This is about a Jap-Euro connection; or, precisely, a Jap-Swiss connection and that’s something beyond just a Swiss spirit in a Jap body or the other way ‘round. It’s old news though. But back in 2012 (in its 80th anniversary)when Citizen was eyeing several mid-sized yet prominent Swiss luxury watch brands, things turned real hot. In fact, Citizen was fighting to maintain an edge then dulled by the Grand Seiko. So Prothor Holding SA (who owns La Joux-Perret SA) filled in the gap and the first mechanical luxury watch from Citizen saw the daylights. Even the Eco-Drive doesn’t get a 10-year warranty! Neither does Miyota.
The new slew of Citizen Automatics completes a year in 2013. So, question remains, how did the fare against the Grand Seiko all this while? Is the Caliber 0910 (@28,800 BPH; accuracy: -5/+10 seconds/day) impressive enough?
Not quite; if we compare that to Swiss COSC and the Grand Seiko (especially the 9S) mechanicals, though at the same price range ($3,545), it outruns the Seiko with its beautiful, hand-assembled, somewhat exotic (or, stoic) image. In short, it’s Citizens labor of love in both form and function.
The Caliber 0910 has a 42-hour power reserve housed in Duratect scratch-resistant steel, with the case measuring just 37.5mm (d) and 11.3 mm (h). It either sports a white or a black dial but while that may be enough for the casual wearer looking to buy a fairly expensive watch; it’s going to hardly satisfy a connoisseur’s quests.
First, let’s say it is radically different from the other Citizen automatics (based on the Miyota) currently in the US market. Citizen, who owns Miyota movements, very rarely uses Miyota automatic movements in the Citizen brand for the US. The 24-jewels self-winding 9010 caliber is exclusive to the Citizen Signature and supports both manual winding and hacking. And to some extent, the rotor swings better than many self-winding watches; in short, it’s very efficient and incredibly smooth.
So the bottom line: It is Citizen hitting a home run and I’m not considering even its looks, design and finish!
