CITIZEN

The Shokosha Watch Research Institute, the forerunner of what we now know as the Citizen Watch Company, was founded in 1918.

It was formed by Kamekichi Yamazaki with the intention of making Japanese-made clocks, although they first began by assembling imported components from Switzerland.

They were eventually able to import machine tools from the Western world in order to produce their own components.

When the institution manufactured its first pocket watch in 1924, they had finally achieved their aim. Mr. Shimpei Goto, Yamazaki's personal friend and the Mayor of Tokyo at the time, named it.

His rationale for calling the watch "CITIZEN" was a desire for their products to be well-liked and appreciated by citizens all around the world. The watch was well-received at the time, and Emperor Showa, who was Prince Regent at the time during the Emperor Taisho era, even purchased one.

Soon after, in 1930, Kamekichi Yamazaki formed Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. with two other watch aficionados, Ryoichi Suzuki and Yosaburo Nakajima. Nakajima was the senior representative of the Schmitt Company's Japanese division, a watch dealer located in Switzerland.

He and Suzuki bought out the Shokosha Watch Research Institute, and he and Yamazaki worked together to form Citizen Watch Co. Ltd.

Citizen began manufacturing a 10 12 ligne caliber wristwatch (Citizen model F) in 1931, followed by an 8 34 ligne caliber wristwatch (Citizen model K) in 1935, after being created in 1930. They began to grow outside of Japan a year later, in 1936, and began selling watches to Southeast Asia.

The Citizen model L, a two-hand women's timepiece, was released in 1940. However, World War II was in full swing at the time, and the business relocated its manufacturing facilities to a tiny village roughly 125 miles from its previous Tokyo site. Other military components, such as chronometers and igniters, were made by them.

Citizen needed a mechanism to oversee the distribution and marketing of its products across the world as their business grew, so they founded the Citizen Trading Company in 1949.

The first men's manually wound watch with a calendar was released in Japan in the early 1950s. The Citizen Calendar watch included three push buttons on the face that allowed the user to set the month, date, and day.

Citizen created the first shock-proof Japanese watch, the Parashock, in 1956, which added to the momentum. Citizen introduced the Parawater, Japan's first totally waterproof, manually wound wristwatch, in 1959. This timepiece's significance can still be observed today, since it served as the prototype for their modern waterproof watches.

Citizen struck an export/import deal with Bulova Watch Company in the United States, as well as a technical assistance arrangement with India, in March 1960.

In the 1960s, the firm began to spread out into sectors other than watchmaking, such as business machinery.

The 1970s heralded a period of transition from mechanical to quartz clocks for most other watchmakers at the time, particularly those from Japan. The Quartz Revolution was the name given to this time period.

Citizen had already enjoyed success outside of the mechanical world with the X-8, which had been introduced in 1966.

It was the first electronic wristwatch made in Japan, and it could run for a year without stopping. The X-8 outsold its mechanical competitors and became a popular throughout the 1970s.

Citizen debuted its first quartz watch in 1973, and the Citizen Crystron Mega, which is now legendary, followed shortly after in 1975.

The Citizen Crystron Mega was the world's first high-precision quartz watch, with a year-to-year precision of 3 seconds. It has a caliber 8650 and is still one of the most accurate (and costly) timepieces ever made available to the general public.

With the unveiling of the Crystron Mega, Citizen made it obvious where they wanted to go in terms of watchmaking. Citizen achieved another breakthrough a year later, in 1976, with the launching of the Crystron Solar Cell.

It was the first light-powered analog quartz watch in the world with a rechargeable battery that didn't need to be replaced.

By the 1980s, Japan had overtaken the United States as the world's leading producer of timepieces and watch movements. With the Citizen Exceed Gold, a women's analog watch with the world's tiniest movement, Citizen once again put the world on notice.

Citizen introduced the Professional Diver 1300M, a diver's watch that at the time was the world's most waterproof watch.

Citizen surpassed Rolex as the world's largest single maker of watch movements in 1986. The Citizen Watch Company also offered several more firsts to the field of Horology during this period in the 1980s.

The corporation had a highly busy and crucial decade in the 1990s, maybe even more so than in the 1970s. During this period, they released a number of global firsts, but it was in 1995 that they debuted Eco-Drive, a huge addition to the watch game.

Eco-Drive was notable because it built upon the solar technology developed in 1976. It can now create electricity from any light source, whether solar or artificial, eliminating the need to replenish batteries. It was first introduced to Asia, Europe, and Latin America in 1995, and then to the United States in 1996.

Eco-Drive received the first "Eco-Mark" award in 1996, a Japanese legally acknowledged distinction for environmental preservation, owing to its popularity and relevance.

Citizen continued to introduce more models with the Eco-Drive movement throughout the rest of the 1990s, including the Eco-Drive Thermo, Citizen Promaster Aqualand, and the Exceed Eco-Drive.

Citizen has continued to grow as a brand and create waves in the watch industry over this time. Citizen relocated its headquarters to Nishi-Tokyo in 2001, and two years later, the world's first complete metal case radio-controlled watch with a built-in antenna was released.

Citizen bought Miyota Co. Ltd. and numerous other smaller firms in 2005. This is crucial since Miyota movements are found in many non-made-in-house Japanese watch movements. Citizen then purchased Bulova Corporation, an American watch company, and its connected brands in January 2008.

Citizen, on the other hand, was not finished. Prothor Holding SA, a Swiss watchmaker, was bought by the business in April 2012. Frederique Constant, a Swiss watchmaker, agreed to be sold to Citizen in July 2016, adding to the Japanese watchmaker's empire.

Citizen, Campanola, Q&Q, Arnold & Son, Bulova, Bulova Accutron II, Bulova AccuSwiss, Wittnauer, Caravelle New York, Bulova Clocks, Frank Lloyd Wright*, Harley-Davidson*, Frédérique Constant, Alpina, Ateliers de Monaco are the brands that make up the Citizen Group.