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Citizen is taking the fight to Tissot with two new models that challenge the PRX and Gentleman. Tissot has been on a roll recently having introduced two watches at the affordable end of their product range that boast cutting edge specifications and cool as ice good looks. These being the Gentleman, launched in 2019 and the PRX from 2021. Both have taken watch enthusiast Youtube and instagram by storm and for good reason. With killer specs, 80 hour power reserve and very affordable pricing they represent a very appealing and accessible face of Swiss watchmaking. Quite the polar opposite of the Rolex and Royal Oak flex culture prevalent at the other extreme of the community. Just take a look at them, they are fabulous.
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So, we have established that these watches are awesome. But this article is about Citizen, not Tissot. Citizen is every watch collector’s second favourite Japanese watch manufacturer. Yes that’s right, I am not sure if second place out of two, is really deserving of a silver medal. It is fair to say that the vast bulk of the watches with Citizen on the dial are not designed to appeal to enthusiast. They are supermarket watches, Ideal for badly thought out birthday presents. However Citizen does make a handful of collector frIendly watches. Their mechanical dive watches and solar quartz pilots chronographs are absolutely worthy of mention. However what has not been forthcoming in recent years are elegant mechanical stainless steel sports watches. As it turns out, Stainless steel mechanical sports watches are exactly what just about every watch enthusiast gets excited about.
Recently Citizen has produced the absolutely wonderful Citizen, The Citizen. A range of stunning luxury sports watches that take the challenge directly to Grand Seiko. they are oh so wonderful and I rate them very highly however what they are not, is cheap.
So what has me very excited today are two new stainless steel sports watches by Citizen that use their tried and tested 8200 movement and retail for very reasonable amounts of money, approximately $250, depending on where you are and where you are buying. I saw these at Dubai airport recently and at the time they were not available at retail in Europe. However now you can buy them from several online retailers.
First on the list the Citizen C7. This is a reproduction of a 1960s era Citizen to which it looks almost identical. The original C7 was called the Crystal 7 and it was the first Citizen to have a mineral crystal lens. Today mineral crystal is nothing to get excited about but a lot has changed. What has not changed is how right it looks. It is beautifully proportioned and looks just right, like so much mid century industrial design. Design wise to me it looks somewhere between two popular entry level Tissots, the Heritage Visodate and the Gentleman. The faceted case and the sector dial for me aim this watch directly at the Gentleman. A Citizen C7 costs about half of the price Tissot charges for a Gentleman. That makes this a bit of a bargain. That is not to say that Swatch group is robbing you with its entry level luxury watches. The Citizen C7 is powered by the Venerable 8200 movement, the same collection of cogs and springs that is also sold as the Miyota 8015 and that is a movement as old as time itself. Refined it is not, affordable it is and what it absolutely is not , is comparable to the ETA based Powermatic 80 in the previously mentioned Tissots. True to its heritage, the Citizen has mineral crystal glass. A hallmark of an affordable Japanese watch, the Tissot has sapphire. So it is apparent that although they share some common ground stylistically, the Citizen C7 and the Tissot Gentleman have a different value proposition. The C7 does however come in a lot of very exciting colours with a beautiful sector dial and a very novel “superman” two part date display that is a hallmark of classic Citizen sports watches.
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Calibre No. | 8210 |
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Movement | Automatic |
Strap | Stainless Steel |
Water Resistant | Water Resistant to 5 bar |
Weight | 138g |
Thickness | 13mm |
Case Size | 40mm |
Case | Stainless Steel |
Glass | Mineral Glass |
The next watch from Citizen that has me excited is the less seductively named NJ0150. What this watch lacks in appealing nomenclature it makes up for with dashing good looks. Slightly late to the integrated bracelet sports watch party, Citizen has now arrived. Looking at how successful the PRX has been for Tissot, I think that this watch bodes well for Citizen’s future. It looks amazing and comes in some absolutely cracking colours which are just right for this fun playful timepiece. The NJ0150 has a similar spec-sheet to the C7. It is powered by the 8200 moment but at least it had sapphire. These are not watches that can be summed up by their specs. In common with fan favourite Seiko, these citizens exude charm and style at a very affordable price-point. The Citizen NJ0150 retails for around $300. Just a little more than the C7, similar in price to the quartz PRX. These two watches really make me excited about the future of Citizen as a manufacturer of watches for watch people and that makes me happy.
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Calibre No. | 8210 |
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Movement | Automatic |
Strap | Stainless Steel |
Water Resistant | Water Resistant to 5 bar |
Weight | 138g |
Thickness | 11.7mm |
Case Size | 40mm |
Case | Stainless Steel |
Glass | Sapphire Glass |
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Thanks for the article!