The Breitling in Kaiji: How Far Can the Drawing Take Us?
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Tonegawa’s watch in Kaiji is based on a Breitling Chronomat 13050. In a June 2026 interview with Breitling, Nobuyuki Fukumoto named the reference behind the drawing. The drawing alone would leave that reference open.
The watch beneath Tonegawa’s face
The image headed chapter 123 places the watch beneath Tonegawa’s face. Its round case is drawn at an angle, but the subsidiary dials remain distinct. The date aperture sits beside them, and raised sections interrupt the graduated bezel. Even the crown and pushers receive space in the close-up.
Tonegawa’s expression occupies the upper half while the enlarged watch dominates the lower one.
A dial layout can remain recognizable even when small lettering disappears. Here the broad arrangement is legible, but tiny inscriptions are not.
The fictional modification
Fukumoto explained that the three-dial arrangement suited the physiological readings Tonegawa secretly receives from Kaiji. He also wanted a watch appropriate to Tonegawa’s standing.
The retail 13050 is a mechanical chronograph. Its fictional counterpart uses that familiar layout to conceal readouts the real watch cannot supply.
The subdials remain in their expected places. So do the crown, pushers and raised bezel details. The deception depends on changing what the watch reports while leaving its recognizable shape intact.
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