vintage citizen diver

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Vintage Citizen Divers 150m: 68-5372 , 62-6198, 52-0110


It is my pleasure to introduce to you my three vintage Citizen 150m divers: 68-5372 , 62-6198, 52-0110.

Even though they might look similar at the very first sight, they are different models.

vintage citizen divers 150m 4-740131Y , 4-600851Y , 4-820789Y

They are all in excellent condition, the first two are actually NOS, the third one is not, but really well kept. The first one is made in 1971, the second in 1974 and the third in 1978. Read about how to date a Citizen watch here: https://vintagecitizenwatches.com/2014/02/23/dating-a-vintage-citizen-watch/

Lets start with the similarities: 

All three are divers, rated to a respectable depth of 150m water pressure. They share the same case (4-740131Y , 4-600851Y , 4-820789Y ), with the same screw-in large crown. The bezel is bidirectional friction type. The sides of the cases are polished and the frontal surfaces are brushed in a similar manner. They are 40mm wide with 20mm steel bracelets at the lugs. Thew share the same mineral crystal, concave on the inside, with a flat surface, that magnifies the beautiful black dials. The movements are automatics with 21 jewels. All three display the date at 3 o’clock and have a central sweeping hand with a luminous dot. The hour indexes are applied rectangles, large, and filled with luminous material. The hands are similar in shape (Mercedes type hour hand and spade minute hand).  The three bracelets feature a diver extension link beneath the clasp. So, they are very much alike, but, let’t take a closer look!

vintage citizen divers 150m 68-5372 , 62-6198, 52-0110

The main difference is a small detail that I like a lot: The first one (made in 1971: 68-5372) is marked “parawater”. read more about parawater here: https://vintagecitizenwatches.com/2013/12/26/citizen-parawater-citizen-parashock/. All the other differences emerge, the way I see things, from this small detail (the date of manufacturing). The era of “parawater” was different. The first watch is the only one with a solid bracelet links, the others have folded links. The date window is better placed on the dial due to a different movement size on the ’71 watch. The hour hand and the minute hand are longer. The dot at the end of the second hand in similar to the first two models and I like this a lot. The bezels have different thickness, due to different crystal height.  The thinest being the first one, getting thicker and thicker, translating to an overall watch height difference. The way the crystal fits to the case is very complicated at early models, with steel rings, rubber seals, and a lot of parts. The third one has the crystal fit by pressure ring plastic gasket. The way I see things Citizen tried to simplify production and make it mode profitable, but I like it complicated. Looking at the bezel inserts, the last one has markers on every minute. The middle one features an applied Citizen logo on the dial made from individual letters. The 1978 watch has a black digit date wheel. By contrast the other two have red digits. As a final touch, the printing on the dial is unique to every one of the three.

Citizen vintage diver 150m

The casebacks are similar but with different markings. Removing the caseback we have the chance to see the movements. Three distinct movement, automatics, with 21 jewels. The most striking feature is the fact that the first watch movement is filling nicely the case, being a suited size (this is the reason for the date position on the dial). The later two have smaller movements. At least the middle one has a steel ring around it to fill the useless space. The latest one has a cheaper plastic ring. All three movements have quick date setting, and offer hand winding ability.

year        model        case no         movement

1971       68-5372        4-740131Y        7470

1974       62-6198        4-600851Y      6000 (marked 6001)

1978       52-0110        4-820789Y      8210A

 As a conclusion, I want to say that even though I admire the first one and really appreciate the second one, the third (the only one that is not NOS) is the one I love the most. Nevertheless, I will not disclose the reason why. 🙂 Having one vintage Citizen diver 150m is a joy, having three is a bless.

UPDATE – the second hand I have seen to be either lollipop style with the ball at the end of it or not. For any of these models. I have yet to find catalogue pictures to be 100% sure about it.

read more about vintage Citizen divers here: https://vintagecitizenwatches.com/diver-vcw/

 

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Citizen automatic diver 51-2273


Another vintage diver is the model 51-2273.

This one is  more recent than the previously featured watches here.

citizen diver 51-2273One of the main feature about this one, compared with the others, is the unidirectional rotating bezel. Also, the “Mercedes” hands are gone and are replaced with a different style.

The case is made in stainless steel,  with a brushed (circular) front surface and polished sides. The case back screws in and it is polished too. This case features crown guards for protecting the crown, a nice diving detail that enhances the “tool watch” appearance. Another diving feature in the screw in crown and the unidirectional bezel. This time the bezel has 60 solid clicks and rotates only counter clock wise. On 12 it has a triangle with a luminous dot. Every 10 minutes are marked with numbers and every minute by lines. The overall size is perfect, at 40 mm diameters without the crown and 20 mm between lugs.  The mineral crystal is flat.

The dial is mate black without any reflections. The hour markers are dots or lines, depending on the position. They are filed with luminous material. The hands are also luminous and they have a distinct shape, more geometrical, that I think enhance the overall look of the watch. On 12 there is the applied Citizen logo and “automatic”; on 6 there is the writing: “21 jewels – water resistant – 150 M ” On 3 there is the day-date window, in a single frame. The day is bilingual with red “Sunday” while rest are black.

citizen diver 51-2273The movement is the well known automatic Citizen calibre 8200A (Miyota). It has 21 jewels and offers a hand winding capability. First position of the crown wind the watch, the second will change the day and the date (in different directions) and the third will set the time. It beats at 21,600 bph and has a power reserve of 43 hours. The rotor will wind the watch in one direction only. Nothing fancy about this, just a reliable, simple movement that is doing it’s job as it should.

The strap on this watch is a rubber one with a stainless steel clasp. Rubber fits it very well and next to the nato straps it is the best option for this model.  The width at the lugs is 20mm so plenty of strap options are available at this size.

citizen diver 51-2273 Miyota 8200AConclusion: A nice diver  that has all the features of a real diver: unidirectional 60 clicks bezel, easy to read, mate dial with clear hour markers and hands, a sweeping central second hand, screw in crown protected by crown guards, a reliable simple automatic movement and a long rubber strap. A real tool watch!