Jiro Katayama, who operates a one-person watchmaking atelier in Tokyo, Japan, is at it again, with a new creation that blends futuristic and industrial design.
The Otsuka Lotec No. 8 draws inspiration from analog gauges, retro cameras, and vintage tools, which reflects the former car and product designer Katayama’s signature style.
Bringing something truly novel to the staid watch market, that revolves around a copycat mentality, is refreshing. This approach is appealing because its not done as pretentiously as we’re accustomed to, yet the result is still a product that’s highly coveted.
Featuring a rectangular-shaped brushed stainless steel case, the No. 8 measures 31 mm in width × 47.8 mm lug-to-lug, and is 10.8 mm thick. A wraparound sapphire crystal offers a slightly expanded view of the mechanics from the front and side. The caseback is a flat and solid, so you’re not getting a view of the movement side. The large, knurled crown, like many Otsuka Lotec watches (including the Otsuka Lotech No. 9), sits in an atypical position, adding to the unique vibe. The No. 8 is completed with a tapered, 24 mm at the lugs, black rubber strap.
Horologically, the Otsuka Lotec No. 8 displays a jumping hour complication on the large, leftmost, primary dial, that utilizes a large steel hand design, accentuated with a red dash in the center, that resembles an old school buzzing kitchen timer that you set by spinning the handle itself. To the right of that, a vertically oriented, steel retrograde minutes hand (referred to as a “minutes fader”), repeatedly climbs from 0 to 60 minutes, and then snaps back to zero every hour. At the top, center of the dial, located at 12 o’clock, is a barely noticeable, most obstructed seconds disc, that makes a full rotation every 90 seconds, instead of 60 seconds. This disc will not help with setting knowing the precise second, however, its continuously rotating, lets you know the watch is running.
Powering the No. 8 is an automatic Miyota caliber 90S5, with an in-house 62-part module made by Katayama. The 24-jewel movement has a rather low 32-hour power reserve, which is lower than Mioyta’s stated 42 hours, because the add-on module draws power from mainspring. This 4Hz caliber is from Miyota’s premium line, and has a stated precision of -10/+30 seconds per day, with hand winding, and stop seconds functionality.
Final Thoughts
The fatigue from hype marketing strategies is certainly making collectors weary, and the fact that this is a lottery piece, will likely cause some eye-rolling, but at least this is a low volume company, producing designs that are unlike anything else out there. Retail is $6,300.
Photos by Otsuka Lotec.
