Vintage Citizen Leopard 28800 ‘Hi-Beat’ Automatic with Deep Marine Blue Dial, from August 1972

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.

🕰️ Citizen Leopard Line – Overview

Introduced to compete directly with Seiko’s high-end offerings of the era—such as the King Seiko and Lord Matic lines—the Leopard series was created to showcase Citizen’s capabilities in high-frequency, precision engineering.

• The High-Beat Signature: The defining characteristic of the Leopard line is its use of high-frequency movements. While standard watches of the era ticked at lower speeds, Leopard models operated at 28,800 BPH (Beats Per Hour) or an even higher 36,000 BPH. This rapid frequency provided excellent timekeeping stability and a signature, mesmerizingly smooth sweep of the second hand.

• Premium Positioning: Positioned high in Citizen’s range — below the Chronomaster, and alongside the Glorious and Highness grades, Highness itself being a higher-grade variant of the Leopard — the series featured high jewel counts (24 to 32 jewels depending on the calibre), hacking seconds, hand winding, and quick-set day and date.

• Era-Defining Design: Beyond the engineering, the line is highly regarded for its diverse and bold 1970s aesthetics. Citizen utilized everything from classic round dress cases to experimental, retro-futuristic cushion and faceted cases, often paired with vibrant, colorful dials, applied indices, and faceted crystals.

The Leopard ran for only a few years from about 1969 before quartz redirected the industry, which is why the line is met today almost entirely as late-1960s and early-1970s examples.

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DESCRIPTION

This Citizen Leopard 28800 was made in August 1972, in the middle of the line’s short run. The Leopard was Citizen’s high-beat range, its answer to Seiko’s King Seiko and Lord Matic, built to show what the company could do with high-frequency movements.

The deep marine blue dial is matte, darkening slightly toward the rim, and carries applied polished baton indices with a framed day-date window at 3 o’clock. The faceted barrel case sets the crown into a cut-out in its right flank, low enough to sit between 3 and 4 o’clock, which keeps it clear of the back of the hand.

Inside is Citizen’s own calibre 7720, running at 28,800 vibrations per hour against the 18,000 and 21,600 of the ordinary movements of the period, which is what gives the seconds hand its smoother sweep. It winds automatically, can also be wound by hand, hacks when the crown is pulled, and quick-sets both the day and the date. The rotor is stamped CITIZEN 28 JEWELS JAPAN, matching the 28 JEWELS printed on the dial.

Technical Details

• Brand: Citizen

• Line: Leopard

• Case Reference: 4-770862 TA

• Serial Number: 20800295

• Year of Production: August 1972 (from the serial — 2 = 1972, 08 = August)

• Country of Manufacture: Japan

• Movement Type: High-Beat Automatic (Self-Winding)

• Caliber: Citizen 7720

• Jewel Count: 28 Jewels

• Frequency: 28,800 BPH (Beats Per Hour)

• Case Material: Stainless Steel

• Case Back: Screw-down (stamped GN-5-S, Water Resistant)

• Dial Color: Deep marine blue, matte with a slight gradient toward the rim

• Complications: Day and Date display at 3 o’clock

• Crown Position: Recessed at 4 o’clock

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

Comes complete with a new aftermarket leather strap.

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.

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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 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.