When Two Design Houses Talk: Inside HBA and Giorgetti’s KUMIKI
There is a particular kind of person who lingers over a watch case back, tracing the bridges and the balance wheel, simply to understand how the thing works. That same instinct, the refusal to accept beauty without knowing what holds it together, is exactly what drew HBA Product and the Italian design house Giorgetti back to the table for a second collaboration. Their first, HIKARI, launched in 2024 and was never meant to be a one-off. It was the opening line of a conversation. KUMIKI, unveiled during Milan Design Week 2026, is where that conversation deepens.
For anyone who has ever chosen a timepiece for its visible movement over a closed caseback, KUMIKI will feel instantly familiar in spirit. Named after a centuries-old Japanese joinery technique that locks wood together without a single nail, screw or drop of glue, the collection’s Canaletto walnut frames make no attempt to hide their construction. The joints are the design. “Every connection is purposeful and visible,” says Kevin Shek, Lead Product Designer at HBA Product, “allowing the integrity of the craftsmanship to become part of the design narrative rather than something concealed.” It is a philosophy that any serious collector of fine mechanical watches will recognise on sight, because it is the same one.
What makes KUMIKI worth a closer look is not the chairs alone, but the pattern they reveal. HBA and Giorgetti did not simply repeat what worked with HIKARI; they let the relationship mature. Chris Godfrey, Co-CEO of HBA, describes the dialogue between the two houses as “not stylistic, but philosophical; it is about precision, restraint, and respect for material.” That is a rare thing in an industry that so often chases novelty for its own sake. Two brands, two cultures of craft, choosing instead to build something slower, quieter, and more permanent.
For readers who spend their working lives moving fast, there is something almost restorative in that decision.
The collection itself, a lounge armchair and a dining chair, with an outdoor edition in solid teak for those who want the same discipline poolside, sits comfortably in the same category as a well-chosen watch: not a purchase made to impress, but one made to endure. Katie Earl, Creative Director of HBA Residential, puts it plainly: walnut is “a material that endures, evolves, and never loses its relevance.” Swap the word walnut for movement, and the sentence could just as easily describe a manual-wind calibre passed down through a family for three generations.
KUMIKI is not a watch, and it does not claim to be. But for readers of The Time Place Magazine who understand that true luxury lives in the details you have to look for, this second chapter between HBA and Giorgetti is worth your attention. Curious where the story between these two houses began? Revisit our coverage of HIKARI and explore more of our craftsmanship archive on the website.