If you have a passion for swords, samurai, and steel, but no good way to show it on your person, please step this way and have a look at these MUSHA watches. They’re made of Damascus steel, and in celebration of the “Japanese Knife Capital” where the watches are made, the hands are shaped like miniature samurai swords.
These watches will literally metaphorically cut time into little pieces for you.
The MUSHA watches, which come via RocketNews24, were made possible with crowdfunding via Makuake, a Japanese equivalent of Kickstarter. MUSHA had a relatively modest goal of 500,000 yen (around $4,500), but managed to earn a whopping 4.3 million yen, or roughly $40,000.
It’s no wonder the campaign managed to earn more than eight times its original goal. The watches all look like they’re meticulously crafted, and RocketNews notes that every piece of every watch is “painstakingly polished” by the company’s founder, Masayuki Otsuka. A closer look at the different watch combinations available, which include options for stingray leather or simple braided straps, is available in the image gallery below.
Although the watches are made from Damascus steel, which has its own rich history as a famous, distinctively mottled alloy, the real history of the MUSHA watches comes from where they’re made — Seki, in the Gifu Prefecture. The city is famous for its sword-making prowess, hence the samurai sword hands and material traditionally used for making swords. On top of that, the watch faces are also carved in likeness of the crest of 16th century DaimyÅ, Oda Nobunaga. It’s hard to say if the early Japanese unifier would’ve approved of the watches, but for our money, we’d say these are some proper, heritage-pleasing timepieces.
Speaking of money, you’ll have to dish out roughly 40,000 yen or $350 in order to grace your wrist with MUSHA. Which may be a surprisingly good bargain when you keep in mind founder Otsuka “painstakingly polishing” each watch piece.
What do you think about these Damascus steel watches? Give us your thoughts in the comments below!
Images: Musha
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