Hajime Asaoka embarked on his career as a watchmaker in 2005, having previously worked as a product designer since 1992. His interest in watches stemmed from his youth, and this passion was revived when some clients approached him to help them design a watch that they could produce and sell. This blossomed into a desire to learn how to create a watch from scratch, rather than just design them. In the early 2000s, he taught himself the craft from George Daniels' Watchmaking, eventually producing the Tourbillon #1 in 2009, which also bore the distinction of being the first ever Japanese-made tourbillon. This also led to his acceptance to the AHCI, then he began selling watches to clients in 2011.