Description
Citizen 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.
🕰️The Legacy of Citizen Crystal Seven Custom
Citizen introduced the Crystal Seven in 1965. It was the first Japanese-made watch fitted with a mineral crystal instead of acrylic — that is where the “Crystal” comes from — and Citizen presented it as the world’s slimmest automatic with a day and date display. The “Seven” stands for the seven days of the week and for the day window itself, which on the 1965 original sat just below the 12 o’clock index. The “Custom” watches came later in the line, in cushion cases and with more colourful dials than the plain round Crystal Sevens.
The line ran through a wide spread of movements — 21, 23, 27, 30, 33 and, at the top, 43 jewels, the highest count Citizen ever fitted to a watch. This one carries the 27-jewel caliber 5204, in the middle of that range.
Technical Specifications
- Brand: Citizen
- Line: Crystal Seven Custom
- Jewel Count: 27 Jewels
- Movement: Citizen caliber 5204 — automatic, hand-winding, 18,000 bph, non-hacking
- Case Material: Stainless Steel
- Dial Color: Matte Black with a distinctive blue and grey outer chapter ring
- Calendar Complications: Separate day indicator at the 9 o’clock position and date window at 3 o’clock
- Case Back Markings: “Para Water”, “Star”, “5.5”, Crystal Seven crest, “Crystal Seven Automatic”, case ref. “ACSS 2932-Y”, serial “80319150”, “GN”
- Bracelet: Stainless steel mesh style
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.
This watch ships from 🇺🇦 Ukraine with tracking number
Why Watch Collectors & Enthusiasts Buy This Piece Today
- Cushion Case, Split Calendar: The heavy cushion case, the blue-and-grey chapter ring and the day-at-9 / date-at-3 layout are all late-1960s Citizen design.
- Twenty-Seven Jewels, from the Jewel-Count Years: Japanese makers escalated jewel counts hard in the late 1960s, Citizen further than anyone — the top Crystal Sevens ran 43. Twenty-seven sits in the middle of the line: above the 21- and 23-jewel versions, below the 33- and 43-jewel ones.
- The Day Window Is the Line’s Namesake: The “Seven” in Crystal Seven refers to the seven days of the week and to where Citizen chose to show them. The 1965 original put the day under the 12 o’clock index; this 1968 Custom moves it to 9 o’clock, opposite the framed date at 3.
- “Para Water” on the Case Back: Parawater was Citizen’s water-resistant case designation, introduced in 1959 on Japan’s first waterproof watch and used until the early 1970s, after which the backs read “Water Resistant” instead. It is also a dating check: the mark, the ACSS case reference and the serial all point to the same period.
- An In-House Automatic on a Mesh Bracelet: Citizen built the 5204 itself. It winds by hand as well as automatically, and the date quick-sets from the crown; the day advances only by running the hands past midnight.
Modes of payment:
- PayPal
- Credit Cards (VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover)
- bitcoin
We guarantee the item you receive looks and works exactly as advertised — or your money back.
Citizen lug-width matched leather straps — 18 / 19 / 20 mm
About the watch factory
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.
