Even if you’ve never been to Tokyo, if you are even remotely interested in watches, you will have heard of retailer Shellman. Even if you have not, retailer editions from watch brands are a long-time part of the industry and today is about such a model.

Ressence’s new TYPE 8 Indigo is a model marking retail partner Shellman’s renovation and expansion of their space within department store Isetan’s Shinjuku branch. This isn’t a simple case of changing a few things here and there, as is now the largest watch retail space in the country, cementing Shellman’s significant position within the country’s watch market.

This limited edition watch showcases the craft of indigo dyeing, something which is by no means unique to Japan, but which does have a specific relationship to the country that is not just a historical relationship, but because you can’t think of denim without thinking of Japanese denim, of selvedge jeans, and of indigo-dyeing.

For this new piece, indigo-dyed silk thread is used on the dial. This has been done by other watch brands before, but it is the first time this sort of craft has made an appearance at Ressence.

Let’s first recap the basic TYPE 8 specs for this new model. It comes in a 42.9mm sized polished grade 5 titanium case with a thickness of 11mm. The convex dial is also grade 5 titanium and has the standard eccentric satellites with the patented Ressence Orbital Convex System (ROCS) display rolling on ball bearings, with engraved indications filled with Super-LumiNova. Powering it is the usual automatic movement with the ROCS module beating at 28,800 VPH and with a power reserve of 36 hours.

On a standard TYPE 8 the distance between the dial’s surface and the inside of the sapphire is 0.25mm. For this new model, the titanium dial had to be carved out to accommodate the thickness of the thread, to make sure it sits flush beneath the sapphire. Some areas of the dial cannot allow for a 0.2mm reduction in thickness – this has meant the presence of grey pockets that visible on the outside of the main minute dial, with the exposed areas finished in neutral grey PVD.

We will get onto the sourcing, but the placement and bonding of the silk thread to the titanium components was carried out in Geneva. It is applied in a single piece, spiralling from the outer edge inward.

Now for the source of the naturally dyed indigo thread. Indigo dyeing is known as ‘aizome’. Dating back some 800 years, is has been traditionally used to dye textiles including cotton, silk and hemp. Tokushima is one of Japan’s main producers of natural indigo dye, and the degree to which it is embedded within the local culture can be illustrated by the fact that it is known for a particular type of indigo dye called ‘Awa-ai’, the name deriving from its previous geographical status as being part of the Awa province.

It is in the Tokushima Prefecture that the traditional home of indigo dyeing lives, but the small company with a large presence called Buaisou that provided the thread for Ressence is a young and thoroughly modern company which practices traditional methods.

The process obviously starts with the plant. The indigo plant (Indigofera tinctoria) has to be grown and when ready, its leaves are harvested, fermented, and processed to create the dye. This sounds fairly standard for plant-based dyeing. What makes it ‘aizome’ is how each step is done as much as the dyed product at the end.

The craftspeople who do aizome are called ‘tokibo’ and responsible for the fermentation, oxidation, and repeated hand-dyeing to achieve the desired shade of blue. They are also required to maintain the dyeing vat. The result of the fermentation process is a material called ‘sukumo’, and its quality will determine the quality of the indigo.

Traditionally, each step of this process has been seen as a separate skill. Farmers for the plant growing and harvesting, sukumo masters specialising in just that, dyers for dyeing, the makers of the products not involved in the earlier processes etc. Specialisation.

Based in Kamiita-cho, Buaisou is one of a very small number who are doing every part of the process in-house, starting from cultivating the plants in their own one hectare indigo field to harvesting leaves, fermentation, sukumo (to which they add wood lye, wheat bran and shell lime), all the way to making and selling the products. They have also become an in-demand partner for both domestic and international brands not just for retail products, but also for items on display in retail spaces.

Back in its heyday, there were some two thousand indigo-related businesse in the area. There are barely any now, and international partnerships, be they small ones like this one with Ressence, or with international lifestyle and luxury brands, are a way of keeping the crafts alive.

The Ressence TYPE 8 Indigo may have an indigo-dyed dial, but it does not come on a matching strap but one in grey Saffiano calf, with a titanium ardillon buckle.

Coming in a limited edition of eight pieces, the price is CHF 25,000 (excluding taxes) and it is available exclusively through our Shellman at Isetan Shinjuku Watch Shop in Tokyo.

[Photo credit: Ressence and Buaisou]

Categories: Japan, Limited Editions, Ressence, Watch Profile, watches