Description
Citizen quartz 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 Crystron Line
“Crystron” was the name Citizen gave to its quartz watches in the 1970s. On the dial it sits beside the stylised CQ monogram — short for Citizen Quartz — which Citizen printed on its quartz models through the decade and into the early 1980s.
The name is best known from the Crystron Solar Cell of 1976, the world’s first analogue wristwatch powered by a solar cell and the ancestor of today’s Eco-Drive. Most Crystrons were far more ordinary than that: battery-powered quartz watches in steel cases, usually with a day-date window, built for people who wanted quartz accuracy without a mechanical watch’s upkeep.
This one is exactly that kind of watch — the everyday end of the range, dated to the moment quartz stopped being a novelty and started becoming the normal way to tell the time.
About This Watch
This Citizen Crystron left the factory in March 1978. Its case back carries Citizen’s own reference 4-710029 K, the serial 80308374 and the case code GN-5-U, with the words CITIZEN WATCH CO. · JAPAN · WATER RESISTANT · ALL STAINLESS STEEL around the battery cover.
The dial is a deep blue with a fine vertical-line texture that catches the light and shifts from navy to a brighter blue as the watch moves. Slim applied bar markers sit around a printed minute track. It reads CITIZEN over QUARTZ at twelve, with the CQ monogram above CRYSTRON at six, and a framed day-date window at three. The day wheel prints the weekday in both English and Japanese (Sunday shows as SUN or 日, depending on the wheel’s position). The dial’s own code, JAPAN 7100-710069-Y, is printed at the foot, pointing to Citizen’s 7100 quartz family.
The case is stainless steel with brushed flanks and a polished bezel, and its angular ends run straight into the bracelet’s end links, so the watch and bracelet read as a single piece. A sweep seconds hand runs from the centre. The steel bracelet closes with a fold-over clasp stamped with the CQ monogram, and the battery is changed through the screw-off cover in the case back.
Technical Specifications
- Brand: Citizen
- Line: Crystron (CQ, Citizen Quartz)
- Reference Number: 4-710029 K
- Movement: Citizen quartz, 7100 series (dial code 7100-710069-Y) — Japan
- Serial Number: 80308374
- Production Date: March 1978
- Case Material: All stainless steel
- Case Diameter: 35 mm
- Dial: Blue, fine vertical-line texture, applied bar markers, day-date at 3 (English / Japanese day wheel)
- Crystal: Original mineral glass
- Case-back: Screw-off battery cover, stamped CITIZEN WATCH CO. / 4-710029 K / JAPAN, case code GN-5-U
- Water Resistance: Marked WATER RESISTANT (no rating stated) — not pressure-tested at this age; treat as splash-resistant only
- Country of Manufacture: Japan
Condition Report
The blue dial is clean and even — no staining, no spotting and no fading that shows in the photographs. The printing and the markers are all intact, and the hands are straight.
The steel case shows the light scuffs and softened edges you would expect of a watch this age, most visible on the brushed flanks and the bezel edge. The case-back engraving is crisp and fully legible. The slot in the battery cover carries marks from earlier battery changes.
The bracelet is sound and works correctly. The clasp plate has fine hairline scratches and the links show a few small nicks from wear; the clasp carries Citizen’s CQ monogram.
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).
This watch ships from 🇺🇦 Ukraine with tracking number
Why Collectors Want This Watch Today
Vintage Citizen quartz is one of the more affordable ways into late-1970s Japanese watchmaking, and the Crystron day-dates are its most approachable face. This one is not rare — Citizen made them in large numbers and they turn up regularly — so the appeal is the watch itself rather than scarcity.
What sets this example apart from the many silver-dial Crystrons is the dial: a deep blue with a fine vertical texture, which looks different in every light. The case and bracelet share a clean, angular design that is unmistakably of its decade, the day wheel is bilingual, and the quartz movement asks for nothing but a battery every few years.
At 35 mm it wears as a compact everyday watch rather than a modern-sized one — which is very much back in fashion.
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We guarantee the item you receive looks and works exactly as advertised — or your money back.
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.
