In the midst of the rise of independent watchmaking, largely dominated by Swiss/European watchmakers, on the other side of the Europe in Japan, Mr.Naoya Hida, has been producing some of the highest quality watches in the field of independence. Mixture of traditional European design language with a touch of greatness from Japanese precision and craftsmanship, Naoya Hida is creating one of the most appealing watches currently on offer with simple yet precise attention to detail. 

Coming from a background of marketing and distribution of luxury watches to Japan; having worked with brands like Breguet, and F.P.Journe, with his deep passion being vintage Patek Phililippe dress watches. In 2018 Mr.Hida took the leap of creating his brand: Naoya Hida & Co;  focusing on creating aesthetically classical, meticulously finished, ageless mechanical watches

I don’t even quite know how I have this in my collection; I would like to say that it literally fell on my foot, since this came into my collection during my time in the military when I wasn’t actively collecting watches. But boy, was I so happy to have this. 4 months after acquiring this piece, I had my first holiday from the military, and when I saw it in person, it blew me away. The Naoya Hida Type 1D, released in 2022, is the originator of Naoya hida and a successor of Type 1B and C. Just looking at overall appearance, it is not a secret that Mr.Hida has been heavily inspired by the vintage Calatravas, but with a twist and touch of his own. As Japanese are well known for their craftsmanship and their attention to detail, this Type 1D speaks the same language. Rather than this just being an homage piece, Mr.Hida has expressed his vision and craftsmanship into this Type 1D. 

So what’s changed for the Type 1D compared to the Type 1B and C? Well, from a naked eye looking from afar, it looks like an identical watch. Absolutely yes. But as John Mayer says “look closer”, minor tweaks on the engraving of the numerals, a screw-back case, slightly thinner lugs which allows for better fit on the wrist, as well as slightly tweaked hands. The case is still made from the same 904L stainless steel with 37mm diameter case size and 9.8mm thickness, powered by the same modified Valjoux 7750 caliber 3019ss. If it’s good already, why change? Overall, this Type 1D is the latest and the greatest work from all Type 1 that Mr.Hida has produced, one that is extremely pleasing on the wrist as well as on the eyes. When looking closely at the hand engraved numerals, the lacquered markers, the dial finishing, it gives me chills when taking photos. Dare I say, this Type 1D is my personal favourite watch out of all watches I have photographed. 

For non-watch lovers, they might wonder why. Why this is my favourite watch to photograph and what makes this watch so special, because it has no complications, it’s a time only watch on a stainless steel case. I once was explaining to my family (who are not into watches) about watches, and told them one of my favourite watches are actually time only watches, because it is that much harder to make a simple watch beautiful, because it requires deep understanding of every specific aspect and digging deeper into finer details. Every inch, every detail needs to be borderline perfection for simple things to shine bright.  And it looks like Mr.Hida has done it with this Type 1. This quote from E.F Schumacher saying “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction” is a perfect representation of this Naoya Hida Type 1D. Naoya Hida has now produced a few different models in 2025, and I personally really like the Type 6A and Type 5A-1, but this Type 1D is still my personal favourite model from the brand.

But no watch is perfect to an individual, and one thing I would like to mention is that as much as I love the big, sharp crown when winding the watch, it did get in the way of comfortability depending on where the watch was sitting on my wrist. When the watch is positioned a little close to the carpal bones, the crown touches the skin a little uncomfortably at times. However, a little fix on where the watch is positioned eliminates such an issue, and this is purely based on my personal experience, and I believe this discomfort might depend on the individual's wrist. 

Overall, the Naoya Hida Type 1D is not another dress watch, and it’s not just another independent watch brand. It is THE watch when talking about the perfect blend of vintage charms and the finest modern craftsmanship. As mentioned above, it is that much harder to make simple watches great. It requires the finest attention to detail, hence the reason behind such little difference on Type 1B,C, and D, and it is all about perfecting the craft for Mr.Hida. I would like to believe that this watch is the reflection of Mr.Hida’s discipline, vision and artistry; hope to have more of his work in my collection in the future