One hundred. That’s the number of years that have elapsed since that 1924 when a watch bearing the Citizen brand first appeared on the market. A round figure for a company, the Japanese one, whose innovations have had the merit of writing important pages in the hand industry.
An important stage in a journey, or rather a vision, that began in 1918, the year the company was founded, and continued six years later with the arrival on the scene of the first watch, a pocket model to be exact, on the dial of which appeared the Citizen brand. The Japanese company’s destiny is written in its very name: Citizen.
You have to start here to fully understand the intentions of the watchmaker whose desire was to design and produce timepieces for citizens of the world. One hundred years later, the goal has been achieved. This is also the reason that prompted Citizen to present to celebrate this important milestone a pocket watch inspired by the one launched a century ago.
Together with the original, it was the focus of an Essence of Time travelling exhibition that started in Tokyo and stopped in New York and Paris. The protagonists were 100 examples, selected from a sample of 6,000, that made the history of the Japanese manufacturer. A history marked by innovation and the claim ‘Better Starts Now’. ‘We are extremely honoured to have celebrated in Tokyo and also in New York a century of watchmaking mastery with this exclusive exhibition of special watches and to be able to do so in Paris as well.
Our greatest joy would be for our guests not only to enjoy the exhibition, but also to discover why we identify ourselves as ‘Citizen, that is, Citizens’, to be able to perceive the ‘Better Starts Now’ philosophy that underpins all our products and to be able to use it as an opportunity to rediscover our brand,’ says Yoshihihsa Yajima, Brand Manager of Citizen Watch, who further says:
’We are honoured to celebrate a century of watchmaking mastery with this exclusive exhibition and this selection of special watches. And in the category of special watches, a place of honour is undoubtedly held by the Aqualand, which will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2025. A history like the one it has written in the underwater timepiece segment.
Yes, because the sea has been and still remains for Citizen an extraordinary source of inspiration and an extraordinary research laboratory for developing innovative solutions. Such as that adopted, for example, by the Aqualand, the first professional diver with a digital depth indicator. But the link between the manufacture and the sixth continent dates back to 1959, the year in which Citizen presented the first Japanese diver’s watch, which later paved the way for the Aqualand 1 and the Promaster Diver Professional, which became a reference point for diving enthusiasts and others. A salty success.
To test its performance before going into production, the Parawater, as it was called, underwent tests that were very extreme for the time. The first one conducted in 1959 saw this timepiece, hooked to a buoy, launched into the sea off the coast of Japan and towed ashore. Once ashore, it was ascertained that the watch was working perfectly. Shortly afterwards, the same timepiece was subjected to an even more demanding test that went by the name of Trans-Pacific Test. In 1963 as many as 130 Parawaters were tied to buoys and left at the mercy of the Pacific Ocean currents. A year later they were recovered still fully functional on the coast of the United States. Stories like this one, but there are many more that could be added, provide an insight into the important role played by Citizen in the great book of underwater watchmaking.
And on the subject of anniversaries, there is another important one: the 70th anniversary of Godzilla. Yes, but what does the half-dinosaur, half-lizard creature from the imagination of Japanese director Ishirō Honda have to do with Citizen? The answer lies in the Promaster Professional Diver 1000m. Not just any timepiece. The remarkable size of the titanium case, which had a diameter of 55mm, earned this professional diver’s timepiece the nickname AutoZilla. It was coined by the brand’s large community of enthusiasts who, by virtue of its size and marine origins, saw this timepiece powered by an automatic movement as a watchmaking transposition of the famous lizard.
A story that began in 1982 when Citizen presented the Professional Diver 1300m, the first series-produced watch capable of reaching a depth of 1,300 metres and the forerunner of the Promaster Professional collection that has returned to the limelight again in more recent years with the Promaster Eco-Drive Professional Diver 1000 BN7020-09E, that, once again, changed the rules of the game as it was the first professional diver capable of reaching a depth of 1,000 metres to adopt the innovative Eco-Drive movement. Based on the revolutionary technology developed by the Japanese watchmaker, it uses natural light as a power source without the use of batteries. A major breakthrough for Citizen that did not go unnoticed even by the brand’s devotees, who invented the nickname Ecozilla to identify it.
Today, the family has expanded and this appellation refers to the Diver’s Eco Drive 300 mt line, a collection of diver’s watches that, buoyed by its success, welcomed the arrival of two new versions this year. Declined in dial colours, black and green, they are distinguished by their 48mm steel case. Water-resistant to a depth of 300 metres, they house the Eco-Drive movement that regulates the hours, minutes and seconds functions. As in all professional diver’s watches, the presence of a unidirectional rotating bezel makes this timepiece a reliable tool for use while diving. In addition to these references, Citizen has added a limited edition watch to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the release of the film that marked Godzilla’s big-screen debut.
Declined in two variants the ‘Godzilla collaboration model’ is available with a black dial and the classic black and white image of Godzilla and the second, with a dark red dial, representing Godzilla roaring with rage. The dial, the 48mm case and the bezel show a ‘camouflage’ pattern inspired by the scales Godzilla’s skin is covered with as well as small Godzillas are hidden inside the case and dial decoration.
Matteo Zaccagnino
