日本 · 創業 1918
Citizen
Tokyo's mayor suggested the name Citizen for the firm's first pocket watch in 1924.
編集記事は英語です。
Citizen is a Tokyo-based watch and precision-engineering group whose own brand is built around Eco-Drive light-powered movements, the Promaster tool watches and the high-accuracy The Citizen line. It also owns Bulova, Frederique Constant, Alpina and Arnold & Son, and its Miyota division supplies movements to other brands. Most Citizen watches cost between about 150 and 800 euros.
歴史
Kamekichi Yamazaki, a Tokyo watch and precious-metals merchant, founded the Shokosha Watch Research Institute in 1918 to build watches in Japan. It first assembled imported Swiss parts, then bought European machine tools to make its own components. Its first pocket watch was completed in December 1924, and Tokyo mayor Gotō Shinpei proposed the name Citizen so that ordinary people would own and value it. Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. was incorporated in May 1930 and completed its first wristwatch in 1931.
After the war Citizen expanded quickly. It listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1949, set up a component plant in Miyota, Nagano, in 1959, and released the Parawater, Japan's first fully water-resistant wristwatch, the same year. Exports began in 1955, and an agreement with Bulova followed in 1960. The X8 Chronometer of 1970 was the first watch with a titanium case, and the group also built machine tools, starting external sales of automatic lathes in 1961.
Citizen's first quartz wristwatch appeared in 1973. In 1976 the Crystron Solar Cell became the first analogue quartz watch powered by light, the technology later marketed as Eco-Drive. The Professional Diver of 1982 was rated to 1,300 m, the 1985 Aqualand added an electronic depth gauge, and the Promaster name arrived in 1989 for watches used on land, at sea and in the air. The Citizen, a premium line with a ten-year warranty, followed in 1995.
Citizen bought Bulova in 2008, Prothor Holding with La Joux-Perret and Arnold & Son in 2012, and the Frederique Constant group in 2016. Its technical work continued with Satellite Wave, the first watch to set itself from satellite signals, in 2011, and the Eco-Drive One, with a movement 1 mm thick, in 2016. Caliber 0100, rated to plus or minus one second a year without radio correction, went on sale in 2019. By 2024 the Tsuyosa automatic of 2021 was the best-selling watch in Citizen's history.
創業者
- Kamekichi Yamazaki
- Founder
- Tokyo watch and precious-metals merchant who founded the Shokosha Watch Research Institute in 1918 and chaired Citizen Watch Co. when it was incorporated in 1930.
主要な出来事
1918
Shokosha Watch Research Institute
Kamekichi Yamazaki founds the institute in Tokyo to develop domestic watch production.
1924
First Citizen pocket watch
The first pocket watch named Citizen is completed; Tokyo mayor Gotō Shinpei chose the name.
1930
Citizen Watch Co. incorporated
Yamazaki, Yosaburo Nakajima and Ryoichi Suzuki establish Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. in May 1930.
1959
Parawater
Citizen releases Japan's first fully water-resistant wristwatch and sets up the Miyota component plant.
1970
First titanium watch
The X8 Chronometer becomes the first wristwatch with a titanium case.
1976
Crystron Solar Cell
Citizen sells the first light-powered analogue quartz watch, forerunner of Eco-Drive.
1989
Promaster launched
The Promaster name is introduced for professional watches for land, sea and air.
2008
Bulova acquired
Citizen buys the American watch company Bulova, its partner since a 1960 agreement.
2016
Frederique Constant and Eco-Drive One
Citizen acquires the Frederique Constant group and releases the Eco-Drive One with a 1 mm movement.
2019
Caliber 0100
The Citizen with Caliber 0100 goes on sale, rated to ±1 second a year as a standalone light-powered watch.
コレクターが知る3つのこと
Miyota's hidden reach
Citizen's Miyota division sells movements to competitors worldwide. Europa Star estimated its output in 2023 at about 100 million movements a year, more than 90 percent of them quartz.
A name from the fans
The Tsuyosa name did not come from Citizen's marketing. It emerged among European buyers of the reference-numbered automatics, and Citizen adopted it officially.
A pufferfish diver
Collectors nicknamed the Promaster NY004 automatic diver 'Fugu', Japanese for pufferfish, after its bezel. Citizen later adopted the name and a pufferfish emblem.
代表モデル
- Promaster Diver1989
Professional line covering Eco-Drive and automatic divers, pilot and land watches.
- Professional Diver 1300m1982
Diver rated to 1,300 m, a record depth rating at its launch and forerunner of the Promaster divers.
- The Citizen Caliber 01002019
Light-powered quartz rated to ±1 second a year, using an 8,388,608 Hz AT-cut crystal.
- Eco-Drive One2016
Light-powered watch with a 1.00 mm movement and a 2.98 mm case.
- Tsuyosa2021
Automatic with integrated-style bracelet and bright dials; Citizen's best-selling line by 2024.
よくある質問
- What is Citizen Eco-Drive?
- Eco-Drive is Citizen's light-powered quartz system: light passing through the dial is converted into electricity and stored in a rechargeable cell, so the watch needs no battery changes. It grew out of the 1976 Crystron Solar Cell.
- Does Citizen own Bulova?
- Yes. Citizen bought Bulova in 2008. The group also owns Frederique Constant, Alpina, Arnold & Son and the movement maker La Joux-Perret.
- Are Citizen watches made in Japan?
- Partly. Citizen is headquartered in Nishitōkyō, Tokyo, and makes premium lines such as The Citizen in Japan, while many mass-market models and Miyota movements come from group factories elsewhere in Asia.
- Are Citizen and Seiko the same company?
- No. Citizen and Seiko are separate, competing Japanese groups. Citizen traces its origins to 1918 and Seiko to 1881, and each makes its own movements.