Tags: Photo Gallery | Citizen | Men's | Classic | Aerial | Diving | Elegance | Traditional
23.10.2023 | 7 MIN
Citizen men's watches? Honestly, it's hard to find their equal. They are perfect in reliability, functionality, looks, price... Yeah, there's just nothing to talk about here. Our photo gallery offers a cross-section of the entire collection and I believe that everyone would really choose from these Japanese workhorses.
The Sports collection is simply the foundation... Anywhere, anytime... Saying that this is the perfect watch for everyday wear might not even be enough. Why?
Let's see, what other brand offers such durability, quality materials, really (really!) successful sporty designs and on top of that, various technical features? And at this price? Okay, there's also Casio's Japanese counterpart, but otherwise? Heavy, heavy...
It's the Sports line that will excite perhaps anyone looking for both an energetic look with contrasting colours and the busy elements of a modern pilot's watch (which are then downright typical of the higher-profile Promaster line) or sporty elegance or light retro style.
In size, the Sporty corresponds to a typical sports watch and the case diameter usually does not go below 43 mm. The watch itself then often balances the size with titanium material, which is really light compared to steel. Wearing comfort guaranteed.
Racing elements such as the chronograph (stopwatch) and tachymetric scale are characteristic. For the Sports, then, Citizen does not usually go below 100 M with water resistance and does not shy away from practical functions (alarm, world time, etc.) or control by radio signal. Solar-powered Eco-Drive is then almost a given with this series.
A dose of elegance is then achieved by some models with leather straps, more sedate (yet unique) colour tones and a slight touch of retro.
In fact, Citizen likes to focus on both modern sports (and often pilot) watches, as well as styles inspired by the pilots or field watches of the past.
Excellent legibility need not even be mentioned here, because you can read this watch from space. Well, or at least from two meters without glasses.
The Japanese have managed to create a watch combining modern technology and retro design, referring to watches from the first half of the 20th century. Fortunately, in appearance it is not a complete imitation of a historical watch, but we have in front of us a model with a retro touch that looks very fresh. In a flood of repetitive watch styles, this one stands out and the compromise between modernity and history has resulted in a beautiful and timeless watch. - Martin Balabán, editor of Hodinky 365 magazine
And when you're looking for a watch partner for company? Reach for the Elegant range. But don't expect a dull, hundreds of times rehearsed three-hand classic here (for some). Here too, Citizen knows how to play nicely with its little things. And a shining example is the Citizen Tsuyosa, a watch that Citizen has blown all watch fans away with.
The charm of the Tsuyosa is that it looks more expensive than it actually is. A high-quality, beautifully crafted movement with an integrated bracelet, fancy design and a sapphire crystal, that don't even cost three hundred? This is where many a chin must drop.
The other watches in this line don't let the interestingness of the watches shame them either. The dials with scalloping or other textures are a joy to behold, the case and bracelets are made of nicely finished steel or titanium, and not infrequently we are delighted with the sapphire crystal.
In fact, Citizen doesn't let up on practicality even with elegant watches. Increased water resistance and subtle luminescence are part of this philosophy.
It should also be noted that although titanium is not like titanium and its durability depends on a lot of factors, you can count on Citizen to make something last. Citizen's titanium watches carry the name Super Titanium and with it a special Duratect coating that makes them more resistant to scratches and mechanical influences.
You might not expect anything more than three hands and a date display in the Elegant line. But that wouldn't be Citizen, whose middle name might be Mr. Practical. The watch tries to make itself maintenance-free at all costs: solar power solves the (often annoying) regular battery replacement, and by receiving a radio signal it also sets itself to the exact second.
The watch receives the signal automatically at night, but you can also call it up manually at any time. This eliminates the need to set the correct date, plus you'll always have the time accurate to the second.
Hundreds of electronic standard pages have already been written about Citizen's Eco-Drive. So I'll just remind you here that this solar-powered system is found on 90% of the collection and that Citizen invented it themselves. And was the first in the world to do so.
The exception is the Basic series, where we find the really simplest classics powered by standard batteries (but there are solar exceptions).
Therefore, they are especially appreciated by those looking for a very basic, affordable social watch. But still with increased water resistance that's good enough for showering.
The complete opposite of the Basic line is the Citizen Promaster, a line for professionals, which features Citizen's biggest bangers. It is designed to cover three basic elements: air, water and land, hence the names Promaster Sky, Marine and Land.
Promaster Sky focuses on the modern pilot's watch. That is to say, something that the ordinary mortal will consider either absolute chaos (in a good, appealing sense) or absolute chaos (in a bad sense).
The Promaster Sky is in fact equipped with a logarithmic scale by which pilots can calculate, for example, fuel consumption, airspeed and other essentials (which I won't pretend to understand); it adjusts itself by radio signal, and so we find related markings around the perimeter of the dial; and it has a handful of practical functions.
Navigating these watches is therefore challenging to say the least. I admit, however, that the longer I look at it, the more appealing I find the challenge of mastering it.
The logarithmic scale is, without question, one of the most interesting and complicated to encounter on a watch. As the name somewhat suggests, it is based on the principle of the slide rule, which is something of a relic these days. Before the advent of the digital age, it served as a mechanical aid for multiplying and dividing numbers. Well, since man is naturally inventive, the idea of building this function into watches was born.- Milan Letošník, editor of Hodinky 365 magazine
A true diving classic is the Promaster Marine watch. And when I say true, I mean diving watches with official ISO 6425 certification, for which every single piece has to pass rigorous tests.
You'd think that design-wise there's been nothing to reinvent in dive watches since the 1950s, the classic of all classics, right? But it's the little details that shade off a certain specificity that individual brands have developed over years and years of production that give each dive watch its own distinctive character. I won't tell you why, but you'd know a Citizen diver at a glance, even if the logo wasn't there.
Interestingly, unlike the rest of Citizen's entire collection, the larger half of the Promaster Marine is in the movement. The movements are of course from Citizen, with automatic winding and a standard power reserve of around 40 hours.
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The luminescence is breathtaking, and anyone who wears Citizen's divers knows that these sea monsters glow a hundred and six when properly lit. As befits a dive watch.
And for those for whom a diving scale is not enough, Citizen offers more advanced features such as a depth gauge, alerts on the speed of ascent above the surface and more.
Promaster Land with a racing or outdoor style watch would probably be the most remembered Promaster line. Were it not for the Citizen Bullhead watch, a reissue of a 1970s legend.
There's something special about Bullheads, almost unsightly to some, but I would say almost always thought provoking. They may have earned their nickname from their push-button "horns", but to some individuals their design will strike them as a bullfighter's bull scarf. And that's their greatest asset! It was so in the 70's and it is still so today. - Agáta Vřeská, editor of Hodinky 365 magazine
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Synchronisation using GPS satellites is one of the premium functions and only a handful of watch brands deal with it. And the technological pioneer Citizen? It was the first in the world to do so. How else would you know?
It introduced its first GPS time synchronization watch in 2011 (though at the time it couldn't distinguish time zones) and named it the Satellite Wave. He dedicated it primarily to travelers, as unlike RC synchronization, it recognizes the time zone itself and takes much less time to receive the signal.
Then, in 2020, Citizen boasted another world first: the world's first solar GPS dive watch, the Citizen Promaster Diver's Satellite Wave CC500.
And that's the end of our excursion into the oriental beauty and technological advancements of the brand that builds the cornerstones of the watchmaking world. Has it appealed to you?
