Wear a unique, exquisite timepiece filled with Japanese sword tradition on your wrist.

Seki in Gifu Prefecture is also known as the “Japanese Knife Capital”, a place where some of the finest knives and swords in Japan are made. The city has seen a decline in craftsmen in recent years, ostensibly due to apprentices not getting paid for five years straight.

Despite its decline, Japanese company Musha has managed to tapped into Seki’s rich history of forging blades and produced extraordinary timepieces that truly preserve what the city stands for.

▼ The Damascus Watch Nobunaga is a perfect combination of
function, style and elegance.

▼ You’ll be surprised at how much effort went into them.

Damascus steel originated from ancient India, with its trademark woodgrain texture a result of polishing and refining overlapping metals of different properties. Used in swordsmithing, this quality steel is now used to make high-grade knives.

▼ And watches too. Each piece is one-of-a-kind
thanks to its unique mottled pattern.

▼ After carefully forging and quenching the Damascus steel,
every piece is painstakingly polished by Masayuki Otsuka, the founder of Musha.

Seki manufactured countless Japanese swords during the Sengoku period, outfitting every warlord — including the legendary daimyo Oda Nobunaga himself — with the finest of blades. The front casing of the Damascus Watch was constructed to resemble his family crest given its connection with the fearsome feudal lord.

▼ You’ll be wearing a part of Oda Nobunaga on your wrist.

▼ Paying tribute to Seki’s swordsmithing origin,
the watch’s second hand resembles a curved samurai sword.

▼ Its watch face comes in stark black or white.

▼ This epic timepiece comes with scratch-resistant
sapphire glass and runs on Japanese quartz.

The strap is styled after the hilts of Japanese katana, and comes in two flavors: braided or stingray leather. Braided ones have no set holes, allowing wearers to adjust tightness on the fly for a comfortable fit.

▼ Braided straps are available in black, red, blue and olive.

Stingray leather is durable and difficult to work with, yet maintains exceptional suppleness and is rather expensive.

▼ The luxurious stingray leather strap comes in black, orange,
turquoise blue and burgundy.

▼ Each Damascus Watch Nobunaga comes with a gorgeous
box to showcase its beauty.

▼ Whether it’s the visual appeal of braided strap (38,586 yen, US$342.85)…

▼ …or the finished look of stingray leather (50,544 yen),
these will certainly bring out the inner samurai in you.

Damascus Watch Nobunaga can be purchased online here.

The amount of work and detail that goes into these top-quality timepieces is just staggering. Not only will you be wearing a part of Japanese sword history on your wrist, the purchase also comes with the fact that you’re helping preserve Seki’s 700-year tradition. Seeing that the city has pumped out incredible stuff like awesome samurai scissors, it’s definitely a cause worth supporting.

Source: Makauke via Japaaaan
Images: Makauke