Watchmaking in Japan

Watchmaking in Japan

Citizen Super Titanium^TM

WHEN INNOVATION MEANS MATERIALS

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By Serge Maillard

October 2020

As illustrated on the cover of the lastest edition of Europa Star, in 2020 Citizen is celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the first titanium wristwatch. It was in 1970 that the Japanese watchmaker unveiled its X-8 Chronometer, using 99.6% pure titanium for the case.

Citizen Super Titanium^TM

WHEN INNOVATION MEANS MATERIALS

Español Français

By Serge Maillard

October 2020

Citizen Super TitaniumTM

As illustrated on the cover of the lastest edition of Europa Star, in 2020 Citizen is celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the first titanium wristwatch. It was in 1970 that the Japanese watchmaker unveiled its X-8 Chronometer, using 99.6% pure titanium for the case.

A

s illustrated on the cover of the lastest edition of Europa Star, in 2020 Citizen is celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the first titanium wristwatch. It was in 1970 that the Japanese watchmaker unveiled its X-8 Chronometer, using 99.6% pure titanium for the case.

During the decades that followed, the R&D teams at Citizen have worked flat out to coax ever more from this capricious material and bend it to its watchmaking needs. This resulted in the development of Super Titanium^TM, the proprietary trademark for a material whose possibilities are such that it is currently being used in a Japanese moon mission.


The new Super Titanium^TM Armor line by Citizen is the result of 50 years of R&D aimed at evolving titanium into an ideal material for watchmaking.

By combining its titanium-processing know-how with a surface-hardening technology (Duratect), Citizen removed the obstacles standing between this material and its application in watchmaking, including its susceptibility to scratching, its resistance to machining, or the difficulty of polishing it, creating glossy finishes or adding colour variations.

But they removed none of its advantages: Super Titanium^TM is 40% lighter than stainless steel. Thanks to this R&D work, titanium now comes in a wide variety of colour shades, including silver, black, gold and even rose gold.

As part of this high-tech commemoration, Citizen is launching a new line called Super Titanium^TM Armor, consisting of two chronographs and one three-hand model. Inspired by modern armour, these three new pieces show bold, sharp lines, the crown set at 4 o’clock in a contoured case. With them, the Japanese watchmaker is offering a hefty dose of technology with unrivalled value for money (550-650 dollars).

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Citizen Super TitaniumTM

WATCH FILES
Watchmaking in Japan

The essence of Citizen in 100 watches

The essence of Citizen in 100 watches

A series of exhibitions has been taking place around the world to commemorate the centenary of the first model to bear the Citizen name. The last one, (...)

Tokyoflash Museum

Tokyoflash Museum

GALLERY

Tokyoflash was established in 2000 in Tokyo by Brent Car, CEO. Tokyoflash designers use the company blog to interact with their market audiences by (...)

控えめ “humble” in Japanese

控えめ “humble” in Japanese

GUEST COLUMN

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When Japan inspires Swiss watches

When Japan inspires Swiss watches

GALLERY

Urushi combination techniques, enamel miniaturisations of heritage artworks, architectural theory, comic influences, origami, engraving and motifs from (...)

Urushi: rise and shine

Urushi: rise and shine

For 9,000 years, the durable urushi lacquer – a natural sap from the urushi tree – has been used in Japan. It is an exquisite and challenging material that (...)

Otsuka Lotec: a retro touch

Otsuka Lotec: a retro touch

With 1950s engineering design cues, Jiro Katayama and his Otsuka Lotec brand, which makes around 180 pieces per year, have recently started receiving (...)

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Japanese ephemeral papers

Japanese ephemeral papers

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Daizoh Makihara: horological delicacies

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Knot: the Japanese champion of customisation

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Masahiro Kikuno: time is anything but linear

Masahiro Kikuno: time is anything but linear

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Minase: windows on rare crafts

Minase: windows on rare crafts

The growing Japanese brand specialises in unique case-in-case designs, Sallaz polishing and the inclusion of artisanal crafts.

Casio: calculating time

Casio: calculating time

Exactly 50 years ago, in 1974, Casio, the leading name in calculators, launched the Casiotron – a completely novel concept of time measurement not as gears (...)

Citizen: en route for the next 100 years

Citizen: en route for the next 100 years

In 1924 the Shokosha Institute brought out its first entirely Japanese-made pocket watch and named it Citizen. A century later, Citizen is a heavyweight in (...)

Iconic japanese calibres

Iconic japanese calibres

Our thanks to Hirota Masayuki (Chronos Japan) for this selection.

Credor: 50 years of understated sophistication

Credor: 50 years of understated sophistication

Founded in 1974, Credor is both the most understated and the most sophisticated brand in the Seiko galaxy.

Grand Seiko Dô: the way of precision and elegance

Grand Seiko Dô: the way of precision and elegance

Travellers to Japan in the 2000s discovered that Seiko offered a collection of beautifully made, fine quality mechanical watches. This range, named Grand (...)

100 years of the Seiko wristwatch

100 years of the Seiko wristwatch

A century ago saw the first wristwatch bearing the Seiko name on the dial – the start of a new endeavour that would change the global horological landscape. (...)

“Japanese brands have all come to the same conclusion: move upmarket”

“Japanese brands have all come to the same conclusion: move upmarket”

Hirota Masayuki has been the face of Chronos Japan magazine for two decades. He is also one of Japan’s leading watch market specialists. We asked him about (...)

A year of symbols for Japan

A year of symbols for Japan

EDITORIAL

An interesting development, perhaps even a major shift, is taking place in Japanese watchmaking. The Japanese watch industry has long set itself up to be (...)

Naoya Hida: Japan's handcrafted watches for vintage lovers

Naoya Hida: Japan’s handcrafted watches for vintage lovers

Naoya Hida, a Japanese watch sales professional for several decades, was able to develop a hobby brand into a solid brand and a full-time profession. Since (...)

Orient Star is rising

Orient Star is rising

Orient Star denotes the top range of mechanical watches from Orient, a watchmaker with a history dating back to 1901 but fully integrated into the Seiko (...)

Miyota: from movement-maker to brand name

Miyota is on a mission to convince the global mid-range segment of the virtues and importance of mechanical calibres. In other words, to put the movement (...)

Watch Q&A with... Akio Naito – Seiko, Grand Seiko

Watch Q&A with... Akio Naito – Seiko, Grand Seiko

“A unique sense of beauty rooted in traditional Japanese aesthetics – sublime, yet understated and restrained”

Grand Seiko unveils its first mechanical complication

Grand Seiko unveils its first mechanical complication

Grand Seiko’s new Constant-Force Tourbillon Kodo combines a constant-force mechanism and a tourbillon as one unit on a single (...)

King Seiko: a 1965 classic is re-born!

King Seiko: a 1965 classic is re-born!

Never before in the company’s history had there been a period of such creativity and achievement. From the first Grand Seiko in 1960 to the automatic (...)

Orient revives the M-Force Sports collection

Orient revives the M-Force Sports collection

Orient is bringing back its popular M-Force model, a much-loved member of the Orient Sports Collection. The first four models of the new third generation (...)

Grand Seiko's new addition to the 60th anniversary collection

Grand Seiko’s new addition to the 60th anniversary collection

The revolutionary automatic caliber 9SA5 and a powerful new look are completing the Japanese brand’s celebration. Discover the three innovations that set (...)

Grand Seiko's chronometric quest

Grand Seiko’s chronometric quest

INNOVATION AS A CONSTANT FORCE

To widespread surprise, in September Grand Seiko presented a wholly unprecedented concept movement, the T0 (T-Zero) Constant-force Tourbillon. Its (...)

Grand Seiko's special relationship with nature

Grand Seiko’s special relationship with nature

The brilliant blue sky over Mt. Iwate at dawn that greets the watchmakers and technicians of the Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuishi inspires a new limited (...)

Seiko Presage Sharp Edged Series

Seiko Presage Sharp Edged Series

Sharp, angular and refined: a new Presage series features a Japanese Asanoha or hemp leaf pattern, familiar in Japanese culture for its use in design since (...)

Seiko Prospex LX line Limited Edition

Seiko Prospex LX line Limited Edition

The LX line was introduced in 2019 from the Prospex collection as the pinnacle of Seiko sports watches. The line’s name, LX, hints at the Latin word for (...)

The Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuishi opens its doors

The Grand Seiko Studio Shizukuishi opens its doors

A new chapter in the 60-year history of Grand Seiko opens with the inauguration of an entirely new studio dedicated to the production of Grand Seiko’s (...)

Grand Seiko celebrates its 60th Anniversary

Grand Seiko celebrates its 60th Anniversary

BRAND FOCUS

This year, Grand Seiko is celebrating 60 years of existence. Called “kanreki”, this anniversary is especially important in the Japanese culture. To mark the (...)

Citizen: the titan of titanium

Citizen: the titan of titanium

COVER STORY

Exactly fifty years ago, in the golden age of the Apollo missions, Japanese brand Citizen introduced a new material into watchmaking that had hitherto been (...)

Citizen sets its sights on the moon

Citizen sets its sights on the moon

SPACE

The world’s first commercial lunar exploration program, HAKUTO-R, will be equipped with Citizen’s Super Titanium™ on components used in the lunar lander and (...)

A history of sports timekeeping

A history of sports timekeeping

1964: A TURNING POINT FOR SEIKO

The Olympic Games held in Tokyo in 1964 changed Seiko for ever. That edition, the first ‘technological’ Olympics, brought the Japanese company into the (...)

Seiko: “We want to go beyond functionality”

Seiko: “We want to go beyond functionality”

JAPANESE BRANDS

How to convey not only the functional aspect of Seiko’s and Grand Seiko’s collections, but also the Japanese sense of beauty found in these timepieces? An (...)

The secret calendars of Japanese prints

The secret calendars of Japanese prints

HISTORY

To circumvent the state monopoly on calendars, ingenious Japanese craftsmen designed prints that revealed – to initiates only – the alternation of short and (...)

Visiting Seiko Dream Square in Tokyo

Visiting Seiko Dream Square in Tokyo

CONCEPT STORES

Last December, Seiko inaugurated this space, which differs greatly from a traditional boutique. Rather than simply displaying watches, the Japanese giant (...)

In the world's largest movement factory

In the world’s largest movement factory

REPORT

A quartz calibre is produced every second at the Saku factory operated by Miyota. The Citizen Group’s movement manufacturer equips a plethora of entry-level (...)

Orient: the watch brand of Epson

JAPANESE BRANDS

Orient, which specialises in automatic watches, wants to take advantage of Epson’s global infrastructure to make itself better known (...)

Minase: Japan's best-kept horological secret

Minase: Japan’s best-kept horological secret

REPORT

Minase is a good example of how technological innovation in Japan can also be an ode to nature. We paid a visit to this family company in Akita, in the (...)

Visiting Tissot's new boutique in Tokyo

Visiting Tissot’s new boutique in Tokyo

CONCEPT STORES

This year, the Swiss brand opened a new boutique in the Daikanyama district, which is popular with designers and has many art galleries, bookstores and (...)

Casio: “We must do better in the metal analogue watch”

Casio: “We must do better in the metal analogue watch”

JAPANESE BRANDS

The first generation of G-Shock used plastics, the second one incorporated metal, and the new one is made of carbon. Simultaneously, the brand intends to (...)

Citizen: “Reaping the benefits of our acquisitions”

Citizen: “Reaping the benefits of our acquisitions”

JAPANESE BRANDS

The Japanese giant is active on a number of fronts: developing record accuracy with the Caliber 0100, moving towards the connected world with the Eco-Drive (...)

Japanese watchmaking wants to change its image

Japanese watchmaking wants to change its image

ANALYSIS

Seiko, Citizen and Casio now offer models at prices that were unthinkable a few years ago. Japanese companies intend to move from a highly technological (...)

Master of the swords

Master of the swords

PORTRAIT

Swordsmith Sadanobu Gassan works with Casio to craft watches for a dedicated MR-G line. The heir to six generations of artisans, he explains how he works (...)

The enigma of Japanese youth

The enigma of Japanese youth

ANALYSIS

Japanese people aged 20 to 40 are much less into luxury than their parents, who experienced the country’s industrial boom. They prefer to save for their (...)

A new era for Japanese watchmaking?

A new era for Japanese watchmaking?

EDITORIAL

As demand for Japanese quartz movements continues to fall, due to declining interest in the fashion watch, and as the arrival of the smartwatch causes (...)

Artificial Intelligence: the next big thing for the watch industry?

Artificial Intelligence: the next big thing for the (...)

THE WATCH FILES Since the dramatic fall from grace of crypto and NFTs, attention has turned to artificial intelligence. But is AI just the latest in a long line of (...)

SevenFriday: solid expertise in community building

SevenFriday: solid expertise in community building

THE WATCH FILES Using blockchain to power an inclusive community, SevenFriday’s spin-off UPO7F will offer its platform and in-house technology as a service to other watch (...)

Jacob & Co. blazes a trail for NFT-crossover watchmaking

Jacob & Co. blazes a trail for NFT-crossover (...)

THE WATCH FILES Turning NFT art into a GPHG-nominated mechanical watch may not follow the rule book but for CEO Benjamin Arabov that’s the point – the Forbes ‘30 Under 30’ (...)