On the essence of Habuka series

The idea for the Habuka 39 didn’t arrive as a grand design plan. It started over coffee and conversation with the team—a talk that drifted the way only good talks do. We were reminiscing about the Seiko Spirit collection, a line we’d all loved for its perfect proportions, thoughtful design, and honest value. It’s been gone for years, yet I still find myself thinking about it. How it fit almost any wrist. How it worked equally well for men and women. How it felt right without having to try. We realised we missed that kind of watch and not just the specs, but the feeling it gave.

At the same time, I was restless to explore dials with real texture—not something merely printed on, but something you could feel, something that changed under the light. I’d been tirelessly collecting inspiration for years: Grand Seiko’s Snowflake, H. Moser’s fumé gradients, the exotic finishes on certain Rolex dials. But maybe more than anything, I kept coming back to my love for vintage textiles—the kind you find in old markets, worn soft by time, holding patterns and irregularities you can’t fake. That love for fabric, for the imperfections of handwork, is woven deep into Hitori’s DNA.

From there, the vision took shape: a watch carrying the spirit of Japanese craft, but still accessible with no compromises on how it wears or how it’s built. We worked with our dial partners to create something that nodded to classics, yet spoke in our own voice. The dial became more than a backdrop. In fact, it was perceived as a landscape. Subtle ridges and soft planes. Clarity you could lose yourself in. A surface that invited you to pause, to notice, to take the time.

We felt this was perhaps our highest commitment yet, to create a collection with an impeccable build and 100m water resistance, yet held in quiet restraint by the snow-textured dial. It’s paired with one of our most dependable bracelet designs and movements, each obsessively checked and assembled by the Hitori team (read more about my visit here). And all of it offered at a price I truly believe is within reach for most—whether you’re beginning your watch journey or are a dyed-in-the-wool enthusiast.

The Habuka Deluxe wasn’t designed to dazzle at first glance. It moves slowly, revealing itself in details: applied indices, dauphine hands, a gentle slope of the rehaut, a framed date window. Each element is balanced between polish and matte, precision and restraint. That balance is everything and it’s what makes you want to keep looking.

When the prototypes arrived, I knew we had something that carried the feeling we’d been chasing. Collectors who understood that feeling recognised it instantly. They told me they could sense the build quality, the care in every detail. Sure, a few casual voices would call it “Grand Seiko style.” I don’t mind that. But to me, the Habuka stands apart, as a different conversation. It is a watch that feels like a personal secret and pleasure to carry on your wrist.

The Habuka 39 Deluxe is a quietude, whisper than a shout. It’s the kind of quiet beauty of snowfields, as if like stillness of a lake, the way alpine light softens at dusk. It doesn’t ask to be noticed. It just is. And when you wear it, you’re not wearing it for anyone else—you’re wearing it for yourself - just like any of our collections.

For me, that’s the heart of why the team make watches at all. To create something rooted in respect for tradition, but not trapped by it. Something uncompromised. Something that might take time for the right person to find but when they do, it feels like it was made for them all along. —

Origin Stories, No. 03