Citizen debuts new compact stainless-steel Eco-Drive watches with Roman numerals, sapphire
Citizen has opened preorders on four new xC watches, and the case measures 32.7 mm. While that's still a compact size by unisex standards, Citizen's own copy calls that "a little larger" than the rest of the hikari collection. That itself should tell us where xC usually sits.
All four have the same build. Caliber E116 Eco-Drive caliber holds roughly a year on a full charge, and keeps to 15 seconds a month either way. The steel case is 9.0 mm thick and the whole thing weighs 70 g on the bracelet. Spherical sapphire covers the dial, anti-reflective coated. Water resistance is 5 bar. It should cover rain and washing up, nothing more ambitious.
Three of them get plating. EO1246-51A goes sakura pink across case and bracelet. EO1244-57A takes yellow gold in a two-tone layout. EO1245-54W does the same trick in sakura. The fourth, EO1240-58L, skips plating altogether and uses plain steel with a pale blue dial. It's also the only reason it undercuts the others.
Citizen is asking ¥59,400 for the plated three and ¥55,000 for the blue one, tax included. Pull the 10% consumption tax out and those come close to $342 and $317. Japanese discounters have already listed all four at roughly 30% below those figures, which is normal at a Japanese launch and worth knowing before anyone pays full price for the same.
Dial components use recycled material. The watches are made in Japan. Eco-Drive is the first watch technology ever certified under Japan's Eco Mark scheme, and Citizen channels 1% of annual sales from these into environmental causes through 1% for the Planet.
Lume is present on the hands alone. The bracelet measures 16 mm wide and adjusts between 120 and 185 mm. All four will reach buyers on 8 October.
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