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What is the Hajime Asaoka Project T Tourbillon?
Project T grew from shared fine-watchmaking interests among Asaoka, OSG and Yuki Precision. Chronos Japan says OSG contributed tools and machining know-how, while Yuki Precision provided manufacturing capability used to produce the ébauche. Its account also says Asaoka obtained a 1.5 mm industrial ball bearing from Minebea through Yuki Precision; that is a historical detail reported by Chronos, not a current product specification. Chronos Japan’s account of the collaboration dates the release to 2014.
The Phillips catalog documents movement number 008, dated circa 2014, as a 43 mm stainless-steel Project-T Tourbillon. Its auction lot included a crocodile strap, signed steel pin buckle, guarantee, presentation box and outer packaging. Those items describe that particular lot; they do not establish the contents of every original delivery. Phillips’ lot 988 catalog record provides the example’s catalogued details.
How the design is put together
The documented watch has a polished steel case and glossy black DLC dial. The tourbillon sits at six o’clock, with the hands and minute circle drawing on Art Deco styling. Time and Watches also notes a hobnail-patterned crown. The catalogued example’s tourbillon carriage is titanium. These are design and construction details, not evidence of a wear test or comparative performance. Time and Watches’ September 2014 report and the Phillips catalog describe the visible design.
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- Genuine Tourbillon
- Weight Precision Balance Wheel
- Blue steel screws
- Exhibition Case Back Cover
- 12 Months Warranty
What makes the movement unusual?
Ball bearings and wolf-teeth gears
Chronos reports 13 ball bearings in the movement. Time and Watches describes ball bearings used in place of conventional ruby pallets, alongside wolf-teeth gears and a titanium tourbillon assembly. Phillips’ catalog lists both 13 jewels and 13 ball bearings. The sources therefore preserve two different cataloguing details—jewels and bearings—rather than establishing that the terms are interchangeable. The construction is distinctive, but the cited accounts provide no comparative test data proving better accuracy, durability or efficiency.
A modular architecture
Chronos describes the barrel and winding mechanism as a detachable “power pack.” From the second wheel onward, the gear train—including the carriage—and the rear of the minute dial are also modularly constructed. The article says this layout is intended to help maintenance and, especially, precise alignment of the carriage. It describes architecture, not a service manual or a guarantee of lower service costs or faster turnaround.
Rank #2
- 2025 Inaugural Year of World Glacier Day, Agelocer called for greater public attention and participation in addressing climate change. Swiss Chief Designer Etienne Ruffieux grand launch the 'Never-Melting Ice 2.0' fully transparent crystal case free-sprung balance Tourbillon Watch, This timepiece was awarded the French National Design Award for its outstanding design and is available in a limited edition of 299 pieces worldwide.
- The watch features a sapphire crystal glass face and an Agelocer-exclusive K9 crystal case with 95% light transmittance. Treated with annealing hardening and silicon carbide Deposition technology, it achieved a hardness of Mohs 8. This exceptional hardness prevents scratches, ensuring the watch remains pristine over time. The crystal case's high transparency allows for a clear view of the exquisite mechanical artistry of the skeletonized flying tourbillon.
- Independently developed CAL9001 free-sprung balance flying tourbillon movement, manual winding, 28,880 vibrations per hour, 25 ruby bearings. Features high-end finishing including satin brushing and beveled edges, engraved brand logo with gold-stamped. Dual mainspring series technology delivers 80-hour power reserve (twice that of standard tourbillon movements). This technology ensures more uniform and gradual mainspring release, resulting in enhanced timekeeping precision and stability.
- The CAL9001 tourbillon movement features the exclusive free-sprung micro-adjustment technology typically reserved for luxury timepieces. This free-sprung system eliminates the need for a balance spring regulator, thereby overcoming the timing inaccuracies caused by regulator displacement in conventional mechanical movements. This ensures the watch delivers enhanced precision and stability in timekeeping.
- The watch is water-resistant to 50 meters. It features a food-grade translucent silicone strap with a butterfly double-push buckle, offering waterproof, sweatproof, and corrosion-resistant properties for comfortable and durable wear. Featuring Super-LumiNova Luminous hands and hour markers. We provide a three-year worldwide warranty.
Project T specifications reported by sources
| Specification | Reported detail |
|---|---|
| Case | 43 mm stainless steel, per Phillips and Chronos Japan. |
| Winding | Manual, per Phillips and Chronos Japan. |
| Beat rate | 18,000 vibrations per hour (2.5 Hz), reported by Chronos Japan and Time and Watches. |
| Power reserve | About 40–42 hours as reported: Time and Watches gives 40 hours (2014); Chronos Japan gives approximately 42 hours (2019). |
| Bearings and jewels | Chronos Japan reports 13 ball bearings. Phillips lists 13 jewels and 13 ball bearings. |
| Dial and display | Black DLC dial, Art Deco-influenced hands and minute circle; tourbillon at six, as described by Phillips and Time and Watches. |
| Strap | Crocodile strap included with Phillips’ movement 008 auction lot; this does not establish a universal delivery configuration. |
What does a Hajime Asaoka Project T cost?
The available figures are historical and come from different contexts. Time and Watches reported a price of ¥8,000,000 in 2014. Phillips recorded HK$1,905,000 for its 2023 Hong Kong auction of lot 988, a circa-2014 movement 008 example. The first is a period-reported price and the second a specific auction result; neither is a current retail quote or a general valuation for another example.
The cited sources do not establish a current official price, present stock, total production, current servicing arrangements or a current listing. Buyers evaluating an individual watch would need current seller information and example-specific provenance; the auction result alone is not a price recommendation.
Rank #3
- The sporty, free-sprung balance flying tourbillon watch, crafted by Swiss chief designer Etienne Ruffieux with modern architectural aesthetics, features an independently developed architectural tourbillon movement adorned with oversized ruby bearings. Its design philosophy is expressed through the interplay of light and shadow created by extreme skeletonization. This timepiece has been honored with the European International Design Award for its outstanding original design.
- Independently developed CAL9001 free-sprung balance flying tourbillon movement, manual winding, 28,880 vibrations per hour, 25 ruby bearings. Features high-end finishing including satin brushing and beveled edges, engraved brand logo with gold-stamped. Dual mainspring series technology delivers 80-hour power reserve (twice that of standard tourbillon movements). This technology ensures more uniform and gradual mainspring release, resulting in enhanced timekeeping precision and stability.
- The CAL9001 tourbillon movement features the exclusive free-sprung micro-adjustment technology typically reserved for luxury timepieces. This free-sprung system eliminates the need for a balance spring regulator, thereby overcoming the timing inaccuracies caused by regulator displacement in conventional mechanical movements. This ensures the watch delivers enhanced precision and stability in timekeeping.
- This tourbillon features a high-tech ceramic bezel. Ceramic resists discoloration and is harder than metal, protecting the watch from scratches. Weighing half as much as stainless steel, it reduces wrist strain for enhanced comfort.
- The watch is water-resistant to 50 meters. Featuring a double-sided sapphire crystal and an aerospace-grade fluororubber strap, it offers waterproof, sweat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant properties for comfortable and durable wear. Featuring Super-LumiNova Luminous hands and hour markers. We provide a 3-year worldwide warranty.
Why the Project T stands out
Project T’s interest lies in the combination of an independent watchmaker’s design with industrial manufacturing contributions, a visually distinct Art Deco-influenced dial, and a movement whose bearing use and modular layout are described in unusually specific terms. The documented specifications make its construction legible, but do not substantiate claims that a tourbillon or the bearing choices make it inherently more accurate. For comparisons with another tourbillon, useful points are case size, movement architecture and service support, reserve and beat rate, materials and finishing, provenance, and the date and context of any price.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Real Tourbillon Watch: Tourbillon, the complication that counteracts the effects of gravity to improve the accuracy of watches. An opening in the dial allows you to admire this mechanism as it rotates, revealing extraordinary mechanical charm. Men watch is enquipped with Original tourbillon movement, manual wind, 40 hour power reserve, vibration frequency 4HZ(28800 v.p.h). Case diameter: 42.5mm, case thickness: 11mm.
- High Quality Material: Men wristwatch in 316L stainless steel case, water-resistant and corrosion-resistant. The sapphire crystal mirror, Mohs hardness level of 9, makes the mirror scratch resistant, dirt resistant and waterproof. Mechanical watch with leather strap or stainless steel strap, easy to match your different style cloth, durable and adjustable, easy to adjust the length.
- 5AMT Waterproof: This tourbillon watch is water resistance 50m(5Bar/5ATM)and can be worn in daily life, such as wash hands/doing housework...but not suit for swimming, diving and hot water environment.
- Business & Casual Style: The blue sandstone dial with stainless steel case, simple but not dull. It can suit for teenage and mature male. This watch is not only suited for business, but it can also wear in daily, easy to match T-shirt, sweater. This men watch with original box and warranty card, it is an ideal gift on birthday/Christmas/father’s day/New year/Valentine's Day/Best man's gifts. The dress wristwatch can be used on business & casual daily and be taken in work/travel/festival.
- After Sales Service: We will provide you with quality service, your satisfaction is our service purpose. The product quality of each AESOP watch through the strict quality inspection department to the factory. We provide 12 months warranty. If you have any questions about the product, please contact me immediately and we will give you a satisfactory solution.
Rank #4
- This tourbillon crafted by Swiss chief designer Etienne Ruffieux with modern architectural aesthetics, features a lightweight, comfortable, free-sprung balance flying tourbillon. It houses an independently developed architectural tourbillon movement adorned with oversized ruby bearings. The design aesthetic is expressed through the interplay of light and shadow created by its extreme skeletonization. The watch has been honored with the IAI Global Design Award for its outstanding original design.
- Independently developed CAL9001 free-sprung balance flying tourbillon movement, manual winding, 28,880 vibrations per hour, 25 ruby bearings. Features high-end finishing including satin brushing and beveled edges, engraved brand logo with gold-stamped. Dual mainspring series technology delivers 80-hour power reserve (twice that of standard tourbillon movements). This technology ensures more uniform and gradual mainspring release, resulting in enhanced timekeeping precision and stability.
- The CAL9001 tourbillon movement features the exclusive free-sprung micro-adjustment technology typically reserved for luxury timepieces. This free-sprung system eliminates the need for a balance spring regulator, thereby overcoming the timing inaccuracies caused by regulator displacement in conventional mechanical movements. This ensures the watch delivers enhanced precision and stability in timekeeping.
- This tourbillon measures 40mm in diameter and just 9.7mm in thickness, weighing a mere 67 grams. Its meticulously engineered structure and radically skeletonized tourbillon movement eliminate all superfluous metal components, allowing the mechanical artistry of the free-sprung flying tourbillon to shine in its purest form. It is an exquisite, high-end tourbillon watch that is both ultra-thin and supremely comfortable.
- The watch is water-resistant to 50 meters, featuring a double-sided sapphire crystal and an Italian leather strap with hand-stitched detailing for comfortable and durable wear. We offer a three-year worldwide warranty.
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