Back then, urushi watches were hard to find. We launched our first-ever urushi watch after years of experience making urushi fountain pens — but it was designed with Japanese consumers in mind, who tend to prefer a date window, and built with a large 42mm case to prioritize a big, legible dial that could really showcase the urushi work.

For the first two to three years of Wancher Watch, we struggled to market our watch abroad. Most international customers weren't fond of the date window on our urushi watch, and the case felt too large for the majority of wrists.

We learned that to survive, we had to adapt — and that meant changing the dial.

It took a few years to move production toward no-date dials, and another year to finish the urushi no-date dials — but the result was worth it. More people began to appreciate the craft.

Even as more customers came around on the urushi watches, one complaint still lingered: the case size.

In the beginning, our case options were limited to silver and red gold (Ōgon). That lack of variety meant people weren't fully appreciating the watch — because a watch isn't just the dial, it's the case, strap, and hands too.

Around the same time, we introduced new case colors — black, gold, bronze, and even blue — through PVD color treatment. This diversity meant customers could choose not just the dial they liked, but also a case combination that complemented it. As a result, many people began to embrace the larger case size, appreciating the watch for what it was.

We were no longer promoting the beauty of urushi watches alone. We made a new friend in Germany, Mario Lenke, whom we brought along to meet Master Yoko Hirota — the mastermind behind the Hibi Nuri, Black Moon, Tora, Chawan Iro, Kinpaku, and 24K Kinpaku dials. Thanks to Mario, the beauty of urushi watches spread across Germany, and he later became our first business partner, selling our watches in his offline store, "Japanese Microbrands.

Sam joined our team — a fresh college graduate whose long-time hobby was repairing broken vintage watches, from Swiss to Japanese movements. He never expected that hobby to become his full-time job. Since joining us, every Dream Watch Urushi movement has been regulated by Sam, leaving our office accurate to within +/-2 seconds a day.

Previously, our watches were assembled by a retired watchmaker. Due to his age and eyesight, assembly took about two weeks per watch, and some units shipped with leftover dust under the crystal — a recurring complaint from customers. Thanks to Sam, we're now able to regulate and assemble the Dream Watch Urushi in-house within hours. We also continue to employ our retired watchmaker, to help preserve his livelihood.

July 2026: We Launched the World's First Urushi Watch Case

In March, we sent a watch case to an urushi artisan in Aizu, Japan — this time not for a dial, but to find out what urushi looks and feels like on a 316L steel case itself. Until now, the urushi on our watches lived only on the dial, sealed under the crystal, meaning you could see it but never touch or feel it. So we asked: why not coat the case too? The result blew us away — elegant and stunning to hold.

We were initially concerned about durability, but we later learned that samurai once used urushi to coat their armor for protection against blade strikes. That history gave us confidence in the material's toughness.

Going forward, we hope to bring more urushi lacquering craftsmanship to the case itself — starting with, but not limited to, the Aka Tamenuri finish.

We couldn't change everything at once. It took five years after launch to develop a new case, because a redesign like this requires significant investment. Throughout that time, our goal stayed the same: change the case without compromising the urushi dial size.

We made the case 42mm at first so the urushi art could be seen as large as possible. But customers wanted 40mm — and the question became how to get there without shrinking the dial. Now, finally, we can. And we will.