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? 🙂
They 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.
I 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.
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.
(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.
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.
Share this:
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. 
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:
- Black coated alloy Blackie Challenge Timer, rare green dial – read more HERE & HERE
- White dial SS Speedy with outer Tachymeter bezel – still working on the article
- The black dial SS octagon Bull Head – read about it HERE
- 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”. 😉
Share this:
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! 
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.
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
Share this:
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!
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.
Share this:
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.
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!?
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.
Share this:
VIDEO – Citizen Alarm 4H pocket watch
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.
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.
Share this:
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)
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.
Share this:
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!
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.
Vintage Citizen Watches 