In one of the more confusing naming conventions within the watch industry, the Japanese brand Citizen also produce a watch called The Citizen, which is their high-end eco-drive collection dedicated to traditional Japanese crafts such as washi paper dials. Last year they expanded The Citizen collection significantly as part of their anniversary celebrations. Now it’s being expanded again with the addition of two new Tosa Washi Limited Editions, AQ4100-65X and AQ4106-00B.
Both watches measure 38.3mm x 12.2mm in super titanium but while the AQ4100-65X has a silver tone Duratect Platinum coating, the AQ4106-00B has a Duratect Sakura Pink coating giving it a golden coloured finish instead. That same colour difference is also present on the displays through the accents of the hands and baton hour markers.
The reason for the different coatings is to complement the tone of the tosa washi paper dials. AQ4100-65X has a crimson dial so the cold silver pairs with it nicely. Interestingly, the crimson colour has not been achieved through a dying of the paper fibres like some of the previous coloured washi paper dials. Instead, a translucent crimson layer is placed on top of the paper layer giving it the illusion of being coloured. Part of the reason for that is the paper is a specific type of washi called Tengujoshi, which is the thinnest and most delicate kind. The translucent property of the crimson layer means that you can still see the natural texture of the paper and light can still pass through the entire dial to power the light cells of the eco-drive movement below.
AQ4106-00B also features a variation on traditional washi paper called Unryushi paper. Rather than having fibres of a uniform length to create a consistent texture, Unryushi includes some extra long fibres that create swirling, almost ice-like pattern woven into the rest of the paper. To emphasise this, those fibres are a pale gold colour rather than white so they stand out slightly. There’s also a large, gold coloured swish across the lower portion of the dial to highlight that detail, which also reminds me of kintsugi gold repair.
Inside both watches is the Cal.A060 eco-drive movement. It can operate for 18 months on a full charge when in power saving mode, but given that it is charged via light of both natural and artificial origins, its operating time is theoretically limitless so long as it isn’t kept in a draw for years on end. It also maintains an accuracy of +/-5 seconds per year thanks to its ultra-accurate quartz regulator.
As for pricing, the AQ4100-65X with its multi-layer dial and full metal bracelet is £2,795 while the AQ4106-00B on leather strap is £2,495. On the surface that seems like a lot for a quartz watch but you need to remember that Citizen are at the forefront of quartz calibre development and the watches also include traditional Japanese craftsmanship dials. They’re also limited editions, with only 350 AQ4100-65X being produced and 300 AQ4106-00B worldwide. Given the scale of Citizen’s production, that is not many at all.
Price and Specs:
More details at Citizen.
