Pearl white dial, classic face, 3 hands, no luminous material, right size, hand winding, black leather strap… This is the iconic suit watch design.
Looking for an elegant look? Well look no further! This is the vintage Citizen reference 63-5537. You have to see it in person to fully appreciate the underrated pure beauty. It is more than words can describe. Sublime!
The case is stainless steel, with elegant lugs, polished entirely, 36mm diameter. The lugs are a little bit twisted, narrowing towards the end. They are perfectly integrated in the overall design. The bezel is polished too. The acrylic crystal is domed. The crown is signed “CTZ”.
The dial is pure class; white, pearly, silver, sunburst pattern. On the upper part it is written “Citizen 17 jewels” and on the lower part “waterprotected unbreakablespring shockproof”. All this sounds like a lot of writing but it is not too much and not overwhelming at all. There is no luminous material and this is good because the lines are so fine, so elegant, that any luminous dots would ruin the design. The dauphine hands and the hour markers are mirror polished and reflect a lot of light so the legibility is optimal. The markers are wider towards the border of the dial and pointed towards the center. (sharp point for 3, 6 and 9 and without the tip for the others) The 12 o’clock marker has two parallel lines.
The movement is hand winding Citizen calibre 0201, with central sweeping hand. It has 17 jewels and a it beats at 18.000 bph. It has a power reserve at about 40 hours. It was used starting from about 1966. This particular watch is from ’69 July. Nothing fancy, just a classic, simple, thin (4mm) hand winding movement.
The strap that I used for this watch (aftermarket) is 19 mm, tapering black lizard skin with a stainless steel buckle. I think it compliments the watch nicely without over powering it. It is very difficult to find a watch this old with an original leather strap.
Conclusion: This is the ultimate classic elegant vintage Citizen watch. If you wear a suit, well, suit up!
Vintage Citizen Watches 
In June 2018 I bought one of these off ebay for under £30.
It was advertised as serviced, the photos were not brilliant so I took a chance.
When it arrived I couldn’t believe how excellent the condition was.
The only differences to the one on this site are:
– the dagger hands are lumed and there are small dots on the hour markers
– the hour batons are uniform in size
It winds smoothly and easily lasts 40+ hours and keeps great time.
What I find strange is that Seiko manual winds are really popular and fetching strong money
compared to Citizens, even though I believe the build quality to be on a par or better.
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Citizen quality is fir sure better then similar Seiko, pretty much all over the range. You are right.
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Thanks for your comment, much appreciated.
I have since bought a Citizen Newmaster 21 jewels dating to 1969, screw down case ref 51203b with a white textured dial and date. The silvered batons have variable widths, widest at 12 ,slightly less at 6 and again at 9, gorgeous dagger hands without lume. It keeps great time with a 40 hrs + reserve. The only negative is the acrylic crystal which has a few deep scratches and I’m not sure whether to replace it as I doubt whether the right crystal is still obtainable.
I paid £14.50 !
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Congrats! 😉
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