Rare 1972 Citizen Cosmotron Special 7803 Electronic Hi-Beat JDM Watch – Midnight Blue Gradient Dial, External Battery Hatch & Sync Pusher

Citizen electro-mechanical wristwatch

MADE IN JAPAN

The Citizen Legacy: A Pioneer of Precision
Founded in 1918, Citizen is now one of the largest watch and movement groups in the world. The Japanese brand is known for its highly accurate and reliable Eco-Drive solar-powered watches. The Citizen group owns Bulova, Alpina, Frederique Constant, and Arnold & Son, as well as movement manufacturers Miyota and La Joux-Perret.

🕰️ A Revolution in Horological History: The Citizen Cosmotron Series

Before quartz took full control of the watch market, a brilliant, short-lived era of horology birthed the hybrid electromechanical watch. The Citizen Cosmotron was Citizen’s take on it. There is no mainspring and no escapement in one of these — a balance wheel and hairspring are impulsed directly by a transistor-switched coil running off a battery — and the 7800 series ran at 36,000 beats per hour, twice the rate of the first Cosmotron. That is what gives the second hand its smooth sweep.

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Description

This Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) Citizen Cosmotron Special has a midnight blue-to-black gradient dial that reads as bright indigo at the centre and near-black at the edge, depending on the angle of light. Housed in a faceted, symmetric barrel case in stainless steel, this reference carries an external battery hatch on the case back — a coin-slot door that lets the cell be changed without lifting the back plate. It comes fitted to a brick-link stainless steel bracelet; the clasp carries no maker’s mark, only STAINLESS STEEL stamped on its underside.

Caliber 7803A runs at 36,000 beats per hour and was the last and most developed of Citizen’s 78 series. Aside from the gravity-based day/date quickset (pressing the crown shifts the calendar according to how the watch is held), it carries the pusher at the 8 o’clock position that identifies the Special — Citizen called the feature Just Setting. Pressing it returns the second hand to 12, and takes the minute hand with it when the minute hand is already within about three minutes of the hour, so the watch can be set exactly against a radio or television time signal. The case-back serial 21001575 dates it to October 1972.

Technical Details

• Brand: Citizen

• Model: Cosmotron Electronic “Special”

• Reference Number: 7800-870018 TA / Case Code 60-5051

• Movement Caliber: 7803A (electro-mechanical — transistor-switched balance wheel, battery powered; no mainspring or escapement)

• Jewels: 8 Jewels

• Frequency: 36,000 bph (Hi-Beat)

• Case Size: 38 mm (excluding crown)

• Lug-to-Lug: 42 mm

• Lug Width: 18 mm

• Case Material: Stainless Steel, faceted barrel case

• Case Back Features: External battery hatch with a coin slot, plus a retaining screw

• Bracelet Material: Stainless steel brick-link bracelet, clasp unsigned

• Calendar: Day/Date window at 3 o’clock

• Complications: Gravity-based push-crown quickset; 8 o’clock “Just Setting” second- and minute-hand reset

• Country of Manufacture: Japan

This watch has recently been serviced by a professional watchmaker and keeps good time.

Comes complete with original steel bracelet*.

(*)Note: Stock bracelets are often shortened by previous owners and may not fit you(see bracelet size in the product images). We match the strap to this watch’s lug width, so there is nothing for you to measure — just pick a padded leather strap for Citizen from the options at the top of the page.

Why Collectors Seek This Specific Cosmotron

• The Transition Era Hybrid: A short-lived moment in horology when a mechanical balance wheel was driven by a transistor circuit instead of a mainspring — the step between the wound watch and quartz.

• 36,000 BPH Sweep: At 10 beats per second the second hand moves in steps small enough to read as a glide — unusual for a battery-powered watch of the period.

• The Gravity-Actuated Quickset: An orientation-sensing corrector — pressing the crown with the dial upright advances the date, and pressing it with the watch upside down advances the day.

• External Battery Hatch: A coin-slot battery door in the case back, so the cell can be changed without lifting the back plate off the movement.

• The 8 O’Clock “Just Setting” Pusher: The feature that identifies the Special. Pressing the button returns the second hand to 12 — and the minute hand with it, if the minute hand is within about three minutes of the hour — so the watch can be set against a broadcast time signal.

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We guarantee the item you receive looks and works exactly as advertised — or your money back.

The Spirit of Innovation: The Citizen Legacy
Founded in 1918 with the mission of creating timepieces that are “Citizens” of the world, the Citizen Watch Company has spent over a century redefining the boundaries of horology. From its origins as the Shokosha Watch Research Institute, the brand has remained steadfast in its philosophy: “Better Starts Now.” This belief—that it is always possible to make something better—transformed a local Japanese workshop into a global powerhouse of precision and craft. By controlling the entire manufacturing process in-house, from the individual components to the final assembly, Citizen ensures an uncompromising standard of quality that few manufacturers on earth can match.
What truly sets Citizen apart is its relentless pursuit of pioneering technology paired with environmental consciousness. The brand made history by introducing the world’s first light-powered analogue watch — the Crystron Solar Cell of 1976, the technology Citizen later branded Eco-Drive, which eliminated the need for battery replacements and forever changed the industry’s approach to sustainability. Beyond its eco-friendly milestones, Citizen’s history is decorated with “world firsts,” including the first professional diving watch with an electronic depth sensor and the most accurate satellite-synchronized timekeeping systems. When you wear a Citizen, you aren’t just wearing a watch; you are wearing a piece of history engineered for the future.
Why Choose Citizen?

• In-House Manufacturing: Citizen designs and builds its own movements — its Miyota calibers are among the most widely used in the world.
• Built to Last: Citizen engineered its 1960s–70s calibers to be serviced rather than discarded, which is why so many are still keeping good time today.
• Heritage of Firsts: The first light-powered analogue watch (1976, the technology that became Eco-Drive), the first dive watch with an electronic depth sensor, and satellite-synchronised timekeeping.