Watchmaker Masahiro Kikuno Japan, Sub

Mechanical Watches,,,, are tiny universes with just the power of a spring gears turn inside a 4 cm case. Creating a beautiful flow of time There's a young man who is passionate about making watches his name is Masahiro Kikuno Kikuno is very exacting in his handiwork using age-old methods he cuts, polishes and finishes every part himself the traditional beauty of Japan resides deeply in his work One clock crafted in the mid 1800s stands as a special challenge to Kikuno with more than a 1000 parts it's anexquisite example of complex mechanical artistry Kikuno wants to transform this masterpiece into a modern wristwatch it's a 6 month project that will test his skills to the limit We'll accompany him on his journey the city of Basel, Switzerland lies on the Rhin River every spring people from all over the world converge here with one purpose in mind Basel World is the largest timepiece trade show in the world more than 1500 brands from over a 100 countries display their latest creations it's a watch lovers dream In one corner of the sprawling complex one small booth excites passionate interest here the creators themselves welcome visitors they are independent watchmakers who do not work for corporations their creations are one-of-a-kind masterpieces it can take anywhere from 6 months to several years to complete a watch can easily cost more than $100,000 these modern-day masters often have several years worth of advanced orders They are very much the avant-garde of the image because they have no we'll call it "brand codes" they have to follow They just have to follow their dreams This academy of Watchmakers has 35 members from 16 countries It stands at the pinnacle of worldwide craftsmanship Founded 30 years ago, the Academy subjects potential members to rigorous examination before allowing them to join Masahiro Kikuno is the youngest member of the group Today Masahiro kikuno visits a zen temple to contemplate its round meditation window This perfect circle cut in the wall of the temples main building is called the "window of enlightenment". In the world of Zen, an unbroken circle, represents the universe and spiritual truth When Kikuno designs a watch, he often skillfully incorporates Japan's distinctive culture and tradition. Tourbillon 2012 The carved dial was inspired by a Zen rock garden expressing the ideals of simplicity and the pattern are of age. The watch face of Mokume features a mottled pattern made by decorating metal to suggest wood grain It was inspired by the wood grain decorative technique used on traditional sword guards The press of a button causes the cranes wings to flap and gently chime the time. The square case was inspired by the square chest of drawers, traditionally used on ships for centuries. Japan has nurtured hearts of harmony Kikuno interprets that spirit in new ways and incorporate it in his timepieces. A small house stands in Matsudo, a suburb of Tokyo. This is Kikuno workshop. To sharpen his concentration, he keeps the shutters closed even in daytime. Kikuno carries out every phase of the watch making process himself from design to fabrication and assembly The watch hands for example, he begins with a rough sketch of what he has in mind Once the design is finalized, he uses a jewelers saw to cut the shapes out of a steel sheet. He then files them The next step is annealing the metal. When iron is heated, it oxidizes in a chemical reaction that creates a thin protective coating The color of this coating changes depending on the temperature Precise timing is crucial to get the most beautiful shine Ordinary watchmakers fabricate their parts by machine / but kikuno is committed to making every components with his own hands. He wants to make watches that are comparable to the works of past master craftsmen. Kikuno has a predecessor, he regards as his spiritual model. He was a brilliant 19th century inventor, named Who was known as Mr.mechanical This grasps an arrow, takes, aim and fires at a target. This young boy wets his brush with ink and writes in elegant calligraphy. Hisahige gave brought both of these dolls into the world. Inside they're powered by mechanical works. They're complex motions are achieved solely by Springs and gears the ultimate masterpiece created by Hisahige is the The top of the clock displays a celestial globe, it replicates the movements of the Sun and the Moon as seen from Kyoto. Each of the clocks six sides, indicates some form of time, including Japanese and Western clocks days of the week and phases of the Moon. Amazingly, all of these functions are completely integrated and can keep running automatically for a year. The myriad year clock, has more than a 1000 components. Hisahige painstakingly filed every gear individually by hand. His work marked the high of Japanese's craftsmanship in the 19th century. It deeply impressed kikuno September 2014 Kikuno begins work on a new watch. He takes on the challenge of the myriad year clock made by his hero : Hisahige. He wants to put one of the clocks functions into watch form. What caught his eye was the dial for the japanese-style clock. This clock counts time using a temporal hour system that's distinctive to Japan. In Hisahige era, daytime and nighttime periods were each divided into 6 segments. This meant that the absolute length of the segments changed with the seasons. In summer for example, daytime segments were longer and nightime segments were shorter. The opposite was true in winter Synched to solar rhythms played to tell time. The hours of the Japanese is expanded and contracted with the seasons. The Year Clock It will be almost impossible to make this mechanism small enough to fit a wrist watch A new system is needed Kikuno has cut several unusual shapes out of steel He layers them at the center of the watch. He invented this mechanism to indicate temporal hours. He calls it the arm assembly. The arms resemble the ribs of an umbrella. By moving a single pin, all of the arms move at once Each arm is attached to a temporal hour marker When the arms moves, the spaces between the markers expand and contract in the same way as the Myriad Year clock. This movement is controlled by a single cam under the arm assembly. It takes one year for the cam to complete a single rotation set in a groove on the cam surface. The pin moves in a prescribed pattern, as the cam turns.. by changing the shape of the groove Kikhuno can indicate temporal hours in most places in the world. With his new mechanism he hopes to resurrect the Japanese clock in the form of a modern wristwatch. kikuno wants to finish his watch within 6 months. In time for the Basel World International trade fair held in switzerland. In December Masahiro kikuno travels north. He's heading home to fabricate the components for his new watch. Kikuno was born and raised on the northern island of He keeps a large machine tool here in the garage of his family home. He uses it to cut various parts out of metal ingots. This is the foundation that holds the entire mechanism. The smallest gear is called the It's less than a millimeter in diameter The depth of each tooth is just 0.24 millimiters Kikuno's family often looking on him as he works . They want to see how he's doing. The profession of independent watchmaker isn't yet well known in Japan. But Kikuno's family have been his biggest supporters every difficult step of the way. Kikuno's watch He was 29 years old.. Multiple gears turn with power supplied by a spring The last gear in the train is called the Escape wheel. Working with the balance wheel which acts as a pendulum. The escape wheel determines the speed of the watch's movement. is the part that Kikuno must now cut. The tip is only 0.08 millimeters across thinner than a postage stamp Kikuno can always working on a micro-level. We use a 4k camera attached to a microscope to watch him work. The screen shows a vertical space of about 3 millimeters. Kikuno gently touches a cutter to the rotating pinion. He shaves off 1000th of a millimeter at a time. using handles.. He makes tiny adjustments by hand. With great care He cuts the tip smaller and smaller. He relies on the look of the shavings and the subtle feel of the controls to guide him Kikuno works steadily for eight hours He finally finishes the escape wheel pinion. The smallest gear in the watch.. This completes all the parts in the gear train that drives the watch movement. Kikuno or inserts his newly made pinion and assembles the watch. He wants to see if the gears function properly. If the balance wheel at the heart of the watch ticks. He has succeeded. Basel world is a month and a half away. Kikuno unique watch is gradually taking form. It's mid-february, Basel world is just a month away Kikuno faces a major hurdle His arm assembly, the key to miniaturizing Hisage's original mechanism, isn't opening correctly When the arms move, one of the pins gets lifted out of its bed. Today Kikuno discovers a place that was scraping It's a very tight fit between the arm assembly in the bridge plate. That scraping was raising the assembly. He takes it all apart and adjusts each arm one at a time. Kikuno spends several days making adjustments. This is the preeminent Museum of Japanese science and technology. With a Japanese clock collection that exceeds 200 pieces. Hisagige myriad year clock is on display here. When Kikuno hits an impasse in his work He often comes here to clear his mind... Today he's not here to see Hisagige's Clock. He has a special appointment to see a precious item that's usually not on display. It's a tool box that was used by a 19th century clocksmith. The springs, hands and other parts in the box have remained untouched for more than 150 years. One gear in particular captures Kikuno's heart The artisan fashioned it by hand, using only a file. Just a month remains to finish the watch. Kikuno sleeps in his workshop, as he makes the final push. March 11th Kikuno will depart for Basel in six days. He finally has all the parts he needs. There are 293 parts Over the past six months he has cut polished and finished each one. It's time to do the final assembly. With intense concentration He puts the pieces together carefully checking the movement as he goes. He double checks the arm assembly which indicates the temporal hours. Kikuno know has doubts about the movement. When he was testing the watch He felt a slight resistance in one place Kikuno decides to set the watch aside for a day to see if it keeps moving. The next morning, Is the watch still ticking ? Kiuno's doubt was justified The watch has no pulse The biggest problem comes when the our markers clustered together at the summer solstice. At that point many arms lie on top of each other. Putting the greatest load on the arm assembly. He takes the watch apart again and checks every point where pressure is applied to the arms where it stopped before Kikuno has cleared the final hurdle with unrelenting concentration. He continues the assembly process. The watch is finished. The myriad year clock is reborn in a new form Kikuno calls it : The purple hands indicate the usual hours and minutes of a day divided into 24 equal units, blue hand indicates temporal hours. The ancient method of timekeeping the changes with the seasons. The watch indicates both Western and Japanese time in a fusion of temporal sensibility. Features a round design inspired by the window of enlightenment that Kikuno saw at the Zen temple. In the design is a grating carved in a hemp leaf pattern. Kikuno copied the pattern from a pillar on the Myriad Year Clock He hasreinvented the craftsmanship and spirit embodied in a clock. made more than 160 years ago.

Channel: Simply 3D

Views: 658,940

Rating: 4.8834682 out of 5

Keywords: watch, watches, watchmaker, watchmaking, craft, precision, swiss, german, handmade, modern, classic, vintage, handsome, mechanism, motor, custom, rare, diamond, luxury, machined, aerospace, italy, desginer, artisan, france, rolex, cartier, louis vuitton, Patek Philippe, Breitling, engineered, industrial, prototype, japan, japanese, clock, hd, world, jp, tv, television, doc, documentary, cc, caption, sub, solidworks, tutorial, tutorials, lesson, exercise, beginner, fine, asmr, hipnotizing, cad, software, hardware, dufour, piguet, porn, basel, trade, show

Id: ZTiPNqeMS8E

Length: 37min 4sec (2224 seconds)

Published: Mon Jul 30 2018

Reddit Comments

[u/HelenEk7]

Fascinating. Too bad sounds disappears at 12:00..

[u/PastelFlamingo150]

Rome had the same system

[u/loverofpeace09]

What a stunningly beautiful watch and craftsmanship!

That little kid handling it at the end had me scared he’d drop it!