***Originally posted to the High Accuracy Quartz forum on Watchuseek, I couldn't resist sharing here too!
At long last, here are some photos of and thoughts on one of my new HAQs. Disclaimer that I have sadly already nicked the bezel, so if you notice that in the shots, know that is not a defect on Citizen's part. I also apologize for the fingerprints and dust that inevitably show up.
Basics
From Citizen's site:
Width: 38.3mm
Thickness: 12.2mm
Material: Titanium with "duratect" treatment
Lug space: 19mm
Lug to lug: 45.5mm
Water resistance: 10ATM
Dial, Bezel, and Furniture
Looking at photos of washi dials has always left me with mixed feelings. Macro shots revealed the "hairy" texture of the paper which I found unappealing. My experience with this watch is a testament to the value of seeing a watch with your own eyes. This is one of the most dynamic dials I have ever seen. This is to say, it looks very different under different lighting conditions. In more diffuse flat light, the hairy texture of the paper is more evident - but from the relatively zoomed out view that the naked eye provides, it isn't dominant or vexing. In more direct light, it looks almost metallic, which is incredible considering it is just a layer of clear material (not sure if it's acrylic, sapphire, or something else) over top of paper. The dial even changes considerably just by changing the angle at which you view it. My phone camera is definitely not doing justice to the viewing experience, but I've included a selection of shots below that hopefully come close:
In this last shot, the stacked nature of the dial is apparent, as you can see underneath the applied date window. This aspect of the dial has its pros and cons. I think the 'floating' effect is pretty interesting, but it also makes the watch have more reflection issues. That said, I find it quite readable.
The hands and indices are along the lines of what we expect from high end Japanese watches. I find the brushed finished tops and polished sides to be a good choice, and the polished surfaces shine like cut gems. I haven't put it under a loupe (nor will I ever, I suspect) but to my eyes they look every bit is finely done as a Grand Seiko. I really wish Citizen opted for a gold or bronze colored seconds hand here, but the interest offered by the dial is more than enough to make it work as is.
The printing on the citizen logo is perfectly executed to my eyes, but not excitingly thick. I also find the font to be a little dry. Small nitpicks of course. Printing on the minute indices is similarly well done in white. The Eagle (or is it "C" for chicken?) applied at 6 o'clock is in high polish, which contrasts nicely with the brushed tops of the indices. I echo the sentiment that others have expressed that the design of the eagle logo is too blocky, and I think I would prefer the cursive "chronomaster" text. Nevertheless, it is well finished, I like having balance in my dials from 12 to 6, and I would rather it be there than have empty space.
The bezel is conical but for a thin flat ring around the sapphire, all in high Sallaz polish. My eyes can't find a single distortion in its surface (but for where I dinged it).
Case, Crystal, and Crown
The case profile is another element of this watch I was not expecting to enjoy, and yet it has become one of my favorite elements. The first reason for this is the simple brushed finish of the case band. Despite all the angles at the lugs, when viewed from the side, it becomes simple, unobtrusive, and beautiful.
This view may lead one to believe that it is rather slab sided. But this is also not the case (no pun intended). When viewed from the front or rear, one can see that the case has a pronounced 'tumblehome' shape, rather like a french pre-dreadnought battleship. Photos below for comparison:
I find that the relationship between the case, bezel, and crystal is very lovely. The undercut on the bezel results in a very pleasing sharp edge (which, I am yet again reminded that I dinged). From this angle the rather significant dome of the sapphire is quite apparent. Also apparent is how the slope of the bezel perfectly matches the initial slope of the sapphire, giving the eyes a continuous line to follow from one side of the watch to the other. This is, in my view, absolutely stellar design. Taken together, the whole watch calls to mind an armored turtle sitting on the wrist.
From this view, the faceting on the lugs is also clear to see. The tops of the lugs are brushed like the sides of the case, with the facets in high polish. Here again the high polish is flawless to my eyes. My only minor gripe is that I think the faceting could be a smidge sharper. Perhaps this is a limitation of the titanium construction. Regardless, I am not losing sleep over it.
The crown is a pretty robust unit for one that will seldom be used. I think it is well proportioned to the case. It is also signed with the same eagle as the dial. Here I feel the blocky design is more welcome. The caseback also features the eagle, set on a satin-finished background (much in the style of another Japanese brand we all know). I would prefer if all the engraved text followed the circular curve of the caseback, but that is the smallest of small gripes.
Much has been said, both positive and negative, about Citizen's various surface coatings. All I can say is that, as evidenced by my experience, they are not magic. Having no prior experience with titanium watches, I also can't say whether or not it allows for a more lustrous or brighter finish. All I can say is that I certainly don't find the metal to look dull, and I bet that the duratect titanium will fare better over time than untreated titanium. Indeed, it cannot be polished easily like raw titanium could, but I have very little interest in submitting my watches to such treatment anyway.
Bracelet and Comfort
The bracelet is a 5-link design, with the primary inner and outer links in a brushed finish and the intermediate links in high polish. Not every iteration of the AQ4100 is presented on the same bracelet, and I found this one to be the most attractive of the three choices. It is a single deployant mechanism with a dual-button release. I don't have a ton of prior experience to for comparisons, but the quality of finish and security sure beats the heck out of the bracelets on my vintage Seikos and Omega. The buckle (if that's what you'd call it on a bracelet) is simple, with brushed finish and a small zone of satin finish background for the 'citizen' text.
It is, however, not without fault. For one, I can already see lots of wear on the interior of the bracelet. Once again, I suspect this is an issue inherent to titanium. Nevertheless, it is not welcome. I plan on putting some thin stickers on the relevant surfaces (after cleaning them off) to minimize wear down the road.
The second issue is in sizing. I have pretty small wrists, so many links needed to be removed. The positioning of the deployant bar (visible in a photo earlier) means that you can essentially only remove links on one side of the bracelet. If my wrist were any smaller, I don't think I could get this watch to fit comfortably with the bracelet. Thankfully it worked out, but Citizen should definitely consider repositioning the deployant mechanism in my view.
Despite these issues, overall wearability with this watch is excellent. This came as a shock to me, seeing as I initially didn't even have this on my shortlist of purchasing options due to its size. I generally consider 38mm to be at the upper end of my wearable range, and 12.2mm thickness to be well beyond acceptable for a time/date only, non-"sports" watch. Here again is where seeing it in person and trying it on has immense value. At least a millimeter of that thickness measurement comes from the domed sapphire crystal. But the biggest factor of all is the low weight afforded by full titanium construction. This watch, with the bracelet sized to my wrist, weighs only 72 grams. As a result, a watch that would be just on the edge of wearable in steel is now eminently wearable. I found it to be even more comfortable than the smaller and thinner (but heavier) AQ4080. Is it as comfortable as a 34mm dress watch on leather? Of course not, but for its size, it is excellent.
Timekeeping
Based on forum threads here, the A060 movement has something of a shaky record when it comes to performance. I discovered (after purchasing this watch) that Citizen only guarantees +/-5 second per year performance if the watch is worn at least 12 hours a day, every day. This use profile is probably vastly different than what most owners of an A060-powered watch (who likely have a rotation of watches) will actually follow. Apparently that fine print is necessary, as many folks here have reported their watches not staying in spec. Naturally, I was curious, so I began timing this watch using the "video method". For those unfamiliar, it involves slow motion video being taken of the watch next to an atomic time reference. The number of frames between a tick of the watch and a 'tick' of the reference time are measured on multiple occasions. Using the change in offset and the elapsed time, the accuracy in seconds per year can be extrapolated. After one month of timing the watch is performing at +1.73 seconds per year.
Although I cannot yet comment on the long-term performance, I can fairly confidently say that Seiko's 9F movement is a better one in terms of accuracy, seeing as it can be regulated by the user and has only stellar reports on these boards.
As an aside, I would appreciate it if Citizen dropped the proviso on their accuracy rating, even if it meant marketing it at 10 or even 15 SPY. Almost nobody interested enough in watches to know about The Citizen will only have one watch, and they will want to wear their other watches. It would be a lot more helpful to have an accuracy rating that doesn't impose a condition of constant wear.
Anyway... all that doesn't mean that the A060 is a slouch, and it has more practical utility than the 9F for many users. On that note...
Functions
Beyond telling the seconds, minutes, and hours, the A060 features an independently adjustable hour hand (IAHH) and a perpetual calendar showing the date. The IAHH came in very handy when changing back to US time, and the perpetual calendar will become very handy when Febuary draws to a close. Of course, the A060 movement also features Citizen's 'Eco-Drive' solar charging. It is also advertised as having some degree of magnetic field resistance, and a shock detection and correction system in the event that the hands should become misaligned with their driving pinion. These last two features are harder to observe and assess, but the perpetual calendar and IAHH are extremely welcome additions. I suspect I will wear this watch more than enough for the solar charging to be a convenience rather than a nuisance. Finally, I love the fact that the date changes right on midnight - unlike a certain other movement.
Value
Discussions of the value of Citizen HAQ models are often tainted by their strange pricing scheme, which varies by location. In the US, this watch is listed by Citizen at 4200 USD. In Japan, it is listed at 440000 JPY (with tax), wich corresponds to about 2900 USD at time of writing. On Chrono24, plenty of these can be found brand new for around 2750 USD, which is not much more than what I paid in Japan when the exchange rate was slightly more favorable and tax refunded. For this discussion, I think the 2750 number is the fair one to use, not the absurd 4200 USD that Citizen has the gall to use on their US website.
At 2750 USD, I think this watch represents a good value. In my view, its most 1-to-1 competitor (other than different AQ4100 variants) is Grand Seiko's SBGX355, which is the only current GS offering of a similar size, material, and atypicality of dial pattern. In the US, brand new, the SBGX355 MSRP is 3900 USD, which is good chunk more than this watch. At the time that I was shopping, this model would've been about 3100 USD tax free in Japan, which is a less considerable delta.
Of course, GS models will have better resale value, but clearly the AQ4100 does not represent a disproportionately priced watch (and certainly not the other variants, almost all of which are cheaper than this limited edition one).
Conclusions
I think this is a fantastic watch, with all of the very good outweighing the gripes.
This message has been edited by Dr No on 2025-02-12 17:12:10 
