Citizen Celebrates a Major Milestone with the Essence of Time Exhibit

Citizen watches have played an enormous role in shaping the taste and opinions of many of us at Worn & Wound, and the same can likely be said for a large percentage of our readers. They are a brand that is truly ubiquitous in that their philosophy has always been to create watches for everyone, for every citizen, and that comes through loud and clear when you take even a cursory look at their product offerings at any given time. Over the past several years, Citizen has expanded their reach into the enthusiast watch world through a variety of releases that offer an exceptional amount of bang for buck when it comes to materials, technology, and aesthetics, while always maintaining their mass market appeal. Anyone who follows the watch industry closely knows that there are only a handful of brands that can truly claim to be embraced by both the mass market and the cult of watch aficionados, and Citizen is most definitely part of that exclusive group. 

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the very first Citizen watch, and they’re marking the occasion with a traveling exhibition that should appeal to hardcore collectors and hobbyists as well as more casual watch lovers and Citizen owners. The Essence of Time exhibit, which we had a chance to tour recently at its New York City debut, is an impressive testament to Citizen’s impact on the watch landscape over the past century, and offers the public an opportunity to view important Citizen watches from throughout the brand’s history. Some, of course, will be familiar to virtually any watch enthusiast. But many are truly surprising, and reminders of the brand’s broad reach. 

Citizen’s own archive consists of over 6,000 watches, and from that collection the brand has selected 100 pieces to tell the brand’s story in the Essence of Time exhibit. It all begins with the first pocket watch created by the brand in 1924, proudly on display, of course, at the exhibition. This fall, a limited edition recreation of the pocket watch (pictured below) will be released to commemorate the brand’s big anniversary, but it’s proven to be so sought after already that apparently every piece has been spoken for (if you’re a collector looking to add this rare piece to your collection later this year, be sure to call your Citizen retailer ASAP to get on a waiting list). 

Walking through the Essence of Time exhibit, one is immediately struck by the sheer variety of watches on display. Citizen invites attendees to immerse themselves in Citizen history by including detailed information, design and engineering notes, and sketches of each watch on display. It’s illuminating, particularly for more recent pieces, to see additional context for design decisions from the brand itself. This type of information is a vital primary source, and it’s great to see Citizen has retained so much information on their most historic pieces. As most watch collectors who have dabbled in vintage will be well aware, this type of record keeping is not shared by all brands. 

I had a chance to speak with both Jeffrey Cohen, President of Citizen Watch America, and Yoshihisa Yajima, an Executive Officer and Senior General Manager, following my experience at the Essence of Time. While the event was all about Citizen’s past, both Cohen and Yajima were laser focused on the brand’s future, which they both feel is worth being excited about. 

“We are always asking,” Yajima told me, “‘What is a watch?’” It’s a question, he said, that drives advancement, and what he believes will lead to the development of technologies that will push the industry forward. I asked about Eco-Drive specifically, the solar powered technology that Citizen developed in the 1990s and continues to refine to this day. Yajima told me that there are still advancements to be made in Eco-Drive, and that engineers are working toward new milestones in low power consumption technology. 

Cohen sees a huge opportunity for Citizen to capitalize on a general interest in watches among young consumers, perhaps spurred on by experimenting with smart watches and developing a newfound curiosity about wearing something on the wrist. “There’s a whole new generation coming up who loves watches,” he told me. “People want something that’s going to say something about themselves,” he said, and Citizen is in a great position to do that with watches made from interesting materials that use the latest technology. 

A change for Citizen, and something that Cohen expects will guide the company in the years ahead, is a highly deliberate consumer first focus. That didn’t exist even as recently as five to seven years ago, but Citizen, like many other brands, has moved away from a purely wholesale model and sells watches directly to end users via their website as well as brand owned boutiques. It’s allowed the brand to be more nimble in how they respond to the market, and focus intensely on specific markets. 

When I asked Cohen how Citizen is able to cater to the specific requests of enthusiasts and collectors and take feedback from the community more generally, his answer could not be more clear: “Data, data, data,” he told me. He explained that their data modeling has been used in product development, marketing, and other facets of the business to determine next steps, and what communities to tap into, and when. It’s one of the reasons Citizen has been so strong in recent years at sub $1,000 price points – the data showed them there was an opportunity. The data also shows that younger enthusiasts are “growing up with the brand,” as Cohen puts it, often owning multiple Citizens. Ultimately, the information on consumer behavior Citizen is armed with is an important tool, but Cohen understands it’s just one piece of the puzzle. “[Data] allows us to make much more informed decisions,” he told me,  “but we always want to stay true to who we are.”

It’s somewhat telling that even at a moment like a 100th anniversary that clearly calls for reflection, Citizen is simultaneously looking ahead. As the Essence of Time exhibit clearly shows, this type of forward thinking is very much a part of Citizen’s DNA, being on the forefront of new technologies like solar powered watches, high accuracy quartz timekeeping, and ultra-thin watchmaking.

Once the Essence of Time exhibition is completed in New York, the tour will continue to European countries. Unfortunately, the exhibit is not open to the public, but it’s worth noting that in addition to the traveling exhibit, Citizen has also released a new book with Assouline titled, fittingly, Citizen: The Essence of Time. Written by Jack Forster, the book and exhibit are meant to mirror one another, and should make a great keepsake for Citizen collectors.