, also known as the Citizen Group, is an

electronics Electronics is a scientific and engineering discipline that studies and applies the principles of physics to design, create, and operate devices that manipulate electrons and other Electric charge, electrically charged particles. It is a subfield ...

company primarily known for its

watches A watch is a Clock, timepiece carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or another typ ...

and is the core company of a Japanese global

corporate A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as "born out of s ...

group based in Nishitokyo,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan. In addition to Citizen brand watches, it is the parent of American watch company Bulova. Beyond watches, Citizen also manufactures calculators, printers, health care devices, and precision CNC machining equipment.

History

The company was founded in 1930 by Japanese and

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

investors. It took over Shokosha Watch Research Institute (founded in 1918) and some facilities of the assembly plant opened in

Yokohama is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...

in 1912 by the Swiss watchmaker Rodolphe Schmid. The brand Citizen was first registered in Switzerland by Schmid in 1918 for watches he sold in Japan. The development of this brand was supported in the 1920s by Count Gotō Shinpei with his hope that watches could become affordable to the general public. The growth of Citizen until

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

relied on

technology transfer Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform invent ...

from Switzerland. Citizen Attesa Eco-Drive ATV53-3023 02

Products

Atomic timekeeping

Citizen launched the world's first multi-band atomic timekeeping watch in 1993 and has remained a pioneer of this field. Synchronized to atomic clocks, these watches are accurate to within one second in one hundred thousand years. The Skyhawk A-T line features radio-controlled timekeeping. The watches can synchronize with

radio clock A radio clock or radio-controlled clock (RCC), and often colloquially (and incorrectly) referred to as an "atomic clock", is a type of Quartz clock, quartz clock or watch that is automatically Synchronization, synchronized to a time code transmi ...

s in Japan,

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, and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, automatically selecting the correct frequency by location. The watch actually tracks two

time zone A time zone is an area which observes a uniform standard time for legal, Commerce, commercial and social purposes. Time zones tend to follow the boundaries between Country, countries and their Administrative division, subdivisions instead of ...

s—home and world—but synchronizes to the 'home' zone. When traveling, the user may swap the 'home' and 'world' zones, thereby enabling proper time signal reception on a different continent while retaining the other time. The day, date, and

daylight saving time Daylight saving time (DST), also referred to as daylight savings time, daylight time (Daylight saving time in the United States, United States and Daylight saving time in Canada, Canada), or summer time (British Summer Time, United Kingdom, ...

settings are set automatically when the watch is synchronized. These features are comparable to the synchronization with atomic clocks found in Casio Wave Ceptor watches. The Perpetual Chrono A-T synchronizes with the atomic clocks in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

or Germany, depending on signal strength and location, and incorporates Eco-Drive technology, so it does not require replacement batteries.

Bulova Precisionist movement

In 2010, Miyota (Citizen Watch) of Japan introduced a newly developed movement that uses a three-prong quartz crystal torsional resonator, with eight times the vibration frequency of a traditional quartz watch, for the Precisionist or Accutron II line, a new type of quartz watch which is claimed to be accurate to +/− 10 seconds a year and has a smooth sweeping second hand rather than one that jumps each second.

Chronomaster

Accurate to within five seconds per year, the Chronomaster line is unofficially the most accurate quartz-crystal watch ever made. They are currently sold only in the Japanese domestic market but can be obtained internationally if ordered online.

Contemporary watches

Citizen also produces the ''Independent Watches'' line, featuring a more modern, contemporary design than the traditional Citizen label. Depending on the market, these watches may be labelled "Secret", "Lighthouse" brands among others.

DCP clasp

The deployant clasp with a Push Button (DCP) is a clasp available for many Citizen watch bracelet bands. The clasp, as with the Calibre 8700, is also used with leather bands as if they were metal bracelet-style watchbands; however, when the clasp is fastened, the band appears to be a normal eye-hole and link pin leather watchband.

Diving watches (including the Fugu)

In 1959, Citizen launched the Parawater – Japan's first fully-waterproof wristwatch. It became the forerunner to Citizen's range of dive watches, subsequently (1982) called the Promaster Marine range. Also in 1982, Citizen launched the 1300m Professional Diver's watch – the world's most pressure-resistant wristwatch at the time. But it was perhaps the Fugu that became Citizen's most iconic diver. With its launch in 1989, fans nicknamed it the Fugu, after the Japanese pufferfish. The watch's bezel has alternating smooth and serrated edges to provide a positive grip in wet conditions, with the shape inspired by the pufferfish. Citizen eventually adopted Fugu as the watch's official name, even engraving some models' casebacks with a pufferfish logo. And in 1993, the Comando Raggruppamento Subacquei e Incursori Teseo Tesei adopted the Fugu NY004 for official use. All Fugu models are certified to the ISO 6425 standard for reliability underwater, resistance to shocks and magnetism, water-tightness and thermal-shock resistance. The original Fugu series (NY004, NY008 and NY009) were criticised for their bezel action and lack of sapphire crystal. These issues were ultimately addressed by the NY011 series (launched in 2020). With a Miyota 8203 movement, Fugu automatic watches can be hand-wound – a significant advantage over their original competitor (Seiko's now discontinued SKX). Among the world's ISO-certified watches for professional diving, the Fugu remains the mechanical watch in continuous production for the longest.

Eco-Drive

Eco-Drive watches use a battery recharged by a solar panel hidden under the watch face. In the rare and discontinued Eco-Drive Duo series, the solar power was supplemented by an automatic quartz power source. One early model, called the Citizen Vitality, used the watch hands to drive a small electric generator, but was discontinued following complaints that the device could explode and cause wrist injuries. There was also an Eco-Drive Thermo model that exploited temperature differentials between the wearer's skin temperature and ambient temperature to recharge the battery. However, the only Eco-Drive system described on the Citizen Watch official website is the one depending solely on light to recharge. Features similar to the Eco-Drive have been developed by other manufacturers like

Casio is a Japanese multinational electronics manufacturing corporation headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Its products include calculators, mobile phones, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and analogue and digital watches. It ...

and Junghans. All Citizen Eco-Drive movements are made in Japan but the case or the bracelet may also be made in China.

Noblia

In 1985 the Zen Noblia Ultra Slim watch was introduced as a model by Citizen. From 1986 to 1997 Citizen offered watches under the Noblia brand. These were in the high-priced segment and combined a traditional-classical design with modern quartz movements. Noblia was an outfitter and sponsor of the Louis Vuitton Cup and the Star North American Championship. Noblia was discontinued in 1997 after releasing a collection of ceramic clocks.

Q&Q SmileSolar

Q&Q SmileSolar is a line of solar powered watches, which do not require a battery change. They are made of recycled materials and have a water resistant rating of 10 Bar. The line of watches also supports people by making a donation for each watch purchased.

Other products

Citizen also manufactures calculators and small electronic organizers. Some non-watch devices such as handheld televisions and

computer printer A printer is a peripheral machine which makes a durable representation of graphics or text, usually on paper. While most output is human-readable, bar code printers are an example of an expanded use for printers. Different types of printer ...

s, have been marketed under the Citizen brand name. In the 1980s, a number of handheld electronic games were sold under the Q&Q brand. In the early-mid 1990s, Citizen partnered with

Compaq Computer Corporation Compaq Computer Corporation was an American information technology, information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced some of the first IBM PC compati ...

to build notebook computers in Japan for the Japan and Far Eastern market to be sold under the Compaq name. On January 10, 2008, Citizen bought the Bulova Watch Company for $250 million, making The Citizen Group the world's largest watchmaker. In 2016, Citizen acquired the Swiss Frédérique Constant Group.

Corporate divisions

* Japan CBM Corporation – Sales of timepieces, including the Q&Q brand. * Citizen Systems Japan Co., Ltd. – Sales of business and consumer electronic devices including calculators. * Citizen Miyota Co., Ltd. – Production of wristwatches, quartz crystal oscillators, electronic viewfinders, LCD back-light units, CCD/CMOS image sensors, ferroelectric micro LCDs, LCoS, high-density mounting equipment. * Citizen Fine Tech Co., Ltd. – Manufacturing and sales of electronic components (ceramic parts, quartz crystal oscillator chips, etc.). * Citizen Seimitsu Co., Ltd. – Manufacturing of watch movements, watch face components, automotive components, LCD cells, mini printers, measuring instruments, lubrication units, secondary machining LC lathes and glass scribers. * Citizen Watch Company of America * Citizen Machinery Co., Ltd. Precision CNC machining equipment * Vagary watches * Bulova Watch Company * Alpina and Ateliers deMonaco * Frédérique Constant * Campanola * La Joux-Perret * Arnold & Son

Sponsorships

*Official timekeeper and official watch of the US Open tennis championships, from 1993 until 2017. *ISU –

World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). The first World Championships were held in 1896 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and they have been held e ...

*Official timekeeping partner of

Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. They compete in the Premier League, t ...

*Official partner of the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

: during Leafs games at Scotiabank Arena, the scoreboard clock features Citizen branding. *Official timekeeper of

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort is an destination resort, entertainment resort complex located about southwest of Orlando, Florida, United States. Opened on October 1, 1971, the resort is operated by Disney Experiences, a division of the Wa ...

Disneyland Disneyland is a amusement park, theme park at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It was the first theme park opened by the Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney, ...

Resort, Tokyo Disney Resort,

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, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Shanghai Disney Resort

Notes

References

Bibliography

*Pierre-Yves Donzé, Industrial Development, Technology Transfer, and Global Competition: A history of the Japanese watch industry since 1850, Routledge, 2017.