Divido Shibo Urushi Steel

Divido Shibo Urushi With the shibo urushi technique, Minase pays tribute to one of Japan’s finest traditional crafts. Urushi laquer is mixed with paint and egg white. This gives the mixture a viscous consistency and allows the artist to play with the puddle-like color spots. Divido is the only round model in Minase collection. It is unique in terms of design and displays a high level of craftsmanship. Divido steel case is made of 28 pieces and constructed following the principle of the Japanese 3-dimentional puzzle. Through a revolutionary approach in watchmaking, the dial seems to be floating inside the case, almost suspended below the box-type sapphire window, and this is no optical illusion. Indeed, there is physical space between the case and the edges of the dial, which is only fixed by four tiny screws on the corners, enabling light to flood in from all sides on the hand-painted dial. Another special feature that meets the eye is the date window displaying the date preceding and following the current “D-day” with a little arrow pointing to the current date. What is Urushi Laquer ? Urushi is a special lacquer fabricated from the sap of the Urushi tree, which is native to Japan, China, and Korea. Lacquer sap (which happens to have some pretty nasty toxic qualities in its “raw” state) is frequently used as a lacquer in Japan because of its very resistant properties. Indeed, it contains a resin that becomes very hard, durable, and plastic-like when exposed to moisture and air. Owing to its potential toxicity, it is not the easiest or most forgiving substance to work with. Shibo Urushi hand-made dials After blending and straining the Urushi, the brass base dial is painted with a first layer of lacquer. Urushi lacquer is applied with a brush to the dial. Traditional Urushi brushes were made out of human hair because its texture was found to be just right. It is hard to find this kind of brush today even among traditional artisans. They mostly use brushes with mice or cats hair. As the urushi lacquer hardens, it absorbs moisture from the air which makes the dial perpetually shiny and slick. It isn’t really useful for a dial that’s inside a watch case, but the Urushi lacquer also withstands erosion from water, acids, alcohol and changes in temperature. For Divido Shibo Urushi dials, Hakose mixes urushi laquer with color and egg whites. It makes a special and viscous structure that enable the artist to play with the motives of color. More than a round watch Minase Divido Shibo Urushi is an exciting mix of angles and edges. The name Divido comes from the lost language of Esperanto and means Divided. And the word takes sense while watching at the case side which is joined sharply in the middle with inwards razor-sharp brushed bevels. The case of the Divido is constructed from eight parts. It follows the Japanese HiZ principle of being able to dismantle and repair any single constituent part. The movement is encapsuled in a sort of a case, the upper part acting as a dial. On top of it comes an index ring and the whole is screwed inside the “outer” case which is composed of an upper and a lower part. This ensemble is attached together by the lugs, each being composed of two parts screwed together. Handmade in Japan As every Minase watch, the Divido steel Collection is manufactured in Japan. All Minase timepieces bear the registered label “HiZ“, a concept inspired by the Japanese words Hizu (exceptional) and Hi Izuru Kuni (Land of the rising sun). The products labelled HiZ are unique with innovative features such as the “case in case” structure, the extraordinary Sallaz finish and the construction principle “MORE” (Minase Original Rebuild Equation). Mechanical movement Minase’s KT7002 movement is based on the Swiss ETA 2892/A2 ébauches. This high-end execution displays hand-finished surfaces with perlage, blue screws, bridges with diamond polished bevels and a main plate and bridges in black “or”. 50 hours’ power reserve. The Minase rotor was personalized for Minase and displays the brand’s drill head logo, while several openings reveal the movement underneath. This component is assembled with MPS lubrication-free bearings. With its ETACHRON regulating system, this is a very high precision execution. 21 Jewels. Frequency 28’800 vibrations/hour (4 Hz). Stainless Steel 316L Bracelet Divido Shibo urushi bracelets are uniquely constructed. No exterior screws or pins are visible when the watch is worn thanks to the use of tiny screws on the underside of each bracelet link.  The bracelets are further enhanced by the great Sallaz polishing technique. A technique of polishing the steel by hand, piece after piece requiring an impressive level of skills and dexterity. The craftsmen spend more than 18 hours on a single case and twince more for the bracelet. The sallaz polishing technique only enables the craftsmen to polish flat surfaces, so they need to be very careful not to damage the case. Minase uses stainless steel 316L for all of its watches. Specifications Divido Shibo Urushi Case : Stainless steel 316L. Dual spherical box type sapphire crystal (with multi layers non-reflective coating) on the top, see through case back and 5 sapphire windows at 12′, 3′ (2), 6’ and 9′. Water resistant up to 50 meters (5 Bar). Dimensions : 40.5mm. Thickness : 12 mm. Weight total : 0.9 g. Movement : Swiss ETA based components (2892A2) high end execution with hand-finished surfaces with perlage, bridges and main plate in black “or”. Blue screws. Bridges with diamond polished bevels. Customized Minase rotor. ETACHRON regulator system. MPS lubrication-free bearings. Very high precision TOP range execution. 50 hours’ power reserve. 21 Jewels. Frequency 28’800 vibrations/hour (4 Hz) Hands : Polished steel, minute and second bent at the tip, luminous material on hours’ and minutes’ Functions : Hours, minutes and central second hands. Date at 3.