Another special release: the C7 series from Citizen

Last year Citizen surprised us with the very stylish automatic Series 8 watches that have just been expanded with new models. Now the popular Japanese watch manufacturer is launching four new automatic watches based on a glorious watch from its own history; the Crystal 7.

From automatic to Eco-Drive to automatic

Citizen has been making watches with the solar technology they developed in-house since 1976. About 90% of all Citizen watches are now equipped with this Eco-Drive. But Citizen's history goes back much further. The brand has an impressive archive and many years of experience with automatic watches from which it can draw.

The very first Japanese watch with a mineral crystal instead of plexi(glass)

Citizen's Crystal 7 watch from 1965 was the very first watch produced in Japan with a mineral crystal instead of Plexiglas. Today we are used to mineral glass being the standard for most watches, but in the sixties it was different. The technique for making (convex) glass was not yet as developed as it is now and therefore mineral glass was not really suitable for watches. That is why the choice was made to use plexiglass made of flexible acrylic.

The Crystal 7 watches were also the thinnest watches to date with a day and date window. It will probably not surprise you that a million of these watches were sold in the first year of release.

Citizen C7, more than a nostalgic tribute

As a tribute to the Crystal 7, Citizen now brings us the C7 series. Four automatic watches with a modern Cal.8200 movement with 40 hours of power reserve, indicating that the C7 goes beyond a nostalgic homage.

The specs of the Crystal 7 have been followed, but clearly modernized. For example, the original was only 36mm in size. A size men's watch that we consider too small today. The C7 has the - for today more usual - size of 40 mm.

In style, the C7 is not inferior to the illustrious predecessor. The seven-sided day window is in the same place at 12 o'clock and the date window at 3 o'clock, symbolizing the seven days of the week. The indices have been modernized and now have a sharp heptagonal structure that reflects the light in an exciting way

And of course the watch has a mineral glass case back on the back through which the timepiece is visible.

More modern Citizen 'reissues' at Watch.co.uk

In addition to the automatic watches in Series 8 and C7,  this season you will find more new watches that are inspired by illustrious Citizen watches from the past. For the enthousiast of classic diving watches, there is the titanium Promaster Marine NB6021-17E based on the Challenge Diver from 1977. Or take a look at the whale shark-inspired professional diving watch BN0225-04L.

Not a fan of retro style watches? In the Citizen collection you will find a wide choice of ultramodern Super Titanium watches and radio-controlled watches that are considered to be among the top of modern watch technology.