Cover The Hour Glass group
managing director Michael Tay, Shin Ohno, and François-Paul Journe
The Hour Glass group managing director Michael Tay, Shin Ohno, and François-Paul Journe
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From a clandestine workbench in Nagano, Shin Ohno emerges as the new voice in Japanese independent watchmaking
For most, the stillness of a Nagano winter is a sensory void. For Shin Ohno, it is a mechanical blueprint. The 34-year-old watchmaker, recently crowned the winner of the FP Journe Young Talent Competition, looks at a frozen stream and sees a paradox. “In the snow, a stream looks profoundly simple and still,” Ohno explains. “However, upon closer observation, the water moves in intricate patterns.”
I realise that the source of stillness lies in this harmony between what he calls “surface simplicity” and “inner complexity”. It is this philosophy that defines his masterpiece, the Fuyu-Geshiki (Winter Landscape), a work of such immense ambition that it seems almost impossible it was born in a modest flat in Matsumoto.
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Above Shin Ohno
Shin Ohno
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While working by day as an engineer at Seiko Epson, Ohno spent 11 months in a clandestine workshop, operating a desktop CNC machine and a watchmaker’s lathe while trying not to disturb his neighbours. His path to independence was paved by a gruelling routine that began at 5am and ended with late nights at the bench.
“I was driven by pure curiosity and conviction—knowing that if I could make it, it would be something truly extraordinary,” Ohno says of those solitary hours.
Without a traditional watchmaking school to guide him, he relied on YouTube and sheer determination, though the physical reality of the craft proved humbling. “Adjusting the hairspring was the most difficult,” he says. “I realised how hard it is to train both your hands and your eyes on your own.
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Despite its complexity, the Fuyu-Geshiki features a simple dial
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The Fuyu-Geshiki is a technical tour de force, housing a tourbillon alongside both a grande and petite sonnerie, as well as a minute repeater.
Ohno specifically designed the movement to create a clear contrast between the calm, understated finishing of the bridges and the complex mechanical choreography beneath. The striking mechanism is not merely functional; it is an acoustic translation of nature, tuned to evoke the sound of a stream and wind moving through a winter landscape.
The timepiece itself is a hybrid object, serving as both a pocket watch and a small desk clock when housed in its ebony-and-brass frame. Every detail feeds into the narrative of winter. The gongs are crafted from piano wire to achieve a soft, meditative tone evocative of flowing water and cold wind. To ensure reliability, Ohno integrated a modular construction and an engineering failsafe that disengages the striking system when power is low—a subtle nod to his background in precision engineering.
Read more: Blancpain introduces the Grande Double Sonnerie that chimes with two melodies
Above The understated finishing of the bridges belies the complex mechanical choreography
The understated finishing of the bridges belies the complex mechanical choreography
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At one point, faced with a one-year deadline, Ohno considered simplifying the mechanism to ensure he could complete the piece in time. He quickly realised, however, that the process became “painful rather than enjoyable” when he was no longer being true to his potential.
“A compromised work has no true value,” he insists. “In that sense, it was crucial for me to push my limits.”
While the CHF50,000 (about RM250,000) grant offers a springboard into full-time independence, Ohno remains grounded. “I believe I am still in the middle of my journey,” he says, already planning to refine his skills further.
For Ohno, the win is ultimately a confirmation that pouring one’s soul into the craft is the only way forward. His parting advice to the next generation is characteristically uncompromising: “Never compromise. Creating something through compromise robs the work of its joy.”
