PS Horology – TSUBA Blue and TSUBA Dong Son Edition

 

PS Horology – TSUBA Blue and TSUBA Dong Son Automatic 80th Anniversary Edition 2025

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The first Tsuba timepiece designed by PS Horology, the Tsuba Blue edition is influenced by elements from early vintage wristwatches combined with modern materials and manufacturing techniques. 

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Classic index and hand design is combined with modern techniques of printing on sapphire resulting in a visual depth to the dial details.

Tsuba Blue details

The case is made in Le Locle, Switzerland from 316L stainless steel. Both front and back glasses are made from sapphire and water resistant to three atmospheres. 

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From 3 to 9 o’clock across the case excluding the winding crown the case measures 38.3mm and 8.91mm thick.

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The movement is made by Vaucher Manufacture in Fleurier, Switzerland, calibre 5401 with micro-rotor automatic. It measures in thickness 2.60 mm and in diameter 30.00 mm (13 ¼”’). The number of components is 176, and the number of synthetic jewels 29 with a personalised tungsten micro-rotor, turning on a ceramic ball race. 

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The power reserve lasts 48 hours, and the balance wheel is free-sprung. Balance frequency 3 Hz (21.600 A/h).

The Tsuba Case

The shape of the case was inspired by the tsuba (an example shown below), a shaped guard at the end of the grip of a Japanese sword that contributes to both the balance of the weapon and the protection of the hand from the blade.

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During the Edo Period (1603-1868), these guards evolved from simple and practical to highly ornamental and were made by whole dynasties of craftsmen whose only craft was to make tsubas.

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Although tsubas are now collectors’ items in the present day they were often heirlooms, passed from one generation to the next. Japanese families with Samurai roots often had their family crest crafted onto a tsuba, immortalising their lineage.

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Tsubas were fashioned in a range of different shapes, and this tsuba-inspired case is a hybrid of the quince shape and the octagonal shape. 

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The quince shape represents a cross-section of a quince fruit symbolising prosperity, while the octagonal shape, representing stability and balance from the number eight, was considered sacred and auspicious in ancient Japan.

The Making of the Tsuba Case

The Tsuba’s research and development began in 2019. Darren Jones provided the guiding design, and Peter Speake developed and executed the project. 

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The most challenging element of manufacture was the Tsuba’s case, because of its scalloped and rounded surfaces, which are complex to machine and hand finish.

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The decoration of the case requires a five-stage finishing process, including brushing of the external surfaces and polishing of the concave surfaces. A range of different techniques were used to protect the polished surfaces from being touched during the graining process.

The Tsuba Dong Son

The timepiece was born from a curiosity about the culture, history, and artistry that I experienced during my early travels to Asia, combined with a request to represent this in the form of an original watch.

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The Tsuba Dong Son reflects a cultural essence of Asia with influences from both Vietnamese and Japanese history and craft. 

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Artistry from these regions is represented by the Tsuba case, inspired by elements found on Japanese swords, and the Dong Son dial that carries symbols found on ancient Vietnamese ceremonial Bronze Age drums.

The Dong Son Dial

The dial of the timepiece features concentric circles of symbols taken from Dong Son drums, paired with shaped hands bearing the forms of Dong Son spears. 

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Discovered by archaeologists in 1924, the Dong Son culture was a Bronze Age civilisation that flourished in northern Vietnam between 1000 BC and the first century AD.

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Its people were highly skilled bronze casters, who left behind a rich window into their ancient culture in the form of giant ceremonial Dong Son drums that were used for warfare, mourning, festivals and prayers.

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Decorated with intricate geometric patterns, mythical creatures, warriors, and ritual scenes of daily life, these masterpieces have become symbols of Vietnamese culture from over 2000 years ago. 

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The completion of the Tsuba Dong Son timepiece in 2024 marks one hundred years since the discovery of the Dong Son civilisation in 1924, and its launch in 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

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An integrated bracelet will be available to add to the original Tsuba Dong Son by mid 2025

They are available via PS-Horology in Switzerland, Miluxe in Vietnam, and Martin Pulli in the USA. For more, visit ps-horology.com. 

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TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Collection: TSUBA 

Model:    TSUBA Blue Automatic Limited edition of 100 pieces

Model:    TSUBA Dong Son Automatic Limited edition of 80 pieces

Case:
316L stainless steel 
Diameter: 38.3mm across x 8.91mm thick 
Square-shaped with scalloped corners 
Brushed and polished surfaces 
Cushion-shaped and domed sapphire crystal 
Water-resistant - 30m
Engraved caseback held by four screws and a sapphire crystal window
Dial:
Tsuba Blue 
Sapphire with printed tracks and indices, with lacquer on the underside and an anodized metal frame 
Blued steel handset 
Tsuba Dong Son  
Gold-crafted dial with ultramarine or slate base and engravings inspired by the Dong Son ceremonial drums 
Blued dagger-shaped hands; hours and minutes via central hands, running seconds subdial at 6 o'clock
Movement:
Vaucher Manufacture calibre 5401
Automatic with a tungsten micro-rotor 
Frequency 3 Hz (21.600 A/h)
Free-sprung balance wheel 
48-hour power reserve 
Hours, minutes, seconds
Bracelet:
Integrated stainless steel bracelet with a folding clasp 
Synthetic humidity-resistant straps in blue or brown (Tsuba Dong Son edition)

Availability: 🔰 Tsuba Blue is limited to 100 pcs, Tsuba Dong Son is limited to 80 pcs
available to pre-order (30% deposit required) via PS-Horology in Switzerland, Miluxe in Vietnam and Martin Pulli in the USA, deliveries by August 2025

🔴 Price: 
 CHF 19,500, excl. tax and shipping (Tsuba Blue) the price of the Tsuba Dong Son is only upon request via Miluxe in Vietnam or PS Horology

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Peter Speake is an independent watchmaker with over 35 years’ experience in the watchmaking industry. He trained at Hackney College in London in the mid-eighties before attending the Swiss watchmaking school WOSTEP in Neuchatel and began his career in the early nineties restoring antique and vintage timepieces in Piccadilly, London.

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Between 1996 and 2000, he worked for Renaud & Papi in Le Locle, Switzerland, after which he co-founded and developed the Speake-Marin brand in 2002 where he remained the watchmaker until 2017.

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 SPEAKE-MARIN – Diamond MAGISTER Dong Son Tourbillon 👉(2016)

Peter spent the next five years at an educational watchmaking platform with access to numerous mainstream commercial brands as well as independent artisanal watch houses to explore their watchmaking by deconstructing, photographing, and demonstrating an extensive array of their timepieces.

 

His previously published collaborations include Harry Winston (Ex-centre Tourbillon), Maitres du Temps (Chapter 1), MB&F (Horological machine No.1), The Wostep Watch (For OnlyWatch), Frederique Constant (QP), and Schwartz Etienne (Phoenix).

Peter founded his new brand PS Horology in 2022  Please click here for a detailed  BIO

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Press Release - 2025
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