Citizen Series 8 - Thoughts?
I've been contemplating on a few Seiko divers in the $700-$1000 range and I accidentally stumbled upon the Citizen Series 8 - https://www.citizenwatch.com/us/en/product/NB6010-81E.html
After handling and trying those Seiko divers in that aforementioned price range, I tried the Citizen Series 8 in black. The case, the finish, the case's sharp angles, the lovely bracelet and the overall 'premium' feel in the hand made me wonder how I never considered Citizen automatics. I googled (you have to type the full name - a mere series 8 search will throw Apple watch on your face), and I still wondered why not many are talking about this watch.
Is this because it's a Miyota movement? Any thoughts on why this isn't spoken much about in the watch circles?
I had initially shortlisted the SPB313J1 and SPB143J1. But, this Citizen Series 8 has made me look away from those Seiko models. Hope it's not because of the Seiko overload in the circles.
Not a watch nerd. But suffer from the disease of drooling at, and if possible, collecting watches.
It's definitely a watch on my radar. Ihave a couple citizen's and I'm really impressive with the quality. Myonly hesitation on the series 8 is I really want a formex essence so I'd rather save a bit more for that.
I'm new to the hobby ( a year now) and I have a variety of automatics including seiko 5s. I'm about to buy a Citizen eagle 7 automatic from @gasworks on this forum. This watch is I think thirty plus years old. So I've done a lot of reading on citizen automatics and concur that they are very much under appreciated. Most people associate Citizen with quartz and in particular the ubiquitous eco drive.
Citizen automatics are well worth a look and against similar seikos are often superior in my opinion.
I am brand new to Citizen having known nothing about them. I was given a very handsome EcoDrive and really like it, the feel, the build quality, the look - all of it. I am even more curious now about these automatics and will be giving them a good hard look!
It looks like it checks a lot of boxes... sapphire crystal and the 9x movement. I greatly prefer the previous Grand Touring model over this one though.
Just judging by the looks, this looks like a great watch, a unique (kind of) case shape. I agree with @SurferJohn on the watch checking lots of boxes - proportions look great on paper, a sapphire crystal & 9x movement are definitely a plus
Citizen is very respectable. And here you get something different than what everybody else wears (namely Seiko Divers). Go for it 😊
The 9-series movements are pretty great. Nice watch, but the price tag seems a little too ambitious. Given the spec sheet, divided by brand status, this should be more in the 6-700$ range, IMO.
I‘ve enjoyed a long relationship with Citizen. Vastly underrated. Incredible build quality. But in so many models…some unidentifiable essence is missing. The waft of completeness fails to reach the inner senses.
The quality.. excellent. Looks... a bit sparse bit that is subjective. Nice dresser.
Nobody talks about it because Citizen does next to no marketing in the US for many of their product lines if they're even available; some are not available at all. Series8 was a Japan only line for years until recently, and until recently, mechanical Citizen watches were all but nonexistent in the US. If they don't let anyone know that it exists and is available, never mind do something to grab people's attention, who's going to talk about it? Except for a few enthusiasts who jump through hoops to get there hands on them, no one knows about the Chronomaster aka The Citizen, Eco Drive One, Oceanus, etc. etc.
It might not be priced for the US or Europe, since it was JDM. And nobody pays full price for a Citizen. You can find them discounted everywhere, heck, including Citizen's own website, where they discount their own watches.
I don't get it. It's like they're happy being purveyors of cheap mall watches, even though they do a whole lot more. They're not even trying.
Yeah, looking at all these comments - looks like more or less the same feeling about Citizen. I regard this brand in high esteem.
I have a cheap Citizen NJ0100 and the only thing that's cheap is the stamped bracelet that squeaks a bit - but then, I came across Rolex bracelets (on YouTube) that squeak as well. The NJ0100 is my beater watch and I've worn it in heavy rain, blistering heat, dust - maybe, it hasn't seen snow yet. Keeps ticking and the accuracy is as close to my Hamilton Khakhi Field, if not better.
People don't talk about Citizen mainly because "influencers" only drone on and on about Seiko, so there is little space left in the popular watch media for the "other" Japanese brand.
Jody at JOWM has been on a Citizen kick lately, and it's refreshing to see someone not just fawn over Seiko.
I suspect Citizen is quite happy to sell boat loads of reliable Eco-Drive "cheap mall watches" to normal people.
Have people considered that not every brand wants to "climb the ladder", and become a more expensive "luxury" brand?
Spot on! The amount of influence is phenomenal. Like I said in the first post, Citizen was not even in my radar and I was focusing only on a couple of Seikos - thank god, I wasn't readily convinced. I'm now definitely considering the Citizen Series 8. I wish they hadn't written the Series 8 in such a big font. Once you see, you can't unsee it. Not bad looking, but could've been better with a smaller meaner font. Anyways, this is such a super-minor gripe when I come across $800 Seikos with misaligned chapter ring/bezel markers.
Yes. They should have a better branding version of the 'Series 8' and 'The Citizen', in relation to how Seiko brands like King Seiko and Grand Seiko, respectively. There's no information or flutter in the market for their 0200 caliber, the 9051 caliber and accuracy - heck, not even a decent pic of the movements. I think they made their best efforts, and went back to focusing on eco-drives.
Quality-wise, I agree. Design-wise, not neck and neck with Grand Seiko, but almost there. Some more minmalism and dial variety required from Citizen.
Not just on paper. Looks stunning for the price. Even the bracelet was in a different league, considering it's from Citizen. Loved it. I'm torn between the black and the white dials. Hard to decide as both look superb.
I'm new to the hobby ( a year now) and I have a variety of automatics including seiko 5s. I'm about to buy a Citizen eagle 7 automatic from @gasworks on this forum. This watch is I think thirty plus years old. So I've done a lot of reading on citizen automatics and concur that they are very much under appreciated. Most people associate Citizen with quartz and in particular the ubiquitous eco drive.
Citizen automatics are well worth a look and against similar seikos are often superior in my opinion.
It's getting there...
I'll just refinish the bracelet and it's yours.
Love Citizen lately. This one is one the list of top watches for me to consider under 1K.