Description
Citizen mechanica 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.
About the Auto Dater Line
The Auto Dater was Citizen’s automatic-with-date line of the 1960s — the model that put self-winding convenience and a date complication on the wrist of the ordinary buyer. The name says exactly what it is: an automatic (“Auto”) with a date (“Dater”).
The Auto Dater belongs to the early-to-mid 1960s, when automatic winding and a quickset-era date were still genuine selling points. Home-market versions wore Citizen’s “Parawater” (waterproof) and “Parashock” (shockproof) badges — both born of Citizen’s famous 1950s durability campaigns, including the 1956 Parashock helicopter-drop demonstrations — while export models used the plain “Waterproof” and “Shockproof” equivalents.
For collectors, the Auto Dater is a clean, characterful example of Citizen’s mainstream 1960s automatics, and the later day-date versions — like this one, running the last of Citizen’s celebrated “Jet” movements — are among the most charming of the line.
About This Watch
This is a Citizen Auto Dater, one of the mainstream automatics that carried Citizen’s self-winding-plus-date convenience onto the wrist of the everyday buyer in the mid-1960s. It pairs a warm silver sunburst dial with a full day-and-date display — the day spelled out in English through a curved window beneath twelve o’clock, the date framed at three under a magnifier — and runs on Citizen’s 25-jewel automatic, the calibre 4102, the last of the celebrated “Jet” movements before Citizen retired that distinctive design later in the decade.
The “Parawater” badge on the dial marks it as a genuine water-resistant Citizen, a lineage that began with Japan’s first waterproof watch in 1959. Applied faceted markers, a fluted white-gold-plated bezel and a domed acrylic crystal give it the confident, lightly formal look of a mid-century Japanese dress automatic. The case-back carries Citizen’s “Auto Dater” script, the “STAR” and “PARA WATER” marks, and the reference AD0Q 51309-F.
Technical Specifications
- Brand: Citizen
- Line: Auto Dater
- Reference Number: AD0Q 51309-F
- Movement: Automatic (self-winding), 25 jewels — Citizen calibre 4102 (the last of the “Jet” series), 18,800 bph
- Serial Number: Stamped on the case-back (worn / partially legible)
- Production Date: circa 1965 (mid-1960s)
- Case Material: Stainless steel with white-gold-plated (W.G.P.) bezel
- Case Diameter: approx. 37 mm (excluding crown)
- Dial: Silver sunburst with applied faceted markers; English day and date
- Crystal: Acrylic, with date magnifier
- Case-back: Stainless steel, engraved “Citizen Auto Dater / STAR / PARA WATER / W.G.P” (40 m Parawater rating)
- Country of Manufacture: Japan
Condition Report
The watch presents very nicely for its age. The silver sunburst dial is bright and even, showing only light, honest patina under close magnification — a little fine speckling consistent with a watch of sixty years — with the applied markers and hands clean and intact. The stainless case is sharp and highly polished, its fluted white-gold-plated bezel still bright, and the acrylic crystal is clear. The day and date advance crisply and the automatic movement runs strong after service. The watch is fitted with a new blue leather strap.
Watch went through a recent service by a professional watch technician and keeps good time.
Comes fitted with a new NATO COMMANDER v2.0 genuine leather strap!
*Please note: the strap is a quality aftermarket replacement, not the original factory bracelet.
This watch ships from 🇺🇦Ukraine with tracking number
Why Collectors Want This Watch Today
The Auto Dater sits at a genuine sweet spot for vintage Citizen collectors: an honest, well-built automatic from Citizen’s strongest mechanical decade, here carrying the calibre 4102 — the very last of the “Jet” movements, a distinctive chapter in Citizen’s history that closed when the company moved to conventional rotor designs. A full English day-date, the Parawater heritage and a crisp silver dress dial make it as easy to wear today as it was in the 1960s, while remaining one of the more affordable ways into serious vintage Japanese collecting. Freshly serviced and keeping good time, it is ready to wear now.
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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 watch, the 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 Excellence: Every movement is manufactured vertically within their own Japanese facilities.
- Eco-Drive Technology: Powered by any light source, ensuring your watch never stops and never needs a battery.
- Heritage of Firsts: A century-long track record of technical breakthroughs in durability and precision.
