Kuoe Kyoto Old Smith 90-002 Watch Review

Japanese watch brands continue to surprise me. While there’s all the surface level brands we know and love like Grand Seiko, Citizen and the independents like Hajime Asaoka, the concept of Japanese microbrands is a lot less publicised. However, there’s a rich depth to Japanese micros that warrants close inspection. Which leads me to the subject of this article, the Kuoe Kyoto Old Smith 90-002 field watch.

The story of Kuoe is familiar to many microbrands. Kenji Uchimura was studying language at university in London and while in the city entered one of the many antique watch shops in the area. He instantly fell in love with classic watch design, especially from the early and mid-20^th century. Upon returning to Kyoto in Japan he began working for a watch brand before taking the plunge in 2020 of creating his own brand that focusses on the style of design he first fell in love with in London.

That fusion of British and Japanese influences is immediately apparent as soon as you open the box containing the Old Smith 90-002. Despite the name Kuoe Kyoto on the dial, it feels like you might as well be holding a vintage trench watch from the first world war, the earlier classic form of field watch that would later be adapted in the 1940s into the Dirty Dozen commissioned by the MOD.

In front of me I actually have three distinct versions of the Kuoe Kyoto Old Smith 90-002. There’s the 35mm steel edition, 38mm steel edition and 38mm bronze edition. Both of the steel versions have ivory coloured dials with applied Arabic numerals and a railway track minute scale. It’s super legible thanks to the high contrast with the black indices. I also really like the neo-vintage style with the off-white dial and beige lume that makes it look like a white watch discoloured by age.

The 35mm is a touch small for my taste though fits the vintage, classical inspiration behind the collection. Strapping on the slightly larger 38mm though and I’m instantly in love. It feels very slim with polished flanks and a matching polished bezel, sitting flat to the wrist with nicely curving lugs. The 35mm version’s case is actually a bit different as its bezel-less with a domed glass.

Swapping over to the bronze edition and sure enough, the case is made from CuSn8, one of the most common bronze alloys in watchmaking. In its clean state it looks very handsome though of course it will develop a patina over time, creating that vintage appearance a lot faster than steel. Luckily it has a steel caseback to avoid the issues of bronze discolouring skin that can happen.

The dial has also been changed to suit the brown metallic case. It’s now a chocolaty shade of brown itself with white Arabic numerals, though it retains the beige neo-vintage looking lumed elements. The slightly grained texture is also much more apparent here than on the ivory of the steel editions.

As for strap options, there are many to choose from. The standard is a single piece ribbed nylon strap that threads through the lug bars similar in style to a NATO without the extra NATO style pocket that attaches the strap to the watch. I’d personally swap it for a fully fledged NATO if you want to go down that route, though it does come in some nice brown, black and striped colour options. Alternatively, it’s presented on a leather strap which is far nicer. As the Old Smith 90-002 has that pre-Dirty Dozen military vibe, a leather strap feels the more thematically appropriate and it works really well on both the steel and bronze models.

Powering all three models is the Seiko NH38 automatic movement with 41-hour power reserves. It’s a very solid Japanese movement widely used by microbrands (and some not so micro brand) across the world, not just in Japan. It’s also nice and accessible resulting in prices of £505 for the steel models at both sizes and £535 for bronze.

My biggest takeaway from spending time with these watches is they seem really well built. The screw down crown is nice and tactile, as well as easy to use. Plus, it contributes to the solid 100m water resistance rating, which is about standard for a field watch – safe from puddles but not meant for ocean exploration. For the price, I really don’t see anything you could possibly dislike. Just as Kuoe Kyoto set out to achieve, it’s a very classical watch that makes good use of Japan’s continually grown horology scene.

More details at Kuoe.

​Oracle Time 

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