Egg-Boiling Watch for Boiled Egg Lovers

I love hanjuku, soft-boiled eggs, but making them perfect is not easy! I’ve had many frustrating experiences in the past where I failed repeatedly. The eggs were either undercooked and runny, or overcooked and hard. The shells were difficult to peel and often became crumbly. It's such a simple dish, yet it never seemed to turn out right. This daily frustration inspired the creation of this Egg-Boiling Watch for Boiled Egg Lovers.

To make the perfect boiled egg, you need to prepare a variety of conditions. The egg must be fresh, placed in a pot of properly boiling water, and timed to perfection, down to the second. This Egg-Boiling Watch allows you to envision the perfect boiled egg on your wrist. In this way, I navigated between the "science of boiled eggs" and my perspective as a designer to bring this watch to life. During the process, I received advice from Mr. Daisuke Kodama of Kewpie Corporation, one of Japan’s foremost “5-star Tamaliers”^*2 (egg sommeliers), which further refined my ideas.

^*1 Material supplied by NEQAS Co., Ltd.
^*2 The Tamalier Certification is a special certification for sommeliers of eggs, recognized by the Nihon RangyoKyokai Association (Japan Egg Industry Association). It has three ranks—one star, three stars, and five stars—with the five-star certification being extremely rare. As of October 2024, only 10 people in Japan have achieved this prestigious status.

• If you gently rotate the egg with chopsticks for two minutes after cooking begins, the yolk will settle at the center, resulting in a beautifully balanced boiled egg. Coordinate the movements of your chopsticks with the watch hand for optimal results.
• After two minutes have passed, the hand begins to slowly swing back and forth for the remainder of the boiling time. As the time passes, the width of the hand's oscillations gradually narrows, building anticipation as you wait for the egg to boil.

The design element I focused on the most was the texture of the egg on the dial. The yolk is intentionally placed slightly off-center, and the glass is also off-center to create a melting effect. In addition, the white outer case is made from a composite material containing eggshell, making it environmentally friendly. It’s truly a watch full of eggs! This watch is not just for soft-boiled eggs, but also for making hard-boiled eggs with any level of consistency. I hope all boiled egg enthusiasts will enjoy crafting their preferred doneness to perfection.

Expert’s Comments

5-star Tamalier (Egg sommelier)Mr. Daisuke Kodama, Kewpie Corporation

When I first heard about this watch, it was clear that a deep love for eggs inspired its creation, and I couldn’t help but feel excited! Although nearly 90% of Japanese people enjoy eggs (source: Kewpie Egg White Paper), for such a beloved dish as boiled eggs, achieving the perfect yolk to suit your preference can be surprisingly challenging. I believe that with a watch like this, you can achieve the perfect consistency every time! The mechanism, with hands that rotate continuously, and the look that so beautifully captures the vivid yellow color unique to Japanese eggs, make you want to start boiling eggs right away. Eggs are known for their five main properties—coagulation, foaming, emulsification, nutrition, and flavor and color—but I think this watch brings out an additional value: the joy of cooking.
Even children and those with little cooking experience can have fun making delicious boiled eggs with this watch. I have to confess, I want one for myself!

Designer

Kiyotaka Sakai

Sakai joined Seiko in 2012 and, after designing watches for the European and American markets, including the Prospex collection, he is now responsible for the design of Grand Seiko.