With thanks to Mark (see comments), please note that the link I posted to the 1971 Technical Information Files is out of date and the files are no longer available. I’ve had a look around and here is the most useful guide, which covers ‘Movements for Gents’ – I was able to download it from this link: Now I’m getting back to grips with the blog software, I realised I could upload my copies of these files! So they are now all available via a page: https://sweep-hand.org/1971-citizen-technical-information/ You should be able to download from the page, which is found in the header of the blog ..read more

My broadband has been sorted (needed a new cable from the roadside cabinet to the house) but I have missed replies to a few enquiries, especially via the ‘ask a question’ box in the side bar. I do apologise for this. I managed to mark all my emails as ‘read’ so I’m not sure which replies are outstanding. If you have not heard back from me, please get back in touch and I will try to help with any queries you have. SONY DSC ..read more

Apologies for not replying to recent comments, it’s partly due to internet connection problems which have been a PITA especially over the last week or so. An engineer is coming tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll be back in business after that ..read more

I’ve recently had an email exchange with a blog visitor about a case back marked 62-7275 and 4-540310 – unfortunately all the emails have gone missing, despite searching every folder! No idea how this has happened, but please get back to me ..read more

Thank you for asking about your watches, or ones you are interested in – I have a few yet to answer, and should be able to get to them over the next day or two I hope you are all keeping safe and well. SONY DSC ..read more

Thank you for visiting and following my blog. Best wishes for 2021 and I hope you are able to enjoy Christmas despite the impact of the pandemic ..read more

I’ve covered Citizen’s range of automatic chronographs in some detail, but made less reference to their hand wound models based on the 5700 calibre. I’m now very pleased to bring your attention to a new reference page, put together by an avid 5700 collector, which provides excellent detail about all the hand wound chronographs Citizen produced in the late 1960s / very early 1970s. It is very well put together, with great textual and pictorial information, and can be found here: The Ultimate Citizen Recordmaster Collectors Guide https://citizenrecordmaster.weebly.com/ I’ve also added a link to ..read more

A change today from a watch feature to something that’s always been a bit of a mystery – the letter stamped at the end of Citizen’s case numbers. Although not needed as a part number since the case number alone, e.g. 4-123456 provides that, I have never pinned down just what the additional letter indicates. I wrote to Citizen Japan about it – didn’t get a reply! So I’m left to my own theory Most vintage Citizens with the above case number format, typically from the late 1960s and on through the 1970s have ‘TA’, ‘K’ or ‘Y’ stamped alongside the case number: My theory is that these letters are ..read more

Today’s piece is another battery powered model, and although it’s a Cosmotron, it’s something of an anomaly. Unlike any other Cosmotron this one does not have a magnet driven hairspring – in fact it is a ‘hummer’ – a tuning fork watch. I don’t know why Citizen branded this as a Cosmotron – my only theory is that the design of the single coil 3701B movement was their own, and not made under licence from Bulova as was seen with their Hisonic range. There’s no mistaking it’s a hummer either – it hums very loudly, and is not the best thing to have on your bedside table if you want a good night’s s ..read more

Today’s watch was a very significant one for Citizen – launched in mid-1973 it was their first quartz model. Using the 8810, 8811 and 8821 movements, they were electro-mechanical calibres, like the Cosmotrons before them. In other words they were battery powered, with a quartz crystal regulating a magnetically driven balance wheel via mechanical gears. The result is a remarkable 115,200 beats per hour oscillation, and accuracy for the 8811 & 8821 variants of +/- 10 seconds per month, and just +/- 5 seconds per month for the ‘EFA’ 8810. These hybrid movements were soon replaced by full elec ..read more