Saturday, April 19, 2014

Citizen Seven: A new watch, a renewed life on Good Friday!


Citizen NH 3120-64E

I was taking my eldest son to watch Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier on the afternoon of Good Friday. We were early and after buying the tickets, we still had ample time. So I took my kid to the nearby watch shop, just for window shopping. I am a regular customer of this particular outlet..... so it is practically okay just to browse and trying on few watches..... I wasn't expecting to buy any watch as I just intended to waste my time before the movie started. Not until this particular Citizen caught my attention......


If my knowledge serves me well, this is a discontinued model. I heard Citizen no longer produces this superb quality, low cost mechanical watches anymore. Without much hesitation, I coughed up RM180 (approximately USD 54) for this watch. The shop still has the original box for this Citizen. The white box has witness the cruelty of time. 


The inner box also has the aging yellow brown spots. The grey inlet and the silver Citizen plate of the box give a nice contrast to its residence. 


The watch still have the original tag on it. There is a handwritten retail price of RM235/- on the tag.


At the back of the tag, it stated the model no of this watch: NH3120-64E. 


This is a mid-sized full stainless steel watch, suitable for smaller wrist. The case is satin finishing on the top, while mirror finished on the sides and on its smooth bezel. This watch is measuring 37mm in diameter and is about 10mm thick. 


This watch has a mineral glass. The tuxedo black dial compliments well with its silver hands and hour markers. The hour and minute hands as well as the hour markers are given illuminating treatment. 


The silver Citizen and Eagle Seven emblems prevent the dial to be somewhat monotonous. It must be a coincidence, as the Citizen Eagle Seven logo looks like the S.H.I.E.L.D or the SSR logos in the Marvel's Captain America and the Avengers movies.




This watch has a quickset day date function on 3 o'clock. 



The crown of Citizen Seven is unsigned and looks pretty much like a generic crown.


This watch is equipped with a 19mm bracelet. The stainless steel bracelet is very thoughtfully designed and is pretty comfortable in wearing. 



This bracelet used the very practical fold over clasp and the clasp is signed Citizen. 


This watch comes with a non-decorated flat stainless steel caseback. It is stamped with all the vital serial number and information of the watch. The caseback is screw down type. This watch is water resistant to 30 meters. 


I haven't got time to open up and see the mechanism inside. But I am pretty sure this uses the Citizen Miyota 8200 movement. Cal. 8200 is a 21 jewels automatic movement and is an ultimate workhorse. 




Any Citizen Seven is a value buy...... It is reliable, practical, and highly durable. Unlike Seiko 5 that is assembled elsewhere, Citizen Seven still can trace its origin from the land of the rising Sun. The sad fact is that rumour has it that Citizen is moving away from producing this cheap mechanical watches now....... Change in global spending pattern and corporate strategies are something that even Captain America cannot prevent. 


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