Masamasa Hirota, also known as Hakase, editor-in-chief of the watch magazine Chronos Japan, will be publishing a five-part column on webChronos about masterpiece movements, written in 2024. The second installment will focus on the mechanical movement "Cal. 0200," launched in 2021 by Citizen, a company that has continued to produce quartz watches.
[Article featured in Movement Book 2024]
The mechanical movements that support Citizen's luxury watches
Since 1995, The Citizen has consistently used quartz and light-powered Eco-Drive movements. This is understandable given the company's expertise in these technologies, but it was also an unavoidable choice given that the only automatic movement available was Miyota's 8200 series.
In response, Citizen released the new automatic Miyota 9000 series in 2009. Unlike the cheaper 8200 series, this was a high-end model with specifications that allowed it to replace the ETA2892A2. Its power reserve was the same as the 8200 series at approximately 42 hours, but the vibration frequency was increased to 28,800 vph, and the finish of the plate, bridges, and gears was also improved. This excellent automatic watch gave birth to "The Citizen Mechanical" in 2010. This was a redesign of the 9000 series with further refinements to the finish, refinishing it into a high-end model, but it was not a hit.
Citizen's commitment to mechanical movements accelerated after 2012. That year, the company acquired Prosser Holdings, which includes movement manufacturer La Joux-Perret and finished product manufacturer Arnold & Son. The following year, it consolidated its watch manufacturing divisions and established Citizen Watch Manufacturing, which handles watchmaking. This collaboration with Switzerland and its evolution as a manufacturer culminated in the release of the Cal. 0200 in 2021.
The movement design and basic component manufacturing were handled by Citizen, while the baseplate and bridges were handled by La Joux-Perret. Citizen explains the reason for this as "we wanted to utilize the finishing know-how that La Joux-Perret has cultivated." At the same time, Citizen stuck to the design of the Cal. 0200. The automatic winding is a unidirectional winding system, as used by Miyota. As a result, this simple automatic winding system provides high winding efficiency, sufficient for desk work. The wheel train arrangement is also simple, deliberately lacking a fourth wheel in the center, resulting in a small seconds wheel train.
However, due to its high level of perfection, the Cal. 0200 could not be expected to have a high degree of expandability. However, Citizen released the Cal. 0210, which features a date display and a redesigned dial. This movement will undoubtedly become the core caliber supporting Citizen's high-end watches in the future.
