The Armoury x Naoya Hida & Co. Reference Type 4A-2 Floating Feathers

The Armoury and Naoya Hida & Co. proudly announce the Floating Feathers (Reference Type 4A-2), their third collaborative timepiece. While their first collaboration explored typographic craft, the Floating Feathers draws inspiration from nature, specifically, the intricate structure of a bird’s feather, for one of the most technically demanding dials the partnership has attempted.

On the Inspiration

The design was conceived by The Armoury’s co-founder, Mark Cho, and designer Elliot Hammer. The pair had long admired the decorative dials of the mid-twentieth century, such as Cloisonné dials depicting birds, botanicals, and scenes of natural beauty, but had never found the right moment or collaborator to revisit that tradition until Naoya Hida & Co.’s in-house engraving expertise made it possible.

We wanted to explore a dial that wasn’t primarily about timekeeping, and have always loved the tradition of dials depicting birds. With the Floating Feathers, we took NH & Co.’s precise aesthetic and blended it with the delicate feathers of a bird, a subject that can be artfully recreated using fine engraving,” said Cho.

Whilst in Japan, I appreciated the attention to space and timelessness. In the Floating Feathers, there is a logic: if there are feathers, there must have also once been a bird,” remarked Hammer.

A Dial Conceived in Art, Realized in Silver

The dial of the Floating Feathers is hand-engraved in Argentium silver, a silver alloy chosen for its resistance to tarnishing by Keisuke Kano, the master engraver at Naoya Hida & Co. Three feathers float across the bead-blasted dial surface, each rendered with individual barbs and lifelike texture of a vane, brought to life by the shimmer of precisely cut, exposed silver.

Surrounding the engraved motif are 60 hand-polished 18K yellow gold minute markers, spherical globes assembled individually into the minute ring, each a small jewel of craft. The brand logos and scales are engraved by an ultra-precision micro-milling machine, ensuring legibility without intruding on the dial’s delicate composition.

The time is indicated by a pair of sharply faceted, solid 18K yellow gold hands, machined and hand-polished, with the tip of the long hand bent to align precisely with the minute scale, a deliberate contrast to the soft, organic forms of the engraved feathers below. A blued steel seconds hand with a distinctive “caviar spoon” counterweight completes the composition. The watch is fitted with a strongly domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both sides, reminiscent of vintage acrylic windshields.

Hand engraving was the only process that could capture the essence of the feather,” said designer Elliot Hammer.

Case and Construction

The Floating Feathers is built on Naoya Hida’s Type 4 case: a 36mm form (42.9mm lug-to-lug, 11mm thick) inspired by 1960s watch designs, featuring shapely lyre lugs that reflect the era’s refined proportions. The case is machined from 904L stainless steel, polished after machining by an ultra-high-precision micro-milling machine, and fitted with a screw-in caseback for water resistance to 5 ATM. The watch is manufactured entirely in Japan. It is worn on a hand-stitched charcoal grey calf strap made by Jean Rousseau, with a 904L stainless steel pin buckle (16mm), complementing the watch’s understated elegance.

Movement

Inside the 36mm case sits the Caliber 3020CS, a hand-wound movement (30mm diameter, 5mm thick, 13¼ lignes) featuring an originally designed click-and-click spring for comfortable winding. Naoya Hida reworked the robust ETA 7750 platform into a time-only movement with center seconds, fitted with a custom-designed backplate to stabilize the movement and complement his finishing. The movement offers an approximate 45-hour power reserve, beats at 28,800 BPH (8 vibrations per second / 4 Hz), and comprises 22 jewels.

How to Purchase

The Armoury x Naoya Hida & Co. Reference Type 4A-2 Floating Feathers is priced at $33,000 USD. This exclusive timepiece will be offered by application. The application is a simple questionnaire to be completed and submitted in-store or online from May 17th to May 20th. Only 10 pieces will be produced in 2026, with deliveries scheduled for 2027.

Technical specifications

The Armoury x Naoya Hida & Co. Type 4A-2 "Floating Feathers"

Limited edition of 10 pieces (this year's allocation)

Case

• Material: Stainless steel SUS 904L, polished after ultra-high-precision micro-milling
• Diameter: 36 mm
• Thickness: 11 mm
• Lug-to-lug: 42.90 mm
• Screw caseback
• Strongly domed sapphire crystal, double-sided AR treatment, vintage acrylic profile
• Water-resistant to 50 meters

Dial and hands

• Argentium silver (bead-blasted), hand-engraved motif
• Indices: 60 × 18K yellow gold hand-polished minute markers
• Hour and minute hands: Solid 18K yellow gold, machined and hand-polished
• Seconds hand: Blued steel with caviar spoon counterweight

Movement

• Cal. 3020CS
• Hand-wound movement
• Diameter: 30 mm, 13¼ lignes
• Height: 5 mm
• Frequency: 4 Hz, 28'800 vph
• Number of jewels: 22
• Power reserve of 45 hours

Functions/Indications

• Hours, minutes, central seconds

Strap and buckle

• Charcoal grey calf strap made by Jean Rousseau
• 904L stainless steel pin buckle (16mm)

MSRP

• USD 33'000
• HKD 257'400

For more information, please visit thearmoury.com