xactly 106 years ago, in 1918, one Kamekichi Yamazaki, a dealer in metals for the watch industry and Chief Secretary of the Tokyo Commercial and Industrial Timepiece Cooperative, founded the Shokosha Watch Research Institute. Prior to this, Yamazaki had spent time in Switzerland and the United States, and had returned to Japan determined to develop a national industry capable of producing watches entirely on Japanese soil.

The Institute started out by assembling Swiss-made components, then began to manufacture its own components using machine tools imported from Europe. A watchmaking school was established to further train its engineers, with the result that in 1924, six years after opening, the Shokosha Institute achieved its goal of producing its own pocket watch. But what to call it? One of Kamekichi Yamazaki’s friends, Count Shinpei Goto who was also the mayor of Tokyo, suggested “Citizen”. Another six years later, in 1930, the Citizen pocket watch gave its name to the newly established Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.

100th Anniversary of the first Citizen watch Special Limited Edition Pocket Watch. 43.5 mm / 13.4 mm case in titanium alloy. Water-resistant. Transparent case back (dual spherical sapphire glass).

In 2024 Citizen celebrates 100 years since the launch of this inaugural watch. However, rather than simply replicating the past, the brand is illustrating its “Better Starts Now” philosophy with a 100-piece limited edition “100th Anniversary of the first Citizen Watch” that showcases the improvements made by Citizen over the past century. These encompass the watch’s aesthetic – the subtle dial pattern suggests a carpet of freshly fallen snow, achieved through a combination of electroforming, transparent lacquer and polishing – as well as its movement. Accurate to -3/+5 seconds a day, this manual-winding calibre is equipped with an escapement made using the LIGA microfabrication process. Beautifully chamfered and polished, it is housed inside a mirror-polished case made from titanium – a reminder that Citizen was one of the first brands to use this metal in a watch.

Expansion

A century after its creation, Citizen has grown into a highly integrated group with a workforce of over 15,000 and assets in excess of JPY 415 billion (2024 figure). Its business covers watches and movements, micro-components, machine tools and electronics such as printers and healthcare products – all manufactured at facilities in Japan, China, Thailand and Switzerland, among other locations.

Watches generate roughly 50% of the group’s revenue. Within this sector, the light-powered Eco-Drive range, launched in 1976 with the world’s first solar-powered analogue quartz watch, accounts for around 80% of sales.

Citizen is an undisputed leader in light-powered movements. Yoshitaka Oji, managing director of Citizen Watch Co. Ltd, told Europa Star about the company’s latest progress with this technology: “Citizen has made pioneering advances in low power consumption with Eco-Drive and precision machining technolo- gies. They have enabled the high precision and functionality of its Eco-Drive watches, which it equips with advanced functions such as altimeter, depth gauge, radio-controlled autocorrection and satellite wave GPS. Launched in 2019, the Eco-Drive Calibre 0100 is the most precise light-powered watch in the world, accurate to ±1 second per year. In 2023 Citizen released the Eco-Drive 365 fitted with the E365 calibre. This movement will run for 365 days on a single full charge, even in complete darkness.”

The Citizen Iconic Nature Collection, ref AQ4100-22W with Eco-Drive movement. 300 units worldwide. The Tosa paper on the dial is an ultra-thin washi paper with a distinctive texture that allows light to pass through. The Eco-Drive movement provides annual accuracy of ±5 seconds, eliminating the need for regular battery changes. All Citizen models with high annual accuracy feature a perpetual calendar that takes into account the number of days in the month, including leap years, until February 28, 2100.

“To add to the challenge of light transmission for Eco-Drive dials, we are broadening the range of dial expressions by using dial materials with low light transmittance, such as mother-of-pearl and ceramic, creating a high gloss finish similar to metal dials, and utilising structures that allow for the use of dials that do not require light transmission. Other innovations are the structural colour dials, which use light reflection to create multiple shades and tones, and dials in hand-dyed Tosa washi paper, a traditional Japanese craft.”

The Promaster

Another best-selling line introduced in 1989, the Promaster collection of professional sports watches is the culmination of research and development carried out by Citizen in previous decades, starting in 1956 with the Parashock, the first watch with a Japanese-made shock absorber. Citizen promoted the system by dropping the watch from a helicopter, 30 metres above the ground. The Parawater launched in 1959 as Japan’s first fully waterproof watch. Materials research produced the X-8 Cosmotron Chronometer in 1970, the first watch with a solid titanium (99.6%) case.

Citizen Promaster Mechanical GMT 35th anniversary

Today’s Promaster range is divided into Land, Marine and Sky, with functions tailored to each category. Too numerous to list here, they include a depth gauge, a regatta timer, an altimeter, an air pressure sensor, and analogue and digital world-time displays. Introduced in 2003, the Promaster Eco-Drive Radio-Controlled shows how Citizen brings its different technologies to bear in multiple domains; in this instance by incorporating its Eco-Drive movement into an ultra-robust sports watch. Collections such as The Citizen and Promaster have both Eco-Drive and mechanical lines, however Series 8 and Tsuyosa contain exclusively mechanical watches.

Citizen Promaster Eco-Drive combination watch

The Promaster Mechanical GMT is the first Promaster to be powered by an in-house mechanical GMT movement (9054). The Promaster Eco-Drive Combination Watch runs off the new Eco-Drive U822 calibre. Features extend to high-definition displays, an alarm allowing settings for multiple times and any day of the week, and a light level indicator.

Thanks to this strategy, each collection appeals to a diverse clientele, with different tastes, aspirations and spending power.

A bigger share for mechanical

In 1959 Citizen opened a factory in Miyota town, Nagano Prefecture, manufacturing movements for its own use. Later, in 1980, the Miyota brand was set up to supply movements for third parties around the globe, including Citizen’s direct competitors. Initially these were quartz movements. The 8000 series made its debut in the mid-1980s. The 8215 base movement would become a mainstay of entry-level and mid-range mechanical watches worldwide.

Since then, the series has been further refined to include an extended 60-hour power reserve, with enhanced finishing and blued screws (8315 calibre), and small seconds and an open heart in the 82S series.

Calibre 0270 high-accuracy manual-wound movement, developed for the 100th anniversary of the first Citizen watch Special Limited Edition Pocket Watch. A free-sprung balance wheel delivers high accuracy of -3 to +5 seconds/day. Equipped with a stop-seconds function.

In 2021 Miyota debuted one of its most advanced movements, the automatic calibre 9075 operating at 28,800 vibrations/hour for 42 hours of power reserve. This is a “true GMT”, meaning that local time is independently adjusted by the crown, without stopping the movement or disrupting the 24-hour GMT hand (for more on Miyota, read “From Movement-Maker to Brand Name” in Europa Star 4/5 2023).

Clearly, Citizen possesses solid experience in mechanical watchmaking and, to match the growing interest in mechanical watches, is steadily increasing the proportion of mechanical movements in its catalogue.

Series 8 / 890 Mechanical Limited Edition. A new limited-edition model with a copper pink dial pattern inspired by groups of cherry trees in full bloom. Automatic and manual-winding calibre 9051, 28,800 vibrations/hour, 42-hour power reserve, water-resistant to 20 bar.

The 0200 calibre, launched in 2021, illustrates this new direction. Through various technological exchanges and projects with movement-maker La Joux-Perret, part of the Citizen Group since 2012, Citizen expertise and aesthetic skills have been refined and utilised in the development of the 0200 calibre. It comes with both automatic and manual-winding versions, with a free-sprung balance wheel to ensure greater rate stability and a LIGA escapement for precision timekeeping. The fact this is a collaboration with La Joux-Perret also shows in the elegant architecture and the finely executed finishing and decoration. “Building on synergies generated by exchanges of technical knowledge with La Joux-Perret, we refined our expertise in the finishing and decoration of high-quality movements. We applied this expertise and technology to the in-house mechanical calibre 0200 which was specially developed for The Citizen, which we launched in 2021,” explains Yoshitaka Oji.

Tsuyosa Small Second Series. Merging vintage styling with modern design elements, the look of these new Tsuyosa watches draw the attention to the inset small seconds dial, while bringing greater variety to Citizen’s range of automatic watches. In-house automatic calibre 8322, 21,600 vph, stop-seconds mechanism, 60-hour power reserve. .

The attention paid to these inner workings is matched by the care and consideration that goes into the quality and design of the watches’ exterior. Like many other brands, Citizen is pouring resources into the development of beautiful and original dials. Its Eco-Drive lines are again a prime example of this, as Yoshitaka Oji notes: “Of course, the dial is a key differentiation factor and Citizen spares no effort when enhancing the aesthetics of its Eco-Drive dials. We are constantly challenging ourselves to incorporate distinctive design elements, such as traditional Japanese washi paper and structural colour dials, and introduce environmentally friendly materials. Going forward, we will continue to develop the value and storytelling of our watches through design and sustainability.”

A multi-brand expansion strategy

In January 2018 Europa Star analysed Citizen’s strategy to boost its image and sales by growing its presence in the premium watch segment. Toshio Tokura, then President and CEO of Citizen Holdings Co, freely admitted that Citizen had favoured quartz over mechanical, and that consequently its mechanical technology was “far behind. We have a lot of catching up to do. We can learn a great deal from the Swiss.”

Arnold & Son. Europa Star 2019

In 2008 Citizen acquired Bulova, which occupied a dominant position in the US mid-range market. When ETA, Switzerland’s biggest movement maker, announced it would be cutting off supplies to third parties, Citizen went shopping for a Swiss movement-maker, with an eye towards enhancing the development capabilities for its future in-house, Japanese-made mechanical movements. The takeover of La Joux-Perret (and with it high-end brand Arnold & Son) was thus a chance for Citizen to revive its own mechanical movement production. (For more on La Joux-Perret, read “A Vigorous Turnaround” in Europa Star 4/5 2023.)

Bulova Accutron. Europa Star 2020

The next step was to purchase a Swiss brand that would give the group a solid footing in the premium segment. That brand would be Frederique Constant, established in 1988 and a leader in the “affordable luxury” segment with a core range in the USD 1,000-5,000 bracket (for Frederique Constant and sister brand Alpina) and a handful of models priced above USD 10,000. The brand has substantial capacity in mechanical movement production and develops, makes and assembles its own movements.

Frederique Constant. Europa Star 2023

Citizen looks to have reached its goal of making the most of the mechanical expertise of its new Swiss subsidiaries and developing in-house technologies, transforming Citizen into a global multi-brand watch group, present in every price segment, and increasing Citizen’s perceived value through original designs combined with advanced quartz technology and augmented mechanical performance.

In December 2023, after new store openings in Tokyo and Osaka, Citizen cut the ribbon at the Citizen Flagship Store New York – the first to carry products by major Citizen Group brands in one of the largest collections of timepieces in the world. Together, Japan and North America account for more than half of the brand’s sales. However, as well as Asia, Citizen has its sights on Europe where, says Yoshitaka Oji, it plans to increase its market share by “strengthening our image and presence in segments beyond our traditional expertise.” A roadmap for the next 100 years.