Citizen: Eco-Drive, Promaster, and a Century of Japanese Watchmaking

The Citizen Story

Citizen was established in 1918 as the Shokosha Watch Research Institute in Tokyo, with the first watch bearing the Citizen name produced in 1924. The name was chosen by the Governor of Tokyo, Shinpei Goto, who envisioned the watches being affordable to ordinary citizens - a democratic philosophy that has guided the brand for a century. Today Citizen is one of the world's largest watch manufacturers, producing more than 26 million watches annually across numerous sub-brands including Bulova and Frederique Constant.

The defining technological achievement in Citizen's history is Eco-Drive, introduced in 1976 - a technology that converts any light source, natural or artificial, into electrical energy stored in a rechargeable cell. Unlike conventional solar watches that require direct sunlight, Eco-Drive works under office fluorescent lighting, making battery replacement effectively obsolete. A fully charged Eco-Drive watch stores enough energy to run for six months in complete darkness. This technology, combined with Citizen's development of the world's first light-powered GPS watch - the Satellite Wave in 2011 - positions the brand as one of the industry's leading innovators in practical watch technology.

Citizen's sports collections under the Promaster banner span diving, aviation, and land use, while the Attesa and Campanola lines address the premium and dress segments. The brand's philosophy of "Better Starts Now" reflects a commitment to continuous improvement rather than heritage resting - Citizen's engineers hold thousands of patents in materials science, including the development of Duratect surface treatment technology that makes watch cases significantly harder than conventional stainless steel.

Iconic Collections

Since 1993

Promaster

Citizen's professional sports line, spanning three environments: Marine (diving to 200m), Air (aviation with chronograph and slide rule), and Land (outdoor/trekking). All Promaster watches use Eco-Drive, combining ISO-grade tool watch specifications with never-flat light power. The Promaster Diver remains one of the best value dive watches available.

Since 1997

Eco-Drive One

The pinnacle of Citizen's Eco-Drive engineering: at 2.98mm thick, the Eco-Drive One is among the thinnest light-powered watches in the world. The movement occupies just 1mm of that depth. It achieves this through a crystal solar panel that powers the watch even in low light, representing two decades of miniaturisation from the original 1976 Eco-Drive module.

Since 2001

Attesa

Citizen's premium dress-sport collection sold primarily in Japan. The Attesa AT8040 - a titanium, Eco-Drive, GPS-corrected world time watch - represents the brand's technical apex in an analogue package. Duratect surface treatment, sapphire crystal, and super-titanium construction make Attesa one of the best-specified watches in its price range globally.

Since 2011

Satellite Wave

The world's first GPS solar watch, correcting to GPS satellite time signals anywhere on Earth in under three seconds. No radio time signal required - works at sea or in the mountains where radio cannot reach. Combined with Eco-Drive power, the Satellite Wave is a genuinely autonomous precision timekeeper that needs no winding, no battery, and no radio mast.

Since 2000

Campanola

Citizen's high-end Japanese-market collection, featuring intricate dial craft, multi-complication movements, and artisanal finishing rarely associated with the Citizen name in export markets. Campanola watches include grand complication models with perpetual calendars, moon phases, and minute repeaters, all Eco-Drive powered - a remarkable technical achievement.

Since 1976

Eco-Drive Classic

The foundation collection that proves you do not need to spend much to own a technically sophisticated watch. Core Eco-Drive models in stainless steel, often with sapphire crystal and 100m water resistance, start under $200 and are among the most reliable everyday watches available. The technology that powers them has been refined across five decades.

Heritage Timeline

1918

Shokosha Watch Research Institute established in Tokyo. The Governor names the first watch "Citizen" in 1924 - a vision of affordable timekeeping for everyone.

1956

Citizen introduces Japan's first domestically produced shock-resistant pocket watch, establishing engineering credentials that propel international expansion.

1976

Eco-Drive debuts - a watch powered entirely by light. No battery to change, ever. The technology is later licensed across the industry and remains Citizen's defining innovation.

1994

Citizen introduces super-titanium construction - a lightweight, hypoallergenic metal five times harder than steel after Duratect surface treatment.

2011

The world's first GPS solar watch: Satellite Wave. It receives time signals directly from GPS satellites, correcting to within ±1 second/year anywhere on Earth.

2016

Citizen acquires Frederique Constant and Alpina, expanding into Swiss mechanical watchmaking while the parent brand continues Japanese precision technology development.