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The Surprising Calibres of Naoya Hida

Last Update: June 19, 2022

Naoya Hida & Co. is an independent watch atelier in Tokyo producing a small number of classically-inspired watches in annual batches. As discussed in my recent blog post, Naoya Hida has introduced three models since 2019. Each model uses a customized movement based on the ETA 7750 automatic chronograph ebauche, a surprising choice because Hida’s watches are neither automatic nor chronographs! This being Grail Watch, I spent a good amount of time digging into the Hida calibres and am documenting them here on Grail Watch Reference.

Naoya Hida’s movements are based on the ETA/Valjoux 7750 ebauche

The NH Cal. 30 Family

MovementThicknessJewels
3019SS4.3 mm18
3020CS5.0 mm22
3021LU5.6 mm18

All three Hida movements to date have a similar appearance, and all are based on the 7750 ebauche, wheel train, barrel, balance, and escapement. The small seconds and moon phase movements likely share the same balance bridge and plate, and both feature 18 jewels.

The central seconds hand on Cal. 3020CS is driven using a rear-mounted wheel, requiring a secondary plate at the center. It also features four extra jewels, for a total of 22.

Cal. 3021LU, used in the Type 3, uses the moon phase mechanism from ETA’s Cal. 7751 but omits a seconds display entirely. Like Cal. 7751, the moon phase indicator is adjusted with the crown in position 2.

Grail Watch Commentary

The following is taken from my article, “The Neo-Classical Watches of Naoya Hida“

The ETA 7750 ebauche

All of Naoya Hida’s watches produced to date rely on movements based on the classic ETA 7750. Designed by the legendary Edmond Capt, this movement originated at Valjoux and was released in 1974. It was an influential and popular automatic chronograph and served as one of the primary engines of the resurgence of mechanical watchmaking in the 1980s. Indeed, look inside the legendary IWC Da Vinci and later grand complications and you’ll find Capt’s 7750 ebauche!

Although it might seem odd that Hida would use an automatic chronograph ebauche for his simple hand-winding watches, it is in keeping with watchmaking tradition. The 7750 provides a reliable and easily available base and this will ease concerns about serviceability in the future. And many other movements use the Cal. 7750 wheel train, including ETA’s own Valgranges family and quite a few column wheel chronographs.

The use of the 7750 ebauche is popular among makers of fine independent watches as well. The Hida movement is especially reminiscent of the Habring² Felix Cal. A11, which uses this base for their hand-winding time-only movement with a custom balance bridge and plate. But Habring also uses an in-house escapement and hairspring. Most other independent watchmakers use ETA and Sellita ebauches with varying levels of customization or finishing, though some have adopted more specialized movements, especially in this price range.

Hida obviously omits the automatic winding and chronograph components when his Cal. 30xx series movements are constructed, but there are many other changes besides. Notably, each movement is fitted with a Glashütte-style 3/4 plate, which sandwiches nearly the entire movement apart from the balance wheel and Hida-specific balance bridge. The plate does not use chatons, which traditionally made it easier to assemble 3/4 plate movements, but the chatons on most modern Glashütte movements aren’t functional so this is not that odd.

All Hida movements use a proprietary click mechanism to improve the feel when winding by hand. Good winding feel is curiously absent from many high-end watches, so I applaud this change. The wheel train, assortment (balance and escapement), and mainspring are held over from the 7750, as are the springs and shock absorbers. Thus, the movement operates at 4 Hz (28,800 A/h) and has a power reserve of around 45 hours. Without the chronograph components, Hida’s movements have 18 or 22 jewels.

The movement plate is decorated with a concentric pattern of overlapping spirals. Given the resources of the company, it is likely that this plate and the balance bridge are produced by an outside company, but it is nicely decorated, with engraved gold-filled lettering. The main plate still retains the ETA cloverleaf and “775x” stamps and does not appear to be re-worked or finished at all.

Cal. 3019SS was the original Hida movement

This is one key criticism that has been leveled against Hida’s watches: That the finishing of the ETA components is not up to his standards and thus de-values the entire watch. Given the widespread use of off-the-shelf timekeeping components, especially among independents, movement finishing is one element that often draws attention from critics. Indeed, one would hope that Hida and his staff could finish the ebauche to a standard that matches their bridge and plate at this price point. The same criticism can be leveled against some other independent watchmakers, but most are meticulous about finishing their movements.

On the other hand, it would not be fair to criticize Hida’s choice of the ETA 7750 ebauche. It is a well-respected and widely-used timekeeper, from IWC’s Il Destriero Scafusia to Omega’s Speedmaster Racing to most of the Habring² line. And nearly every member of the AHCI has worked on an ETA ebauche. Indeed, it will be easier to maintain and repair the ETA components than those from a more-exclusive maker.

Cal. 3020CS has an added plate to cover the central seconds wheel

Research Notes

There are not many photos of Hida’s movements available. The company has published one photo of each movement in their website specifications (the blue background images in the table above) as well as a “hero” shot of each movement on Instagram. But none of these reveals the dial side of the ebauche or many other details.

The ETA ebauche finishing is not up to the standards of the 3/4 plate and bridge in these photos, but this may not reflect the finishing of production watches. Because Hida’s watches do not include a display casebook, production movement finishing has not been revealed.

Hida has published specifications on the movements, including the thickness and jewel count of each. But there are no further details on the custom click mechanism or other modifications. Although it is apparent that Hida uses a simple ETACHRON with no index, this is not mentioned in any official source.

Filed Under: Content Tagged With: ETA 7750, Japan, Naoya Hida, Valjoux

Updated Movement Family: Valjoux 23/72

Last Update: February 28, 2020

A nine-column wheel and very few springs? Must be a Valjoux 23!

One of the more popular movements in the history of horology, the high-end Valjoux 23/72 chronograph family is vast and confusing. It was in production for many decades (1916 through 1974, by reckoning) and there are over two dozen different related movements. I’ve been working to get my head around these for years, and this site has given me a platform for that work!

The family began with the simple Cal. “A23”, originally a monopusher developed for the nascent wristwatch market by brothers John and Charles Reymond in the village of Les Bioux in the Vallée de Joux. This would become one of the most famous and celebrated watch movements of all time, and remains in use a century later, though production has long since ceased. And that little Swiss valley would give its name to the company (“Valjoux”) and become one of the key locations in Swiss watchmaking. It’s now home to Jaeger-LeCoultre, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, Blancpain, Breguet, and more.

A modern watch with an old movement: Panerai PAM00163 with Cal. Valjoux 234. Note that the top pusher is closer to the crown than the bottom. This is another classic Valjoux “tell”!

One of the more confusing aspects of this movement family is the naming: The first two digits denote the basic calibre while an additional digit or letter is used to show the variations on this base. Then there are the “nicknames” applied by Valjoux to indicate functions: Cal. 88 “VZHCL” adds a moon phase display (“Lune”) to Cal. 72c “VZHC”.

Most Valjoux movements in the classic period were chronographs, and the Valjoux 23/72 movement family was dominated by movements measuring 13 ligne (29.50 mm) in diameter. But this family also includes a few unusual cousins:

  • The compact 10.5 ligne (23.35 mm) calibres: 69 DX and 89 DX
  • The non-chronograph calibres: 78 VZSC, 89 DX, and 90 VZSCL

Valjoux 23/72 Family Movements

The Valjoux Cal. 23/72 family was primarily made up of eight movements, with all others being variations on these. Many components are shared between most or all of these movements, with the main variations happening together over the long production of the series.

  • Cal. 23 VZ – Basic movement with no hour counter
  • Cal. 72 VZH – Basic movement with hour counter
  • Cal. 72c VZHC – Cal. 72 with triple calendar
  • Cal. 88 VZHCL – Cal. 72c with moon phase
  • Cal. 78 VZSC – Non-chronograph triple calendar
  • Cal. 90 VZSCL – Cal. 78 with moon phase
  • Cal. 69 DX – Compact 10.5 ligne chronograph
  • Cal. 89 DXC – Compact 10.5 ligne triple calendar
Complications18,000 A/h
No Chrono
18,000 A/h
No Hours
18,000 A/h
Hour Counter
21,600 A/h
No Hours
21,600 A/h
Hour Counter
Base23 VZ
69 DX
72 VZH
722
236726
727
Flyback230720235725
Date232234
Triple Date78 VZSC23C72c VZHC
723
730
Flyback and Date237
24 Hour Hand724729
Calendar and Moon Phase89 DXC
90 VZSCL
88 VZHCL886
Tide Calculator721

Valjoux 23/72 Research Notes

Given the long history of this movement series, there is a lot of information out there. However, because these movements are no longer produced, much of this information is fragmented and outdated. And the movements changed over time, making it hard to determine exact specifications and so on.

I was lucky enough to find a trove of original Valjoux watchmaker documentation from the 1960s that really clarified the specs of the major movements in the series. But the later additions, particularly the 21,600 A/h models, are much more poorly-documented. Indeed, it’s hard to even put a precise date of production on these! It’s hard to imagine now, but these movements were considered quite out-of-date in the 1970s and weren’t widely used. Although there were many versions produced, they are fare more rare than their predecessors.

It’s also challenging to document such old movements because the original documents never made it to the web. Archive.org doesn’t go back to the 1940s!

One incredibly useful resource is a June 2004 article in WatchTime magazine. I urge you to check it out! But there are errors in there, too. I also relied on the wonderful Ranfft Pink Pages, as I always do when it comes to classic movements, and the afore-mentioned trove of original documents.

Work continues!

Filed Under: Content Tagged With: chronograph, column wheel, Valjoux, Valjoux 23, Valjoux 72

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