Naoya Hida & Co. and The Armoury have returned with the Type 4A-2 “Floating Feathers,” a 36mm stainless steel watch that takes Hida’s restrained Type 4 format and gives it a more artistic, hand-worked dial.
The watch is the third collaboration between the Japanese independent watchmaker and The Armoury, the menswear-focused retailer founded by Mark Cho and Alan See in Hong Kong in 2010.
Rather than changing the proportions or the fundamental character of the watch, this edition concentrates its energy on the dial, where a feather motif is engraved by hand into Argentium silver.
A Type 4 Case Kept Compact and Familiar
The Type 4A-2 uses a 36mm case in 904L stainless steel, measuring 11mm thick with a 42.9mm lug-to-lug length.
Those dimensions are central to the appeal of modern Naoya Hida watches: compact without feeling delicate, formal without becoming precious.
The case is water resistant to 50 meters and remains visually quiet enough to let the dial carry the watch.
It is paired with a charcoal gray calf leather strap made by Jean Rousseau and a matching 904L stainless steel pin buckle.
Argentium Silver, Feathers and Japanese Hand Engraving
The defining feature is the Argentium silver dial, which has been bead-blasted and then engraved with three falling feathers by Japanese master engraver Keisuke Kano.
The feathers are not printed or simply outlined; they are cut into the dial surface with dense, repeated strokes that give the motif shape, texture and shifting light.
The result is unusually restrained for an art dial.
There is no color scene, no enamel flourish and no decorative excess, only a monochrome silver field interrupted by engraving that changes character as the watch moves on the wrist.
That restraint matters because the watch still needs to function as a daily timepiece.
Sixty individually applied 18K yellow gold minute markers, along with Hida’s precise hands, keep the dial legible and anchored in the brand’s established design language.
The Armoury’s Menswear Eye Meets Hida’s Discipline
The collaboration makes sense because The Armoury has always approached objects through proportion, material and wearability rather than novelty alone.
Its relationship with Naoya Hida began early in the watchmaker’s story, growing from collector interest into a retail partnership and now a recurring creative exchange.
Previous collaborative pieces stayed closer to Hida’s core vocabulary, particularly in typography and layout.
The Type 4A-2 “Floating Feathers” is more pictorial, yet it still avoids becoming theatrical.
That balance is the interesting part: The Armoury pushes the watch toward imagery, while Hida’s design discipline keeps the final object recognizably within his small, carefully controlled universe.
Caliber 3020CS and Application-Only Availability
Inside is the manually wound Caliber 3020CS, a movement reworked from the ETA 7750 and offering a 45-hour power reserve.
The watch displays hours, minutes and seconds, keeping the mechanical package straightforward while the dial supplies the emotional detail.
Production is limited to 10 pieces in 2026, with another 10 planned for 2027.
Applications will be accepted through The Armoury in-store and online from May 17 to May 20, with the watch priced at USD 33,000.
That places it above Hida’s more direct time-only pieces, but the premium is tied to a dial that requires real handwork and a narrow production run.
The Type 4A-2 “Floating Feathers” is likely to speak most clearly to existing Hida collectors, but it also has appeal for buyers who want an independent watch that reveals its craft slowly rather than announcing it from across the room.