Year: 2015

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Citizen Chrono Master Elite Special


Christmas is here and the year has come so fast to yet another end. Time passes so quickly and our watches are nothing more than witnesses of this process, even though sometimes they remain in perfect state for many, many years, unfortunately unlike us. It was an insane watch year for me as far as Citizen collecting is concerned. Today I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New 2016! May you enjoy your collections in good health my friends!

Because it is a special time of the year, what better watch to introduce to you if not a special one? Here it is the Citizen Chrono Master Elite Special! citizen elite special

As you can see, it is not the “usual” Chrono Master (read more about Chrono Master watches HERE). The blue, beautiful dial, sets it apart. It is not at all a conservative look and it is striking bright blue in direct light and almost black in the shade. On the center it has a different vertical shade and depending on the angle on what you are looking at it, it can appear darker or lighter than the rest. The hour markers are applied and there is no luminous material. The hands are simple, polished and specific to this model only. On three o’clock there is the day and date frame. This is also a characteristic of this model, with a shared window for both.

The movement inside is Citizen calibre automatic 5240 with 33 jewels, beating at 18,000 bph (I wrote about it before on my site). It is the one that you can find in a day-date Chrono Master. Really nice finish, hacking, quick set date and really precise.

citizen elite special chrono master

The case is shared throughout the range,  made of stainless steel and the finishing is exceptional. It is all polished with mirror like surfaces with perfect angles. The case back has the famous eagle gold inlay and, I know I use a lot this words a lot when talking about Chrono Masters, but it is awesome.

The bracelet is a rare find, 20mm wide steel mesh bracelet. Some Chrono Masters have a lug distance of 18mm but not this model.  Those with 18mm come with leather straps only.

Well… this is about it, I will leave the rest of the story telling to the pictures. Enjoy them! I certainly do. 🙂

Have a wonderful Special 2016!

Citizen Guy

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Citizen “Bull Head” Chronograph 4-901096-K


One of the Citizen mysteries, for me, gravitated around this very model. It is not only a very elusive watch but a beautiful one too! I have seen a few pictures that made the dial look bright green and in others looked a little bit towards golden brown. So I had to have them both to see myself how they look in real life!

citizen bullhead chronograph vintage

Finally I found two, both in excellent condition. So, here came out the magnifying glass, the photo camera and I kept on looking at one and then to the other in all lighting condition and from all the angles. In the end the conclusion is:

  • same case: 6N-4W-S, case back, pushers and crown
  • same model no: 4-901096-K
  • same movement: Citizen cal 8110A
  • same date and day wheel (English – Japanese)
  • same dial code: JAPAN 8110 – 901166 KA
  • same dial color – green, BUT… different shades of green

In fact most of the times they look almost the same, but from time to time, they look like in the picture above. So… why this difference? I do not know for sure. Based on the serial no, both these watches were made in the same day or very close together because they are only about 60 watches apart. My opinion this far is that the paint used had a slightly different proportion of ingredients. The simplest explanation is most of the times the correct one. If any of you guys have another point of view regarding this, please let me know! Maybe sun exposure, patina or…?? One day we might find out.

Update 2017 September: A NOS full package watch, box and booklet. The strap is the original Citizen rubber one. The price at the time was 23,000 JPY. (pictures from the online seller)

Meanwhile… read more about vintage Citizen bull head chronographs HERE.

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Citizen Highness 36000


Citizen Highness… nice name that must stand for something! Well.. it does! Citizen made this as a high grade variant of the Leopard line and has a chronometer level of accuracy, Highness grade. This was achieved due to a series of factors, including the fact that is a high beat piece, running at 36,0000 bph.

citizen highness 36000

The case is made in stainless steel, with brushed 6 and 12 o’clock surface and the rest being polished. The case back screws into place and is made of stainless steel too. It is marked Parawater and 4-770277 Y. The serial no dates this watch August 1971. The mineral glass is flat and has a beveled edge, as usual with Citizen. The most interesting fact is the crown, signed CH and made of two parts, an inner one and an outer one. This is very important because this watch has a very uncommon feature. So… let’t talk about the way it functions!

The movement is the Citizen 7730 calibre, 36,000 bph, with 26 jewels and day and date display. It is an automatic one and hand winding also. The movement can be winded in the first crown position. Pulling it out a position, will set the time. The seconds hack for exact time setting. Push the crown back into first position and be ready to set the date and the day. How to do that? Just push the button (the inner part) of the crown. Yes, the crown is itself a pusher! So, hold the watch 12 o’clock side up and press the pusher and the date will advance with every click. Turn the watch with the 6 o’clock upwords and press the crown again. The day will change! How smart is that!?

citizen highness manual

It is a rare watch, and full of interesting features. I wish it had a special case back (as the other special Citizen).

Update 2018 March (pictures from on-line sellers) – just a few more variants:

Read more about Leopard range HERE.

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VIDEO – Citizen Alarm 4H pocket watch


Beautiful, loud sound. This was possible because of the double case back. The outer one has holes so that the entire case acts like a resonance box.

Enjoy the video! Click HD for better quality.

Read more about another beautiful Citizen wrist watch alarm HERE.

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Citizen 150m 62-5370 & B52806


Citizen Diver OR-O B52806 or 62-5370 are, more or less, the same model. Both of them are difficult to find, no matter the condition, to find a NOS one… almost impossible. The 62-5370 is made for domestic market and the B52806 for export and has its own awesome engraved case back. So, they have different case backs, different hands sets and dial codes but they share some of these features sometimes (variants or marriage?). The second hand tip received a luminous ball for better visibility for the export model. The 62-5370 can be found with a simple second hand. The only obvious thing that is constantly different is the case back. The movement is Citizen cal. 5470 for 62-5370 and 5430 for B52806. I don’t see any other difference between these two calibres other than the swinging rotor.

citizen 62-5370 citizen B52806 (2)

I had to have both of them even though in the first place I got only the NOS export model (because of the beautiful case back).  Both of them are marked water proof 150 M in a period when the term Parawater was about to… unfortunately disappear. This water resistance is possible due to thick mineral crystal, screw in crown and case back. They ware made in ’69-’70 but the exact period is impossible to determine for the export model because it has no serial no. The 62-5370, on the other hand, has a serial engraved and the manufacturing date can easily be seen.

So… one model with variants or two distinct models? The debate might still be on but as far as I am concerned I will consider them variants of the same model and… have them both!

Read about the complete 150m Citizen diver collection HERE.

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Citizen Chrono Master 4-520840-Y and ACSS2929-Y


I am going to keep this simple. This is a picture with two similar watches. In fact it is the same model, Citizen Chrono Master Chronometer Auto Day Date 33 Jewels. It is a long name, but what a watch! The different aspect about these pieces is that one of them is marked 4-520840-Y and the other one is the ACSS2929-Y. Why? Because one is a few months older and the Citizen used ACSSxxxx and the newer version was renamed 4-xxxxxx. (thanks Stephen for the clarification) 

citizen chrono master chronometer auto day date

The case is exactly the same, entirely polished stainless steel, screw retained case back with the awesome gold eagle inlay medallion. The mineral crystal is slightly domed with a concave inner surface. The crown is signed “C”. The movement is the Citizen calibre automatic 5240 with 33 jewels, beating at 18,000 bph and can be hand winded too. In this case the watch is Chronometer grade but the case number is correct for day date version, Chronometer or not. The lug distance is 20mm and they came either with a mesh bracelet or with a leather strap.

One more difference on these two watches presented here is the dial code, even though they are exactly the same. The hands are the same and so is everything else.

Read more about the regular Chrono Master Auto Day Date (not Chronometer) HERE.

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Citizen Crystate Deluxe 22 jewels


About a week ago Vladimir sent me his watch in order for me to review it and find more information on this rare bird. I can say that I was intrigued with a few aspects of this watch so I decided to dig into this and find some answer. Well guys, here it is the July 1968 Parawater Citizen Crystate Deluxe 22 Jewels!

citizen crystate deluxe

The entire watch is made of stainless steel and so is the bracelet. The 37mm case is entirely polished with simple and elegant surfaces. By contrast the bracelet finishing alternates between brushed and polished parts. Even though there is no brushed surface on the case, there is something similar, on the dial! Well, about the dial, that is a piece of art, simple, silver, with longitudinal brushed texture from 12 to 6, with applied hour markers. By the way, there is no date feature so the dial is well balanced. Regarding the polished hour markers, they also have a longitudinal black line except for the 12 o’clock one that has two. There is no luminous material to be found. The hands match the overall design and are simple, with a centrally mounted sweeping hand that hacks when the time is set (we will talk a little about the movement later). On the dial we can find the Citizen logo and a the star logo applied. The “Crystate Deluxe” and “22 jewels” are printed in black. The dial code and “Japan”, as well as the minute chapter ring, are also printed in black. I found a black dial version of the watch online and it seams it came in only two dial variants, silver and black. I like the silver one better.

The crystal is made of mineral glass and this fact on top of the upgraded metal bracelet gave the base model (the Citizen Homer) a new life into the form of the Crystate. It also has SS case, better regulated movement and screw in case back. The Deluxe and the star logo suggest a better finished movement. (thank you Kenneth for your help!) This one has 22 jewels because there is one additional one in addition of the regular 21, on the underneath part of the barrel.

The movement is rather common one (except for the additional jewel and better finishing) and hand winds. It also hacks for a better time setting. It runs at 18,000 bph.

Thank you Vladimir for lending me your watch, I took good care of it and I hope you enjoyed the review!

Read more about other simple Citizen watches HERE. 

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Citizen Alarm Date Custom V2 Blackie


Without a doubt this is one of my all time favorite alarms! Sporty, great wrist presence, complicated, beautiful and useful! Here it is the NOS, black coated, 1971 Citizen Alarm Date Custom V2 blackie! (model  4-310179Y)

I wrote a few articles about Citizen alarms powered by this movement so the data is the same: a hand wound movement, calibre 3102 (date), 21 Jewels, 18,000 bph. The twin crowns are for time setting and winding the main spring and the other one for setting and winding the alarm. The crown at 2 o’clock in first position is winding the alarm while the alarm is deactivated. If you pull it in the second position you can set the alarm (counterclockwise) and the alarm is activated. Pressing it while the alarm is ringing will stop it. The crown at 4 will wind the watch and pulling it out will set the time. The alarm will ring for about 13-16 seconds.

citizen alarm date custom v2

The case is black coated and so is the bracelet. Read about another beautiful blackie V2 HERE. The three crowns, the bezel and the case back are made of stainless steel and are polished.

The dial is gorgeous, black, with applied luminous hour markers that are still glowing today. The date is located at 3 o clock, in a white frame, and is printed in white on a black date wheel. The second hand is orange and we have one more color, yellow, used for the inner bi directional rotating bezel. This bezel is operated by the third crown, the one located at 10 o’clock. You can use this feature for easily reading the elapsed time, up to 60 minutes, just as you do with your usual diver.

Read more about other alarms on the dedicated page HERE.

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Citizen V2 Custom Blackie 4-720636TA


Citizen launched this interesting range in 1970 and also in 1970 they started experimenting black coating their watches. One of the interesting facts about this particular watch is the fact that is made in May 1970, being one of the first Blackies Citizen ever built.

citizen custom v2 day date blackie

The case, as well as the bracelet, is black coated aluminum alloy. The clasp is made of stainless steel and the folding part in not coated. The outer part of the clasp is coated too so the look of the entire watch is as black as it gets. Even the screw in case-back is black. The bezel is black, the dial and the crown, black too. The date and the day wheels are, you guessed it, black. 🙂 No wonder Citizen named this “Blackie”. The reason for coating their watches for Citizen was the same reason manufacturers are doing it today: it looks good and they try to find ways to protect the material underneath. Because this watch is made of a very light alloy, that is not really scratch resistant, the coating comes as a great addition.

The entire lettering is printed white, the numerals on the bidirectional rotating bezel are raised, and so are the luminous hour markers on the dial.  The Citizen logo and the V2 one are applied and polished. The hands are polished too except for the blue central second hand that has a luminous dot. Sundays are printed in red, while all the rest is white. Later versions of this watch have the day wheel white with black lettering and non coated case backs.

The movement inside is the Citizen automatic calibre 7280, 23 Jewels, running at 21,600 bph. It hacks (when setting the time the second hand stops). It is an automatic movement, but as most Citizen calibres, this one hand winds too. The date is a quick set (in the second crown position) and the day changes by advancing the hour hand past midnight.

Bottom line, this is a beautiful, interesting, lovely to wear and look at… BLACK marvel. 🙂 It somehow reminds me of the white chalk writing on the school table. Awesome watch!

Read about the Citizen Alarm Date Custom V2 Blackie HERE

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Black Roman Numeral Automatic Citizen cal 6501


Because I will sell it in a few days, I thought I should write a few words about this watch before letting it go. It is not the highly desirable diver or chronograph, but a fair, beautiful piece. What I like the most about it are the roman numeral used for hour markers on the dial. I don’t see many Citizen to use them.

citizen automatic black coated

It has a round black coated case with a stainless steel polished bezel. The crown is sign CTZ and is used for manually winding the movement (21 Jewels, calibre 6501) and setting the date and time. The day changes by advancing the hour hand passed midnight. All the fonts are black with the exception of Sundays that are written in red. The fact that the price tag is still attached on the replacement strap (the old one was destroyed beyond repair by time) and the case back sticker are a welcomed bonus for any collector.

So, bottom line…we have here a beautiful dial, a nice shape and black color case, NOS condition vintage automatic Citizen.

Read more about other simple Citizen watches HERE. (some of them are very rare and collectable)