Founded in 1918 as the Shokosha Watch Research Institute, Citizen Watches has long
enjoyed a reputation for exceptional quality coupled with dramatic advancements in
timekeeping technology. This heritage led to the company’s expansion into the Hong
Kong and South East Asian markets in the early ‘60s where Citizen watches have
quickly 
become synonymous with excellence. Today, holding countless patents, Citizen is
known as one of the fastest growing watch companies in the United States. Introduced in 1976, the Citizen Quartz Crystron Solar Cell was the world’s first analog quartz watch to use sunlight as its primary power source. In 1978, Citizen Watches introduced two more design breakthroughs: the Citizen 709, an ultra-slim analog with quartz movement watch which broke the 1 millimeter barrier, and the Citizen Quartz Ultra-Slim, the world’s first ultra-slim LCD quartz watch. The Aqualand diver’s watch, featuring the first electronic depth meter, premiered in 1985. In 1996, signaling the beginning of a new era of eco-minded design and technology, the Citizen Eco Drive collection made its debut. The revolutionary Eco Drive converts light into energy which is stored in a continuously recharging second battery that lasts the life of the watch. In effect, the Eco Drive never needs a new battery. Like its many predecessors, the Eco Drive was a product of technological advancements, manufactured from materials developed to be highly resistant to scratch and wear, and quality controlled to provide its owner with precise performance and long-life. |