October 14, 2026
Trilobe, an independent watch brand from France, officially launches in the Japanese market.
Trilobe
The independent watch brand Trilobe, from Paris, France, has officially launched in the Japanese market. Attention is focusing on its original approach to time, which seeks to capture the essence of time through a method different from conventional watches.
Text by Kosaku Waseda
From a watch you "read" to one you "feel"
Trilobe is a watch maison founded in Paris, France, in 2018. It is garnering attention as an entity that brings a new perspective to the watch industry from France.
The maison has questioned the fundamental structure of watches that indicate time with hands and has pursued a unique time display system using rotating discs. It possesses an innovative and counter-cultural stance that re-examines the conventional.
Diverging from conventional watches that show time with hands, its hallmark is an original expression of time, displaying hours, minutes, and seconds via three rotating rings. While in a typical watch, hands rotate over the dial, here, each of the three rings indicating hours, minutes, and seconds rotates, and a fixed indicator allows the current time to be read.
Trilobe's creations, it is said, begin with the question, "What if we did it differently?" In contrast to the time display using hands, which has been passed down for approximately 700 years, the brand proposes a new way of reading time.
On the dial, the three eccentric rings indicating hours, minutes, and seconds are in constant motion, while the indicators that mark the time remain fixed. This unique structure expresses time not merely as something to be read, but as something that flows quietly on the dial.
It is a unique expression of time, layering poetic sensibility and architectural composition, reminiscent of Paris, onto the precision of mechanical watchmaking.
The full-scale launch in Japan begins with the "Trente Deux" collection, which features the brand's first in-house manufactured movement.
Trente Deux marks a significant milestone for Trilobe. Announced seven years after the brand's inception, this collection is equipped with the brand's first in-house movement and symbolizes a new era for the maison.
The collection name "Trente Deux" means "thirty-two" in French. This number is derived from the maison's design studio and watchmaking workshop located at 32, Avenue de l'Opéra in Paris. During its development period of over three years, "32" also served as the internal codename for the collection.
This collection combines the brand's signature off-center display and reconstructed dial architecture with the maison's first integrated metal bracelet. It elevates the unique time display, which differs from traditional mechanical watches, into a more contemporary and everyday wearable style.
At the heart of this collection lies the maison's first in-house manufactured movement, the "X-Nihilo."
This in-house movement, conceived, designed, developed, prototyped, machined, decorated, and assembled entirely within the manufacture, was created to support the maison's unique time display and embodies the brand's philosophy of showing time through three rotating rings—hours, minutes, and seconds—from an engineering perspective.
The bold architecture is centered around an open island, creating space and drawing the eye to a large balance wheel. The power reserve is approximately 42 hours. It is a movement that fuses an innovative display mechanism with a craftsmanship ethos rooted in Paris.
Furthermore, the Trente Deux features the maison's first integrated metal bracelet. The case and bracelet are designed as a single, cohesive unit. The bracelet is shaped to follow the natural curve of the wrist, with links that gradually taper towards the clasp, featuring satin-brushed finishes and chamfers, creating flowing details.
To coincide with the launch in Japan, a special limited edition series of 100 pieces worldwide, the "Trente Deux Souscription Series," is also scheduled to arrive in limited quantities.
"Souscription" means reservation or subscription in French. In Japan, respecting the worldview of the French brand Trilobe, the term was introduced as the French "Souscription" rather than the English "Subscription."
This collection is a special series composed of a total of 100 limited pieces: 50 in blue and 50 in gray. While the standard collection features a matte sunray finish, the Souscription series employs a vertical satin brush finish. The movement is engraved with "X of 50" and "Souscription."
It reinterprets the physical concept of time not as a mechanism, but as an aesthetic. This is the essence of Trilobe. Rather than being a "game-changer" that overturns existing values, it quietly redefines watchmaking itself through overwhelming individuality and solid technical prowess. We look forward to seeing how Trilobe, now launched in Japan, will continue to pioneer new expressions of time.
Trilobe Trente Deux
Case size | Diameter: 39.5mm Thickness: 10.15mm
Case material | 316L Stainless Steel
Movement | X-Nihilo Caliber
Winding system | Automatic
Power reserve | Approx. 42 hours
Functions | Display: Hours, minutes, and seconds shown by three rotating rings
Bracelet | Stainless steel integrated bracelet, double folding clasp
Water resistance | 5 ATM
Case material | 316L Stainless Steel
Movement | X-Nihilo Caliber
Winding system | Automatic
Power reserve | Approx. 42 hours
Functions | Display: Hours, minutes, and seconds shown by three rotating rings
Bracelet | Stainless steel integrated bracelet, double folding clasp
Water resistance | 5 ATM
Price | JPY 3,960,000 (incl. tax)
Contact
Noble Styling
Frequently Asked Questions about Trilobe Watches
Q. What kind of watch brand is Trilobe?
Trilobe is an independent watch maison founded in Paris, France, in 2018. It questions the fundamental structure of watches that indicate time with hands and has pursued a unique time display system using rotating discs. Its distinguishing feature is a creative structure that displays hours, minutes, and seconds via three rotating rings, where the rings are in constant motion on the dial while the indicators showing the time remain fixed. The brand, pursuing a unique expression of time that layers poetic sensibility and architectural composition reminiscent of Paris onto the precision of mechanical watchmaking, has now officially launched in the Japanese market.
Q. What kind of model is the "Trente Deux" collection?
This is a landmark collection for Trilobe, announced seven years after the brand's founding, and it features the brand's first in-house manufactured movement, the "X-Nihilo." The collection name "Trente Deux" means "thirty-two" in French, derived from the maison's design studio and watchmaking workshop located at 32, Avenue de l'Opéra in Paris. Combining the brand's signature off-center display and reconstructed dial architecture with the maison's first integrated metal bracelet, it elevates the unique time display, which differs from traditional mechanical watches, into a more contemporary and everyday wearable style. The power reserve is approximately 42 hours, and the price is JPY 3,960,000 (incl. tax).
Q. What kind of model is the "Trente Deux Souscription Series"?
This is a special series of 100 pieces worldwide, arriving in limited quantities to coincide with the launch in Japan. "Souscription" means reservation or subscription in French, and in Japan, respecting the worldview of the French brand Trilobe, it was introduced as the French "Souscription" rather than the English "Subscription." It consists of a total of 100 limited pieces: 50 in blue and 50 in gray. Unlike the matte sunray finish of the standard collection, the Souscription series features a vertical satin brush finish. The movement is engraved with "X of 50" and "Souscription."