Citizen Watch Photos
14 real owner photos on the wrist
“Citizen invented Eco-Drive in 1976 - a solar-powered movement that can run for six months in total darkness after full charge. Over 100 million Eco-Drive watches have been sold.”
Citizen Watch Co. was founded in Tokyo in 1918 and is Japan's second-largest watch manufacturer (after Seiko). The brand is best known for Eco-Drive solar technology, invented in 1976, which converts any light source to power and offers effectively permanent battery life with routine light exposure. Citizen also produces the Miyota movement family - used by hundreds of independent and microbrand watchmakers worldwide - and its high-end Caliber 0100 Grand Seiko-challenging movement (±1 second per year accuracy) sits among the most precise non-atomic timekeepers ever produced. The Promaster series (dive, aviation, land) delivers professional specifications at accessible prices. We do not currently carry Citizen models in our comparison database.
Founded 1918 · Japan
Citizen models
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Citizen — common questions
What is Citizen Eco-Drive?
Eco-Drive is Citizen's proprietary light-powered movement technology, first introduced in 1976. A photovoltaic cell beneath the dial converts any light source - indoor fluorescent, sunlight, desk lamp - into electrical energy stored in a lithium-ion rechargeable cell. A fully charged Eco-Drive watch runs for approximately 6 months in total darkness. The technology eliminates battery replacement, reduces environmental waste, and makes Eco-Drive watches highly practical for everyday wear. Over 100 million Eco-Drive watches have been produced across 180+ calibers.
What is the Citizen Caliber 0100?
The Citizen Caliber 0100 (in the Eco-Drive 0100 series) is a quartz movement accurate to ±1 second per year - the most accurate analog quartz watch movement commercially produced. It achieves this through a thermocompensated circuit that corrects for temperature fluctuations that cause frequency drift in quartz oscillators. At ±1 second per year, it outperforms GPS watches in raw frequency accuracy. The watches housing it retail at $900-$1,500 and represent a genuine technological achievement.
Why doesn't Watchems include Citizen watches?
Our comparison database currently focuses on 50 mechanical and automatic watches in the $100-$150,000 tier. Citizen's strongest products (Eco-Drive, Promaster series) operate primarily in quartz and solar categories where the comparison dimensions we track (power reserve, movement caliber specifications) are less relevant. We plan to expand - check back as we add Citizen Promaster and Eco-Drive models to allow direct comparison with Seiko and other Japanese brands.