SJX Watches
Up Close: The Citizen Calibre 0200
Citizen is one of the world’s biggest watchmakers, with its timepiece division generating about US$1 billion in sales each year – an output of several hundred million watches and movements annually. That vast manufacturing expertise means Citizen knows how to produce a fine mechanical movement. Now Citizen has finally accomplished it, and installed the movement inside a brilliant new watch. Launched earlier this month, The Citizen Caliber 0200 is equipped with the brand’s first mechanical movement developed from scratch as a high-end calibre (“The Citizen” is the name of the collection, while Caliber 0200 refers to movement as well as this specific model). Although the brand did launch a version of The Citizen with an automatic movement in 2010, the new Caliber 0200 is radically different, and tremendously superior. While the highlight is the new Caliber 0200, the entire watch is executed extremely well. The case and bracelet are outstanding, fabricated and finished so well there is nothing else that comes close in the same price segment. The quality of the watch was apparent in the press photos, which made me want to see it in the metal. I got my hands on a prototype for a couple of days earlier this month, an experience that left me substantially impressed. [Editor’s note: The watch pictured is a prototype, so it does contain a handful of hard-to-spot imperfections.] Initial thoughts On paper, the Caliber 0200 might seem uninteresting, being yet another sp...
