I have a few years of collecting Citizen and still I find my self often amazed by rare pieces that surface without me even knowing that they exist. One of these is the one I am writing about right now: the Citizen Chrono Master Chronometer Date. But, why is it special? After all, there are a lot of Chrono Masters, and even though they are well made and can fetch a high price, they are not ultra rare. Well… some of them are more than rare, and this is one of them. Unfortunately it is not mint but I am sure that with the help of a good watchmaker it can get as close as possible to original condition.

The most important feature of the watch is actually the case back. Most of the Chrono Maters have a gold eagle inlay, but this one has an engraved one. (magnify the picture for better details) The only other one I saw this way is the Citizen 500m diver that I already wrote about. So this makes it really interesting and the only one I saw this way in all these years. I wish I could find more info on this model but haven’t yet.  So, stainless steel case back and polished with a brushed frontal surface case. The crown is signed and made of stainless steel too. The movement is a piece of art, Chronometer grade, manual wind, 25 jewels. It doesn’t hack and the day changes by advancing the hands past midnight. It has it’s own serial number. The domed acrylic crystal suits the watch perfectly and lets the light shine on the dial. The hands are polished and so are the applied Citizen logo, the eagle logo, the hour markers and the date frame. The printing is black making it simple and elegant. One of the added bonuses is the original Chrono Master strap (doubt the fact that the buckle is original though).

All things considered, this is another rare, important watch, in need of loving care, cleaning, polishing and servicing. It deserves this because indeed it is the real “diamond in the dust” story.