Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. Citizen Unveils its New Eco-Drive Caliber 0100 with +/- 1 Second Per Year Precision
Giving quartz its credentials... Precision to a whole new level.
Citizen was founded in 1918 and to celebrate its 100th anniversary the Japanese manufacturer unveils 3 limited edition watches named after its new Caliber 0100. Based on Citizen’s Eco-Drive technology, this new movement delivers an impressive precision of +/- 1 second per year, making it the most accurate autonomous light-powered wristwatch. And while we don’t usually cover quartz watches on MONOCHROME, this new development is clearly pushing quartz into new territories.
The Citizen Eco-Drive concept uses light as a source of power. Converting light into electricity, your watch is permanently charged by exposure to light – plus, your 0100 watch can run for about six months on a full charge without the presence of a light source! In this way, it addresses the main shortcoming of quartz watches: short battery life, with the inconvenience of having to replace these on a regular basis and the environmental issue of battery disposal.
The new Caliber 0100 is regulated by an AT-cut type crystal oscillator rather than a traditional tuning fork crystal oscillator. AT-cut crystal oscillators vibrate at the impressive frequency of 8,388,608 Hz compared to the traditional 32,768 Hz resonators used for standard quartz movements – thus, 256 times faster than a classic quartz movement and a few millions time faster than a mechanical watch. These AT-cut crystal oscillators also offer greater stability, greater resistance to temperature changes and are less affected by gravity.
If AT-cut crystals require more energy to operate, this has been compensated by an optimized movement design and carefully selected materials. In addition, the Caliber 0100 continuously monitors and adjusts for frequency and temperature shifts once every minute. A new circuit design provides anti-magnetic protection and enhanced shock resistance as it automatically corrects the position of the watch hands. Last but not least, the use of LIGA technology to manufacture high-precision springs and gears enables the hands to align perfectly with the indices.
The impressive resulting precision is set at +/- 1 second per year, which is 100 times more precise than a standard quartz movement (which is about 15 seconds per month) and, of course, far more precise than any mechanical watch.
To launch this new movement, Citizen unveils three limited edition watches displaying remarkable attention to detail and characterized by the understated elegance of its design. Measuring 37.5mm in diameter, the round case has a thin sloping bezel and dynamic lugs. The facetted crown features the ‘crystal’ motif.
Limited to 100 watches, the first of these watches is made from white gold. Its ivory-coloured dial features stick hour markers paired with elegant facetted hands. The dial’s arched contour and the slightly bent tip of the second hand are nice details. The vast majority of quartz watches have a closed caseback, simply because they use a cheap, standard movement. In this instance, the exhibition caseback reveals the Caliber 0100 featuring a dark, ruthenium-plated, striped finish. The watch’s elegant style is completed with a black crocodile leather strap.
Based on similar case design, the two other limited edition watches come in tough, lightweight super-titanium (titanium with a hardening surface treatment). The first one (limited to 500 watches) features a metallic black dial. The second one (limited to 200 watches) features a mother-of-pearl dial. These are worn on a super flexible seven-row steel bracelet.
The Citizen Eco-Drive Caliber 0100 watches are expected to launch this fall. Price is set at USD 16,800 for the white gold version and USD 7,400 for the super-titanium versions. For more information, please visit www.citizenwatch-global.com.
13 responses
Don’t make this a habit.
Cool, if this was cheaper and more waterproof, and perhaps ticked more than one time per second (Citizen own Bulova, remember) then I would consider it a perfect “one-watch collection”-watch
How snobby of you, Gil.
Move along Gil. The adults are conversing…Absolutely stunning pieces! Amazing…
I’ve changed my mind. Amazing! Better than mechanical, and so cheap!
In typical Asian culture, like a parent interrogating why his kid only got 99% on a math test, why is there a one second loss, couldn’t they make it 100% accurate?.. lol
¿99%? This isn’t.
This is only 3E-6 % from 100%
3E-6 % = 3 * 10^-6 % = 0.000003 %
This watch is 99,999996829 % accurate, if you round it is 100%. It is much more precise than 99%.
Great technological breakthrough… Although I can’t understand why they put it into a small, plain case that looks straight out of the seventies! A $7,400 hi-tech watch that looks more like an old $79 model! No one would believe it! Perhaps they are getting back to their Quartz roots. Quite a different approach than their ultra modern looking Quartz One Watch at $2600. Whose main purpose I feel is to make their similar looking Stiletto model look like a bargain at $200!
will be great with day date
I do not agree, David; Since it is about extreme precision, this watch should remain untouched. With day date you not to readjust at least every two months
What I’m now after is a grandfather wrist watch (big dial) day/date, eco drive, satellite wave. I’m going to Malaysia for a holiday, so a good citizen, needs a good citizen. Anything in the offing ?.
After many years of buying electric watches I found all but the mechanical depend on a battery or capacitor somewhere. Sounds obvious but that means that expensive kinetic Seiko sealed divers watch I loved needs an even more expensive harder to change battery or capacitor as well as water right resealing. Of course the bands need you to be a mini jeweler to adjust if you get decent metal links. Now I suspect the 6 months reserve on a Citizen Eco Drive must use the same setup. I finally bought the cheapest Seiko automatic field watch with a canvases strap I liked. The watch is so darn accurate and has day and date. If you wear it, it never fails. The second hand sweeps not jerks. It has 40+ hour back but that backup is a main spring not a cheap battery looking to kill your watch. The new and exciting world of high tech and government overreach has taught me to look to the past for workable sensible long term solutions. If it’s new and fancy, hide your wallet.
What a remarkable watch. The Citizen 0100 is anti-A. Lange & Sohne, anti-Philippe Dufour, and anti-Swiss watchmaking. The Holy Trinity has fallen, first, with Grand Seiko’s Spring Drive and now with the Citizen Eco-Drive. I’m gobsmacked. I wonder, however, which of these three models is the most preferable? What are the advantages of white gold vs. titanium? Is the technology the exact same in all Citizen’s? Is the only difference in the metal and limited editions?