I've always admired Citizen's approach but have never been emotionally moved by one (save the Campanola discussed in Todd Levin's episode of talking watches) until this very moment. Wow.
Citizen seriously upping its game. The Citizen is now where GS was when it re-entered international/US markets and I hope they maintain their wallet friendly pricing – aesthetics aside (and I like the Washi aesthetics a lot) this is a ton of watch for the money. The one open question I have is movement longevity – I don't know how much GS communicates on that these days but they used to say that thanks to the "sealed cabin" the lubricants should last 50 years before needing a service so you're only on the hook for a battery change. The 9F also has a rate trimmer; not sure if the A060 does (although it doesn't sound like it needs one). Both are heavily jeweled for quartz watches – 9F runs in 9 jewels, A060 in I think 23 ... maybe I should do a more in-depth comparison; they're both classy pieces of work.
My Astron needed a $407 service after a decade. I had an old quartz GS that had many battery changes, but was still going strong 20 years after buying it in Osaka.
Personally, I adore quartz. It is sexy. Let the philistines have their Swiss luxury mechanical pieces with “high tech” parts that can get them down to almost as good as the cheap Seiko my father wore when he bought a 1976 lime green Eldorado.
Me, I want beautifully finished titanium and true accuracy and technology. I am one of those guys who bought quartz Omega’s and Hublot. They decided my mind was not for them. I may be wrong, but I get this feeling that taking the whole industry and basing it on Luis Vuitton pricing and advertising might be a terrible idea. Some men may love fashion and branding, but I doubt the effeminate male model of the luxury world will travel well now that the industry imagines that as ideal. Call me crazy, but I liked the old Rolex of yore, and I mourn its loss.
I believe that the Japanese watches offer an alternative, one where honest watches are sold to traditional men, not the ones with trust funds who wear make up and tight pants. There are some microbrands in Europe that still seem to embody something other than fashion week, but I get the feeling that the big brands have dug their own graves.
Within the small yet crazy community of watch nerds, it is almost impossible to find a soul who has ONE watch collection. We even use the term "end watch" as it has to end if you just keep one. That being said, I belive that there is no greater compliment than considering a new release as it might be "the ONE" that can be the only watch.
There are some of them out there for me, not many. And I have to admit that "The Citizen" watches are in this group. ps. I like the white Washi dials better, and thanks for the great writing Jack.
I was going to make some flippant comment about water damage or patina, but then I searched for more info about washi paper and I think I am better served biting my tongue
That's a great link, thank you Alvin. Yeah washi is really something as a material, no? Might outlast the actual watch ;) although you could say the same of enamel dials as well I suppose. I wonder if Citizen might ever do anything with enamel dials in The Citizen line – it's totally opaque but there might be some way to get around that (literally)
Can you imagine a plique a jour dial? That'd be pretty cool in the sunlight. Definitely cooler than the plaque a hour dial my autocorrect apparently wants Citizen to make lol 🤖
I feel like this detail is something I would only find in a Jack Forster article: "The crystal oscillator is aged for six months prior to its installation, in order to allow it to settle in on its rate".
Never knew that aging of crystal oscillators was even a thing.
Those of you who owned second generation Infiniti G35s/G37s may remember the interior's metal trim was inspired by washi paper. For many of us who were (are?) avid auto rag readers, I imagine that is the first and last time we heard of washi paper for many years.
From what I can see, The Citizen watches are currently only available for purchase in a few countries, plus the usual online suspects. I'd bet that some of the early adopter Grand Seiko group has an interest in The Citizen watches today.
It'd be nice if this release signals that there'll eventually be a full US sales and service network for the The Citizen (née Chronomaster) line! They're nice watches. And the Tosa washi dials are supercool. If you'll forgive my linking to some of my own photos, here we see a whole The Citizen with its dial in a fetching shade of blue; in this full-watch photo (or with the naked eye), you can see that there's something intriguing and textured going on with the dial, but that's about it:
The titanium bracelet on my ‘plain’ blue dial chronomaster is exceedingly light and comfortable and almost feels warm and soft. The washi paper dial is cool although at my age it looks a lot better with my reading glasses on! It sure is a contender for something to have on my wrist after the apocalypse....
I've always admired Citizen's approach but have never been emotionally moved by one (save the Campanola discussed in Todd Levin's episode of talking watches) until this very moment. Wow.
Citizen seriously upping its game. The Citizen is now where GS was when it re-entered international/US markets and I hope they maintain their wallet friendly pricing – aesthetics aside (and I like the Washi aesthetics a lot) this is a ton of watch for the money. The one open question I have is movement longevity – I don't know how much GS communicates on that these days but they used to say that thanks to the "sealed cabin" the lubricants should last 50 years before needing a service so you're only on the hook for a battery change. The 9F also has a rate trimmer; not sure if the A060 does (although it doesn't sound like it needs one). Both are heavily jeweled for quartz watches – 9F runs in 9 jewels, A060 in I think 23 ... maybe I should do a more in-depth comparison; they're both classy pieces of work.
My Astron needed a $407 service after a decade. I had an old quartz GS that had many battery changes, but was still going strong 20 years after buying it in Osaka.
Personally, I adore quartz. It is sexy. Let the philistines have their Swiss luxury mechanical pieces with “high tech” parts that can get them down to almost as good as the cheap Seiko my father wore when he bought a 1976 lime green Eldorado.
Me, I want beautifully finished titanium and true accuracy and technology. I am one of those guys who bought quartz Omega’s and Hublot. They decided my mind was not for them. I may be wrong, but I get this feeling that taking the whole industry and basing it on Luis Vuitton pricing and advertising might be a terrible idea. Some men may love fashion and branding, but I doubt the effeminate male model of the luxury world will travel well now that the industry imagines that as ideal. Call me crazy, but I liked the old Rolex of yore, and I mourn its loss.
I believe that the Japanese watches offer an alternative, one where honest watches are sold to traditional men, not the ones with trust funds who wear make up and tight pants. There are some microbrands in Europe that still seem to embody something other than fashion week, but I get the feeling that the big brands have dug their own graves.
+1 for this comparison article!
Within the small yet crazy community of watch nerds, it is almost impossible to find a soul who has ONE watch collection. We even use the term "end watch" as it has to end if you just keep one. That being said, I belive that there is no greater compliment than considering a new release as it might be "the ONE" that can be the only watch.
There are some of them out there for me, not many. And I have to admit that "The Citizen" watches are in this group. ps. I like the white Washi dials better, and thanks for the great writing Jack.
I was going to make some flippant comment about water damage or patina, but then I searched for more info about washi paper and I think I am better served biting my tongue
This was a pretty interesting overview of it:
https://www.nippon.com/en/views/b02321/
That's a great link, thank you Alvin. Yeah washi is really something as a material, no? Might outlast the actual watch ;) although you could say the same of enamel dials as well I suppose. I wonder if Citizen might ever do anything with enamel dials in The Citizen line – it's totally opaque but there might be some way to get around that (literally)
Can you imagine a plique a jour dial? That'd be pretty cool in the sunlight. Definitely cooler than the plaque a hour dial my autocorrect apparently wants Citizen to make lol 🤖
Been waiting a long time for Citizen to bring their goodies to the States. Hope the 0200 is next.
Please Google Sakura watches. You do not need to be in Japan to buy Japanese watches.
Beautiful watch. Lovely article.
I feel like this detail is something I would only find in a Jack Forster article: "The crystal oscillator is aged for six months prior to its installation, in order to allow it to settle in on its rate".
Never knew that aging of crystal oscillators was even a thing.
And that's why I read this substack...
This is very clever.
Those of you who owned second generation Infiniti G35s/G37s may remember the interior's metal trim was inspired by washi paper. For many of us who were (are?) avid auto rag readers, I imagine that is the first and last time we heard of washi paper for many years.
From what I can see, The Citizen watches are currently only available for purchase in a few countries, plus the usual online suspects. I'd bet that some of the early adopter Grand Seiko group has an interest in The Citizen watches today.
It'd be nice if this release signals that there'll eventually be a full US sales and service network for the The Citizen (née Chronomaster) line! They're nice watches. And the Tosa washi dials are supercool. If you'll forgive my linking to some of my own photos, here we see a whole The Citizen with its dial in a fetching shade of blue; in this full-watch photo (or with the naked eye), you can see that there's something intriguing and textured going on with the dial, but that's about it:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jbm0/52102867305/in/album-72157710728550542/
...and then when you look really close, you get to enjoy the fibers of the paper. What's not to like?
https://photos.bazbarfoo.com/Objects/Watches/i-zGm9JXG/A
The titanium bracelet on my ‘plain’ blue dial chronomaster is exceedingly light and comfortable and almost feels warm and soft. The washi paper dial is cool although at my age it looks a lot better with my reading glasses on! It sure is a contender for something to have on my wrist after the apocalypse....
The watch is finally available, ordered mine on the Citizen website