MINASE
MINASE is a Japan made wristwatch produced in Minase, Yuzawa City, Akita Prefecture, Japan. The craftsmen carefully cut and polished each piece one by one, making it a rare wristwatch that is not mass-produced.
The case body and exterior parts are polished by a process known as "rough polishing" to produce a distortion-free surface, creating a contrast between a beautiful mirror-like surface and a hairline. The case-in-case structure and clamping structure are unique to the exterior of the watch, and the three-dimensional design is a distinctive feature.
The patented "MORE Structure" is used for the bracelet, which can be permanently resharpened and maintained. The dial is decorated with lacquer and maki-e, traditional Japanese crafts, to express the beauty unique to Japan. 
Kyowa Seiko, the manufacturer of MINASE, is engaged in the watch business and the cutting tool business.
Kyowa Seiko's cutting tool business includes the manufacture of tools for watch cases and bracelets, and it also supplies tools to the automotive, precision machining, and semiconductor industries.
Kyowa Seiko was founded in 1963 as a cutting tool manufacturer. The stepped drills manufactured at that time were highly evaluated by the watch processing industry, and this led to the challenge of manufacturing watch cases.
The company then became a case manufacturer, improved its cutting and polishing technologies, and launched the MINASE brand in 2005 with the aim of creating its own ideal watch.
The brand name comes from Minase in Akita Prefecture, where the workshop is located. Minase Village used to be located in Ogatsu County.
In March 2005, it merged with Yuzawa City and the towns of Ogatsu and Inagawa to become part of the new Yuzawa City. Coincidentally, this area resembles the Joux Valley, the sacred land of the Swiss watch industry. Minase is deep in snow and far from the city.
This geographical limitation, however, gave the people of Minase an essential trait for craftsmen: perseverance. With excellent tools, manufacturing know-how, and skilled craftsmen, they set out to create the ideal watch, a watch that would speak for itself for 100 years to come.
2003 Success in Development of Small End Mill with Electric Field Abrasive Grain Controlled Polishing
(JapanesePatent No. 3906165)
2005 Adopted the unique MORE structure for the watch body and band (Japanese Patent No. 4671327, 4674698).
2006 Recognized as one of the "300 Vigorous Monozukuri (Manufacturing) Small and Medium-sized Companies Supporting Japan Tomorrow
2007 "GREADY" won the Tohoku Bureau of Economy, Trade and Industry Director-General's Award at the Monodzukuri Nippon Grand Awards.
2008 Received the Machinery Division Award of the "Cho-Monodzukuri Components Award" for cBN spiral end mills.
2009 Received the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency Director-General's Incentive Award for its patented electric field abrasive polishing method.