discover the superlative timepieces of Masahiro Kikuno.