Last week, we told you about new offerings from Citizen in their high end “The Citizen” collection, which can be thought of, I think, as the brand at its most refined. These are the watches where no expense is spared, and they make full use of the craft techniques available to them and some pretty impressive high accuracy quartz timekeeping. Right on the heels of those Washi paper dialed releases, Citizen has also expanded their Series 8 collection, which is perhaps a more familiar expression of what Citizen has always done really well to the typical enthusiast. These are integrated bracelet sports watches that borrow from the past (as all integrated bracelet sports watches do), while still feeling quite contemporary with a modern footprint, interesting dial designs, and the specs you’d expect in a modern sports watch.
Two of the new Series 8 890 watches seen here feature the same checkered pattern (inspired by the Tokyo skyline) that Citizen used on the previous 880 series watches that were introduced last year, but they’ve taken steps to make the pattern appear bolder in these new releases. From the images provided, it does indeed appear to be a deeper and more pronounced stamping, which should make for a dynamic experience on the wrist as the dial plays with ambient light.
A third watch, limited to 1700 pieces, has a new dial execution in what Citizen calls a “copper pink” color, and is inspired by cherry blossoms in bloom. Like the ocean and mountain vistas, we’ve seen plenty of different dials purported to be inspired by cherry blossoms, but this one feels a little different, capturing a color tone that we don’t always associate with cherry blossoms, and a design that is meant to specifically evoke clusters of the trees.
The case is a familiar design with an integrated, H-link bracelet and a three piece construction. The prominent eight sided bezel gives the watch its name, and it’s mated to a case that measures 42.6mm in diameter and 11.7mm tall. That’s a somewhat imposing size, but the Series 8 is meant to have a certain chunkiness to it, bolstering its more sporty qualities. The internal bezel is controlled via a crown at the 2:00 position, and the watch has 200 meters of water resistance and Citizen also claims enhanced magnetic resistance. These watches run on the 9051 caliber, which has a power reserve of 42 hours when fully wound.
The blue dialed version as well as the limited edition copper pink dial carry a retail price of $1,595, while the gray dialed version with a gold plated case and bracelet retails for $1,695. More information can be found at Citizen’s website here.
