The Citizen Watch Company

Some of the world's most recognizable brands are citizen watches. These types of watches are made by Citizen and its many subsidiaries like Seiko, Hublot, Raymond Weil and more. The slogan for their product line is "making time visible." Citizen is one of the largest watch companies in Japan with revenue estimated at $2 billion USD. The company has chosen not to register trademarks on their logo or name because founder Shozo Sakamoto wanted to maintain citizen as a word that anyone can use as they wish without asking permission, as a part of their philosophy that everyone should be able to have access to affordable horology in order for everyone to stand out from one another.

On December 31, 2011, Citizen released a limited edition of the C-10 Pro Chronograph. It is expected that the company would release an official version of the watch.

This watch features a "CitizenM" movement, which stands for "Citizen Made Movement." As an homage to its origins Citizen decided to produce this movement in-house, much like many other high end manufacturers. The movement is made in Switzerland.

The dial and hands are 24k gold plated with a blued sapphire crystal glass. It also has a skeletonized case back and one of Citizen's five chronograph functions (progressive stop seconds chronograph, flyback chrono, dual time bezel and power reserve).

The watch also comes with a sapphire crystal glass with a double anti-reflective coating and a screw-in crown on the case back to give the wearer resistance to water.

On March 15, 2012, Citizen released the Citizen Matic limited edition, which featured a stainless-steel case. On June 15, 2012, Citizen released its C3 movement (Consolidated Chronograph). The watch featured a saddle brown leather strap and a black rubber strap. The case was made in stainless steel and it is water resistant to 200 meters (660 feet). On June 21, 2014, Citizen released its "Citizen Q50" limited edition. It was a sophisticated, yet simple timepiece that was available in both black and brown leather straps.

Citizen's Philosophy

Citizen's philosophy is "to provide the people with accurate timepieces at an affordable price that are dependable and long-lasting."

This motto can be seen on the company's logo which visibly states this philosophy. A large black and white symbol shows an hour hand with a second hand separated by a well at 13:00. To the right of the hour hand is a square showing a "C." This "C" stands for Citizen, which has become the brand name of many subsidiaries by Citizen including Seiko, Hublot and Raymond Weil among others. The symbol is surrounded by the words "Citizen", "made in Japan," "5 Year Warranty" and "5th Anniversary."

The company strives to produce high technology watches at an affordable price and with a promise of five years of warranty. They have been able to accomplish these goals through innovation and practical design.

The Citizen Watch Company was founded in 1982. The company is run by Shozo Sakamoto, who stated, "This is my brand, and I would like it to be treated like that." This statement carried a strong message in regards to the brand's philosophy of making people visible through reliable timepieces.

As an homage to its origins and because Sakamoto wanted the brand to be viewed like a "word," Citizen has chosen not to register any trademarks on their logo, leaving it as free for anyone to use or even claim. The Citizen Watch Company also has a very low profile in the media and does not actively market themselves. Through its publicity efforts, Citizen is able to invest heavily in research and development, which results in a reputation of having high quality products that are reliable and durable.

2010 was the 5th anniversary of the Citizen Watch Company and it marked the 50th anniversary for Citizen's founder, Shozo Sakamoto with whom they share many similar beliefs such as making time more visible for all.

The limited edition watches released for the 5th anniversary include a stainless steel version of the C-10 Pro chronograph and the Citizen Matic limited edition. The stainless steel version is inspired by the classic Japanese bikes of the early 20th century. Sakamoto wanted a "sweeter" look for his own bike and so he took some of his timepieces and made stainless steel frames that replicated these styles.

Citizen Matic's movement is an in-house automatic movement made in Switzerland, which was designed to be as similar to its column wheel predecessors as possible. It also has a parallax proof technology, which includes micro-adjustments every 15 seconds in order to maintain accuracy when winding or rewinding. A chronograph function, similar to other Citizen movements, is also included.

The Citizen Matic's dial and caseback are made from stainless steel with a square shaped sub dial at 12, 3 and 6 which matches the square design of the movement. The watch features a bracelet which was inspired by the leather straps of early 20th century motorcycles in Japan. The leather strap features a curved end that angles to the bottom half of the case. There is also a butterfly clasp for adjusting the watch's size around your wrist.

Citizen also released a limited edition of this watch in order to raise money for the Japanese Red Cross to help those in need.

The Citizen Q50 Limited Edition was initially released at the Grand Palais des Champs-Elysées in Paris on June 21, 2014. The watch was a sophisticated and simple timepiece that was available in both black and brown leather straps. It featured a skeletonized caseback and a sapphire crystal glass with anti-reflective coating, as well as a screw-in crown for resistance against water.

On September 3, 2016 Citizen released the Chrono-Matic Multifunction Full-Size to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the C1 chronograph movement. The watch was created with inspiration from its motorbike collection. There are three strap options for the watch: a black rubber strap, a brown leather strap and an alligator strap. It has a two-part caseback with sapphire crystal glass and anti-reflective coating that shows off its column wheel movement.

The C1 movement is one of Citizen's most advanced in house movements that features Citizen's proprietary technology called "Eco Drive" solar power technology. Eco Drive is made up of the power generation mechanism, which is the main shaft, and the energy storage mechanism, which is a solar panel on top of the movement. The movement features a spring-driven automatic winding in order to store energy generated by sunlight. It also has an "Overcharge" function that stores energy for up to 8 days after not being used and a "Time-Out" function that stores enough energy for up to 40 days.

The C1 movement utilizes solar power through its Eco Drive technology. It also has a leap-hour indicator that can be seen on both the hour hand and on the sub dial at 12 o'clock.

Conclusion: The Citizen Watch Company was founded in 1982 by Shozo Sakamoto and remains family-owned and operated. Its primary focus is to blend form with function, which is seen in their advertising campaigns as well as many of their products.

Its close proximity to Tokyo has allowed them to respond quickly to the needs of their customers and have meant that they have been able to develop products more rapidly. This has helped them not only to produce high technology timepieces at an affordable price, but also reliable, durable products that are dependable for the everyday man.

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