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For decades, Citizen has upended the annoying trickle-down effect that pervades most industries. The most expensive products (cars and smartphones immediately come to mind) usually get the latest and greatest technology, and only later do the more affordable models get the goods. In the watch world, that’s not always the case, as Citizen has made it a point to implement its groundbreaking materials, movements and features in watches that are actually affordable. Ingenuity and accessibility? That’s a pairing we can get behind.
That admirable mission carries through to today, over 100 years after the founding of the company that would become Citizen. The brand’s timepieces can be had for up to $8,400, but mostly skew lower on the price scale, some coming in under $300; they include battery-powered and light-powered quartz movements, as well as mechanical models; and they run the style gamut from dress watches to sturdy divers. (The Citizen Group owns other watch brands, including Bulova and Frederique Constant, but here we’re talking about their namesake flagship brand.) Many of their most famous inventions came about in the 1970s and ‘80s, but new innovations are being rolled out onto wrists every single year — the 2010s and ‘20s, specifically, have been most productive.
Take for example Citizen’s Eco-Drive technology. Introduced in 1976, Citizen touts it as the world’s first light-powered analog quartz watch (no batteries required, just light rays filling up a power cell). Instead of resting on its laurels, Citizen has been upping the ante over the years, like in 2016 when it released the Eco-Drive One, a super thin and lightweight variant; then again in 2019 with the Caliber 0100, a limited-edition watch that was one of the most accurate in the world, with an annual rating of +/- 1 second; and again in 2023 with the Eco-Drive 365, which can run for a full year on just one charge.
An Analog-Digital Workhorse, Super Titanium Stunner and 8 Other Citizen Watches We’d Gladly Gift
You tell us who you’re buying for, we’ll tell you the diver, dress watch or even novelty timepiece to pick upThe brand has led the development of materials, too, most notably solid titanium, which Citizen debuted on a watch in another world-first in 1970. Today’s upgraded version, called Super Titanium, which uses a bit of surface-hardening wizardry called Duratect to increase the scratch- and rust-resistance on the already lightweight and durable material, can be found on a variety of watches. Notably, the Tsuki-yomi A-T is the brand’s version of the six-million-dollar man: a showcase for all of their best tech, including Eco-Drive and Super Titanium, as well as atomic timekeeping (which updates the time and date based on a radio signal from a hyper-accurate atomic clock). Except instead of $6 million, it will only put you out $850.
See? Ingenuity and accessibility. To get a better picture of all that Citizen has to offer, here are six watches worth adding to your collection today — all with some piece of proprietary tech that makes them stand out even amongst five-figure timepieces.
The Citizen
The latest versions of a model called “The Citizen” — they’re so proud of these particular watches that the name suggests they’re a definitive example of the brand’s watchmaking prowess — are hard to beat if you’re interested in quartz timekeeping. Citizen’s caliber A060 Eco-Drive movement is accurate to ±5 seconds, with a handy power reserve indicator built-in. There are various intriguing dials available, but the rippled effect here, achieved using Japanese washi paper, is a perfect organic counterpart to the Super Titanium construction. It’s the kind of watch that proves even mechanical diehards should have a quartz in their collection.
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