Introducing: The Citizen New Generation Mechanical Watch With Caliber 0200

March 09, 2021

In recent years, Citizen has established its position as the producer of hyper-accurate quartz pieces C when you hear "annual accuracy," you think of Citizen. The Caliber 0100, which has a stunning accuracy of 1 second per year, was an astonishing achievement, and the watch represented a crystallization of Citizen's long-time R&D in the frequency manipulation of quartz crystals. That same Citizen has now introduced a mechanical piece with a brand-new caliber: The Citizen Mechanical Caliber 0200, an apparent counterpart to its "annual accuracy" quartz models. This watch was made possible through the technical exchange with La Joux-Perret, a Swiss movement producer Citizen acquired in 2012, combining the Swiss maker's movement manufacturing and finishing expertise with its Japanese parent company's mechanical design and assembly capabilities. The Caliber 0200 comes in three variations: A black dial with an electroforming technique featuring a highly coarse texture that plays with light; a sunray blue dial with a coat-and-polish technique resulting in a rich and glossy finish (Japan-only); and a limited edition variant with a uniquely nuanced white dial (also Japan-only). Initial Thoughts There are two major features to this watch. The first one is, of course, the Cal. 0200, the first brand-new mechanical movement for Citizen in the past 11 years. The second point would be the luxury-sport aesthetics. When you look at the movement, you can see clear traits of Swiss design, such as the chunky bridges and small seconds. Although the press release says this was the result of a technical collaboration with La Joux-Perret, we're told the engineers from Citizen visited the movement maker in Switzerland and spent a long time fusing the design philosophies of the two companies to create this movement. And Kenji Tsuchiya, who led the development, flew back and forth between Switzerland and Japan since the early days of the collaboration for this piece. In order to demonstrate Citizen's obsession for accuracy, the team revised the machining process of the parts, enabling the development of their first free-sprung balance wheel, which requires a high precision. This development methodology was based on Citizen's core philosophy C the watchmaking precision comes from the mechanical precision of the parts C which is the stance they've maintained ever since the founding of the company. The title of first-ever Japanese free-sprung balance wheel goes to the Grand Seiko Cal. 9SA5, which is still quite fresh. It's truly great to see the two domestic giants releasing their own free-sprung balance wheel design that is synonymous with high-end watchmaking, but the Cal. 9SA5 and Citizen's Cal. 0200 are different in their respective approaches. Grand Seiko developed their proprietary Dual Impulse Escapement alongside the free-sprung balance wheel to improve the energy delivery efficiency of the movement (you can read more about it here: The Grand Seiko 60th Anniversary Limited Edition SLGH002, With New Hi-Beat Escapement Caliber 9SA5). You could say GS chose to develop brand-new technologies to achieve higher accuracy and longer power reserve. In contrast, Citizen chose to challenge the very limit of industrial manufacturing precision in order to improve the timekeeping of their free-sprung balance wheel. The purposes of the watches sporting these new calibers would differ from each other as they chose different design philosophies. While GS aims for higher value as a fine craft, Citizen seems to be sticking with their founding philosophy of pursuing the highest quality available for, well, everyday citizens. Now on to the other main feature of this watch: The exterior design. It does seem to follow the design trend of the luxury-sport category, but the brand explains that the watch takes design cues from the progressive watches in Citizen's own catalog of yesteryears. The Crystron and Citizen Glorious quartz pieces from the 1970s indeed featured similar design language. The angular design with large facets is unique and sharp-looking, especially coupled with the shape of the handset. Although the polished surface does add some brilliance to the package, the heavy use of brushed finish emphasizes the tool-watch aspect of the piece, and the overall design encourages you to treat the watch as an everyday companion. NC0200-06A NC-0200-81L NC-0200-90E The Basics Brand: CitizenModel: Mechanical Model Caliber 0200Reference Number: NC-0200-90E (black dial) and NC-0200-81L, NC-0200-06A (Japan only)Diameter: 40mmThickness: 10.9mmCase Material: Stainless steelDial Color: Black, blue, whiteIndexes: BatonLume: NoWater Resistance: Resistance: 50 metersStrap/Bracelet: Stainless steel bracelet, crocodile leather strap (only for NC0200-06A) The Movement Caliber: 0200Functions: Hours, minutes, small secondsPower Reserve: Approximately 60 hoursWinding: Automatic (capable of hand-winding)Frequency: 28,800 vphJewels: 26Chronometer Certified: Comes with Citizen's in-house certificate that exceeds chronometer standardAdditional Details: Accuracy of -3 to +5 seconds per day Pricing & Availability Price: $6,000 for black dial variationAvailability: August 2021Limited Edition: Yes for NC0200-06A, all models are exclusive to the select retailersFor details, visit Citizen's special site. This article first appeared on HODINKEE.jp, which you can visit clicking here. Translation by Suguru Nishioka.