vintage Citizen

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Citizen Crystal Seven para100mwater diver


Exactly one year ago I wrote about a fabulous watch, the Dandy Seven diver (read about it HERE) and here we are today talking about it’s brother, the Crystal Seven diver. They were made in the same period, they share the same line (Seven), the same movement, and the same style, but each stands proud as powerful individual watch.

crystal seven vintage citizen diver

It is a decent sized watch, with a modern look and a strong vintage feel; maybe it is the shape of the case, maybe the colors, maybe the entire watch. By the way, it is made entirely of stainless steel. The SS bracelet I doubt it is the original one but it suits the watch very well, with those blue highlights, that match the minute chapter ring color perfectly. The front part of the case is brushed while all the rest is polished.

It is a diver watch (para 100m water) and as any diver watch that respects itself it has a bezel. This one is an aluminum bidirectional friction type with a luminous dot on 12. The dial is beautiful, grey, with a sunburst effect. The hours are marked with luminous material. The hands had luminous parts too but on mine they must have fallen out and to this day it was not yet relumed. The second hand has a luminous ball too. The minute chapter ring is blue with white 5 minutes dots.

The movement inside is the Citizen automatic 5204 calibre, with 27 jewels. It can also be winded by hand. The winding crown is made of stainless steel and signed CTZ. It is not a screw-in type. Due to this movement, the watch displays both the day of the week as well as the date. The day changes by advancing the hands past midnight while the date changes normally in the second position of the crown. The movement doesn’t hack.

One thing that differentiates it from it’s brother (the Dandy Seven) is the mineral crystal (hence the Crystal Seven name). On the other hand, Dandy Seven it fitted with an acrylic one.

All things considered it is a beautiful, rare diver, vintage and somehow modern at the same time.

Read more about other vintage Citizen divers HERE.

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Citizen – Watch Oil Kit


My friend Hako was kind enough to provide me these photos of an interesting collectors item, the vintage official Citizen watch oil kit, used for servicing the movements. Thank you Hako!  Apart for the oils themselves, the kit has brushes and a booklet with instructions for using the items found inside the box. I will write the information written on it below.

vintage citizen oil kit service

HANDLING INSTRUCTION FOR CITIZEN WATCH OIL

Citizen has designated the following 6 types of oil as oil to be used for Citizen watches. These oils particularly excel in quality and performance. Be sure to use the Citizen exclusive watch oil on Citizen watches for preserving the superior performance of the watch during a prolonged period.

1. Synt-A-Lube oil

Since it is a compound oil of superior performance, there is no worry of the characteristics becoming inferior due to deterioration, aging, etc., regardless for it being used for a prolonged time. 

Usage portion: Dial side train wheels, jeweled pallet fork, escapement. 

Remarks: Use the oil by transferring a small amount to the saucer of the stand type oiler. Be sure to clean the saucer and replace the oil at least once a week even though the saucer is not dirtied. 

2. Synt-V-Lube oil

Similar to the Synt-A-Lube Oil, it is a compound oil of superior performance. The viscosity is higher than the Synt-A-Lube oil.

Usage portion: Bridge side, day and date mechanism and second hand stopping device. 

Remarks: Same as in Synt-A-Lube oil. 

3. Citizen watch oil CH-1

The Citizen watch oil CH-1 is a mixture of special grease and special solid lubricant and there is no worry of the characteristics becoming inferior due to deterioration, aging, etc., although it may be used for a long period of time and a stabilized mainspring torque is maintained constantly. 

Usage portions: Hand winding mainspring

Use the exclusive brush with blue color mark on application of oil. 

4. Citizen watch oil CA-1

The Citizen watch oil CA-1 guarantees a stabilized slip torque which is particularly important for automatic winding an has been developed so a stabilized mainspring torque is maintained and used also on parts of the train wheels. The mixing rate of the solid lubricant differ from that of the Citizen watch oil CG-1. 

Usage portions: Part of train wheels. 

Automatic winding mainspring.

Used on Cal. Nos.:

150*, 220*, 140*, 24**, 060*, 03**, 11**, 41**, 52**, 54**and 64**.

Use the exclusive brush with green color mark on application of oil. 

5. Citizen watch oil CA-2

The Citizen watch oil CA-2 has been developed particularly for use on Citizen automatic wrist watches which have their mainspring torque increased. Its composition differs entirely from that of CA-1 and is a compound oil excelling in stability with no oil flows and is suited for heavy loads. 

Usage portions: Automatic winding mainspring.

Used on Cal. Nos.: 

72**, 74**, 76**, 77**, 66**, 65**, 60**.

Use the exclusive brush with yellow color mark on application of oil.

6. Citizen silicon oil and lubricator

The Citizen Parawater watch utilizes the elasticity of the O-Ring and packing and maintains a high watterresistant capability. The silicon oil acts to further promote the superior waterresistant proprieties of the O-Ring and packing so it should be always used in disassembly and assembly.

Usage portions: O-Ring

Packing

How to apply the Silicon Oil

(1) O-Ring and packing

a. A suitable amount of silicon oil should be soaked in the soft sponges which is fixed to the top and bottom of the silicon oil lubricator beforehand. When oiled once, it can be used for a certain period. 

b. When applying silicon oil to the O-Ring and packing, hold the o-Ring or packing with the lubricator and turn the cover of the lubricator by a 1/4 turn. This will allow applying a suitable amount of silicon oil. 

Remarks: Be careful so dust will not mix into the silicon oil lubricator. After usage, be sure to keep the silicon oil container cover securely tightened. 

(2) O-Ring for crown

Oil to the crown O-Ring is applied directly with an exclusive brush or by applying a suitable amount of oil to the pipe of the watchcase.

For further instruction on oiling portions of watches, please consult to the “CITIZEN TECHNICAL INFORMATION” 

citizen watch oil kit service

I am sure you will love the info and the pictures, just like I do. It is always nice to discover new things about our passion: watches, Vintage Citizen Watches.

Read more interesting facts about Citizen HERE.

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Citizen Seven Star Deluxe (& Leopard) Pocket Watches


When I found the Leopard I never thought I will see another soon. Well.. I saw another one in a bad shape and then here it came its pair, the Seven Star Deluxe. You can read about the Leopard pocket watch HERE.

citizen seven star deluze seven pocket watch

The Seven Star Deluxe shares the same case with the Leopard, made in polished Stainless Steel, with a signed crown, chain and thick mineral crystals. It has one on the back too, so it is easy to admire the automatic movement. Maybe this is the precise reason they were made in the first place, to display these awesome movements.

citizen deluxe seven star leopard pocket watch

Indeed both are beautiful and they look great side by side. The heart of the Leopard beats faster while the Seven Star is slower, as it is supposed to be. 🙂 Two brothers.

The dial is gorgeous for both variants, metallic and carefully finished. The Seven Star is more discrete, grey,  non colored, metallic and underrated stylish beauty.

citizen seven star leopard pocket watches

As you can see both are display the day and the date and have a centrally mounted sweeping second hand, red for the Leopard and steel for the other one. The hands on the Seven Star are beautiful. Made in stainless steel they look very much alike the ones on Super Ace (read about it HERE). They are beveled and are both brushed and polished on the edges; pure beauty.

I will let the pictures do most of the talking here, so… enjoy!

You can find a video of the Leopard HERE.

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Citizen ring watch, pendant watch, bracelet watch


Yes, Citizen made these beauties too. Why should’t our better halves enjoy and share out passion for watches? Citizen saw this opportunity and took it. They might not be a game changing in term of movements or complications but they are so nice to wear when dressing up. After all it is all about fashion, isn’t it? 🙂citizen ring watch pendant watch bracelet watchThey are all jewelries but valuable watches too, used for time telling. All three of them are white gold plated (WGP) and powered by hand wounded Citizen calibres. They have no second hand and do not display the date. Anyway, I will let the rest of the story telling to the pictures.citizen ring watch pendant watch bracelet watch vintage goldI am happy that I found all three of them; it took me a while to have this entire set in NOS condition. Who knows, maybe I missed a piece or two, because with Citizen you never know for sure what else is there to discover. So I will keep my eyes open for new, exciting surprises.

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Citizen – Kyoto – Sevenstar Rally Custom


The Rally Custom for sure is an interesting watch and such a beautiful one too. But not marking the dial “Citizen” while having a different logo applied is somehow making it even more interesting. What is that “Kyoto” name on the dial?

Let’s start talking about the “regular” Rally Custom (as if this timepiece can even be called “regular). The model reference is 4-521358TA.

citizen sevenstar rallycustom

(the above pictures credited to the on-line seller)

In 1970’s, along with the Yacht Custom and the Soccer Custom (read about the Soccer Custom HERE) citizen made this one, designated for the divers. They called it, you guessed it, Rally Custom. It is made of stainless steel and so is the bracelet. The top part of the case is brushed and the sides are polished. The acrylic crystal is domed and makes the dial look warm and inviting. What can I say about the dial… beautiful sun burst grey center, and three more engraved inner bezels. An orange accent in the dial makes it really attractive. The day window is at 6 and the date at 4. Inside the case we can find the 25 jewel movement, calibre 5290. The automatic movement runs at 18,000 beats per hour. The date can be changed by the operating crown located at 4 but the day changes only by passing the midnight with the hour hand. The crown at 2 rotates the bidirectional inner bezel.citizen kyoto sevenstar rallycustom

So… what about “Kyoto” logo? It seems the Citizen watches marked Kyoto were designated for the French market (hence the French day wheel) and the reason for this might me an trademark problem in this country. Please note that on the Kyoto the hands are much shorter and have a different shape so I am almost 100% sure they are not original. They should look like on the first watch pictured, the one marked Citizen.

Are you a driver? You need one of these! 🙂 It will you make drive more slowly because you need more time at the stoplights to admire the beautiful dial and make all those calculation while operating the bezel.

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Vintage Citizen Chronographs


You may call them “Bull head” or “Speedy” or “Walter Wolf” or “Challenge Timer”. It doesn’t really matter, as long as we all call them “Beautiful”.

Here it is 2016 and I want to start the year sharing this picture of four of my watches. What we have here is a small collection of chronographs, all with Citizen 8110a fly back movement beating inside. vintage automatic citizen bullhead speedy 8110s

Because I already wrote a few articles about watches powered by this awesome movement, you can read more about this calibre HERE.

The watches above are: 

  1. Black coated alloy Blackie Challenge Timer, rare green dial – read more HERE & HERE 
  2. White dial SS Speedy with outer Tachymeter bezel – still working on the article
  3. The black dial SS octagon Bull Head – read about it HERE
  4. Titanium Walter Wolf, Promethium dial, count down rotating bezel – read more HERE

I wish you all the best for this year and may you find your perfect Vintage Citizen Chronograph for you to call “Your own”. 😉

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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 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.