When Fujiwara first teamed up with TAG in 2018, he also released a take on the Carrera, the label’s prototypical racing chronograph. Back then, he said, “I had a contract to make two watches, so I thought it was done.” But when the designer saw a proposal for this third watch, he decided to go for it for a simple reason: “Because the watch is beautiful,” he said.

This new design, he said, came together in about a week. “I’m really quick to do a design,” he admitted. But then again, collaboration is Fujiwara’s medium of choice; these sorts of synergistic processes come naturally to him now. But when it comes to exercising creativity within brand partnership, “fashion has more freedom,” says Fujiwara. But with watches, “there’s only a little thing you can do, if you change, which I know [because] I’ve done this three times, so I know what you can do and what you cannot do. But I’m really enjoying designing in the small, tiny windows.” This more limited scope, he added, is “similar to [designing] sneakers.”

What’s tricky is that the whole process requires patience—almost like a remote game of chess, as the brand hones its prototypes until they are perfect before sending a version to the collaborator for review. Because of all the waiting, Fujiwara said, “I don’t know if there are many creative designers who can do a good watch collaboration. Maybe [for brands] to collaborate with an athlete or pop stars is much easier, because it says only little things you can do for the watches—changing color, those kinds of things.”

Fujiwara, who admits he’s personally more into “vintage, archive watches, not bling-bling new watches,” stuck to his usual guns with the stark, simple design of this new Carrera. There is an extra challenge when trying to work on a watch like this—the Carrera is TAG’s flagship piece and one of the all-time classics in the watch industry. This, he said, is not “bling-bling or a fashion watch. This is more simple and heritage.”

It did seem a bit funny, then, to debut such a minimalist watch during the flashy hubbub of Miami Art Week. During the convention, the hamlet is abuzz with showboat-y collectors, flashy parties, and more Cybertrucks per block than I’d ever previously witnessed. Indeed, a few hours after our conversation, Fujiwara and the rest of the TAG crew would convene for a late-night dinner at a Japanese fusion restaurant in Wynwood, where a glitzy crowd (including brand ambassador Alexandra Daddario) dined on oxtail udon noodles and stuffed shishito peppers.