Citizen made the world’s first titanium wristwatch 50 years ago and to mark the occasion the Japanese watchmaker has created an advanced titanium line.
The Citizen Super Titanium Armor features the solar-powered Eco-Drive quartz movement that we’ve all seen for years, combined with a hardened treatment to reduce scratching.
Available in a 41 mm time only model (with date), and two 44 mm chronographs (one without and the other with gold accents), the collection has a circular case with distinctive angular lugs and an integrated bracelet.
In 1970, Citizen introduced the X8 Chronometer, as the first titanium watch on the market, and while the new Super Titanium Armor line is not a faithful re-issue of the original titanium X8, the three-hand model in the new 2020 collection does reference the look of its 50-year-old predecessor — particularly the hands, hour markers, and crown position.
The bezel on all three models rotates unidirectionally, except that while the three-hand model has a traditional elapsed time bezel, the rotation of the two-part bezel for the chronograph references can be used for timing — but it also reveals/conceals the pushers from a top-down view (pushers are always visible from the side), which control the chronograph function.
Titanium is super-light compared to stainless steel but it’s also has a less scratch-resistant surface so Citizen utilized their proprietary Duratect treatment which results in the so-called “Super Titanium.” This treatment makes the titanium 50% more scratch-resistant than stainless steel, without sacrificing its weight advantage over steel. Super Titanium is also used within existing Citizen watch lines such as the Skyhawk and 1000M collections.
All three models come with a premium sapphire crystal protecting the dial and are water-resistant to 100 meters. The three-hander is powered by solar-powered quartz movement caliber J810 and the chronographs are powered by solar-powered quartz movement caliber B642. The dial of each watch has applied hour indices and luminous markers and hands.
The Super Titanium time and date model retails for $550 (Ref. AW1660-51H ) and the chronographs retail for $650 (CA7050-57H, CA7058-55E – gold accents).
Learn more at Citizen.
