Report: the Citizen 100 Anniversary Essence of Time exhibition

Intro

Most watch brands have been around for over one hundred years since their foundation, thus doubling Citizen Watch’s history. However, what matters most is how you spend your lifetime, and the Japanese brand belongs to a class apart. Citizen epitomizes watchmaking culture and offers a range of expertise that no other oldest watchmaker can. Undoubtedly, the combination of products and patents released in the last century is impressive and extensive.

Any anniversary includes special editions and new collections, as always. However, Citizen took a different route since it opened their archives to reveal what most people do not know about the brand. They did not follow the ordinary formula, and I perceive they revealed more novelties than in 2024 to mark the brand’s legacy like never before for a brand so traditional.

Tokyo to New York and Paris: the “Essence of Time” travelling exhibition

Proof positive of a new direction, the Japanese brand organized a travelling exhibition displaying one hundred watches out of a six-thousand pieces archive to showcase what generations of engineers crafted from 1924 onwards while focusing on the half of the 20^th century.

All the displayed watches describe the brand’s unstoppable innovative spirit, from mechanical, time-only, or complicated watches to quartz, diving, or advanced-digital ones, where Japan is an undisputed leader. Kicking off in Tokyo first and then in New York, the exhibition moved to Paris to welcome press media and watch aficionados.

Once again, the journey epitomizes the “citizen of the world” moniker and a vision to provide the best technologies to the global watch community, which includes Europe, where Swiss and French brands rule the game.

The Japanese management chose Paris to host the exhibition, where Citizen brought an uncommon combination of milestone-setting timepieces and authentic tool watches compared to today’s accessories. CITIZEN fostered technological advancements like few other brands and now begins to approach premium luxury with THE CITIZEN brand and their now-owned Swiss-made manufacturer, La-Joux Perret.

The watches on display: our selection

This section might fill a whole book, and it almost did. To celebrate Citizen’s 100th anniversary, they partnered with Assouline to print a collector’s book for the most discerning watch collector. It was named “Essence of Time” and is a journey through time to discover the brand’s achievements across a century.

We picked some watches from the crowd: two are self-winding and prove Citizen’s prowess in making excellent mechanical watches, which we hope will return to their glory soon.

Citizen Chronograph Challenge Timer

While digital technologies set Citizen’s standards and current collections, the brand has a long-standing pedigree as a respected manufacturer of superb and complicated mechanical watches, and the Challenge Timer is one of them. The brand has begun investing heavily in high-end mechanical watchmaking with “The Citizen 0-200” project and the 8 series in the low-to-mid range to mimic the La-Joux Perret-powered collection.

At the dawn of the quartz era, Citizen unveiled the Chronograph Challenge Timer, whose specs sheet was terrific: a self-winding chronograph powered by the 8100 calibre, a 4 Hertz movement with a column wheel mechanism, and a Flyback function! CITIZEN could produce a refined chronograph, and we only desired mechanical complications to return soon.

Citizen’s first radio-controlled multiband watch

Their first-ever atomic watch, pictured below, could receive the signal in the UK, Europe, and Japan when it appeared in 1993. It stands out with an oversized copper radio antenna placed amidst the dial to make it more efficient.

The 4700 calibre is the dawn of today’s radio-controlled movements and the forerunner of a technology still existing alongside GPS. Here, Citizen leads the market with its fiercest competitor, Seiko.

The 1976 Citizen Worldtimer

Last but not least in this shortlist is the splendid 1976 Citizen Worldtimer. Like the Challenge Timer chronograph, the Worldtimer is timeless and is a self-winding watch. It sports a brushed cushion case, a polished bezel, and two crowns. One is for hand-winding the calibre 7450 and the other for operating the disc of the cities.

It is a masterpiece and a beauty, and I am sure it would rise to glory should Citizens decide to remake it. If you want to see more, check out our closing gallery; it includes some timepieces seen in Paris.

(Photo credit: Horbiter®)

Giovanni Maria Di Biase @Horbiter®