PS Horology Tsuba En brings Japanese restraint to an ultra-thin Swiss calibre

The PS Horology Tsuba En is a small-series watch with a very specific point of view.

Created by master watchmaker Peter Speake with Kinya Mishima of Tokyo’s Les Artisans, it takes its cue from the tsuba, the hand guard of a Japanese sword, and translates that idea into a restrained 38.3 mm steel watch.

It also marks the 20th anniversary of Les Artisans and a friendship between Speake and Mishima that began in 2003.

At a glance

• PS Horology has introduced the Tsuba En, a 10-piece limited edition created with Kinya Mishima of Les Artisans in Tokyo.
• The watch combines a 316L stainless steel tsuba-inspired case, integrated bracelet and 3N yellow gold-plated German silver dial with Clous de Paris guilloché.
• It is powered by the self-winding Vaucher Calibre 5401 and is priced at CHF 18,000 excluding tax.

A case shaped by the Japanese sword guard

The Tsuba En follows earlier Tsuba models from Peter Speake, including the Tsuba Blue and Tsuba Dong Son, but this edition has a more personal purpose.

Its form is rooted in the tsuba, the metal guard that sits between a katana’s blade and grip.

On the watch, that reference appears through scalloped corners and softened outer lines rather than overt decoration.

The 316L stainless steel case measures 38.3 mm across and 8.91 mm thick, giving it the kind of low, wearable profile that suits the watch’s understated character.

Finishing does much of the work here, with polished facets set against brushed surfaces to define the curves without making the case feel busy.

The crown guards are similarly measured, protecting the winding stem while keeping the silhouette clean.

Gold, guilloché and quiet detail

The dial is made from German silver and plated in 3N yellow gold, a choice that gives the watch warmth without relying on a precious-metal case.

At the centre is a Clous de Paris guilloché pattern, bringing a traditional Swiss craft into a watch otherwise framed by Japanese visual language.

That pairing is the heart of the Tsuba En.

It isn’t trying to stage a loud cultural crossover, but to find common ground between Shibui, the Japanese idea of restrained beauty, and the kind of precise mechanical finish associated with Swiss independent watchmaking.

The watch displays hours, minutes and small seconds under a gently domed sapphire crystal.

Its integrated bracelet continues the case language with tapering stainless steel links, brushed surfaces and polished edges, secured by a butterfly deployment clasp.

The Vaucher micro-rotor inside

Turn the watch over and the exhibition caseback reveals Vaucher Manufacture’s Calibre 5401.

The self-winding movement helps explain the case’s slender profile, using a micro-rotor rather than a full central winding mass.

For this edition, the tungsten micro-rotor is personalised, anodised blue and marked with the PS Horology symbol.

It sits flush with the rhodium-plated bridges and winds on a ceramic ball race.

The calibre comprises 176 components and 29 jewels, runs at 21,600 vibrations per hour, and offers a 48-hour power reserve.

Finishing includes Côtes de Genève rayonnantes on the bridges and perlage on the mainplate.

The caseback itself is secured with four screws and frames the movement through an ovoid sapphire window, with lacquer-filled engraving on the steel surround noting the watch’s limited-edition status.

Details & Specifications

The Tsuba En is likely to speak to collectors who enjoy independent watchmaking at its most considered, where the object doesn’t announce every detail at once.

Its appeal sits in the slow reveal, from the tsuba-shaped steel architecture to the gold guilloché dial and the ultra-thin Vaucher movement working quietly beneath the caseback.