I very much enjoy shopping for watches, both for myself and others. Why the Citizen Calendrier is the perfect watch (for some) Visible in the pictures are scrapes on the case and scratches on the crystal that show her trust in the watch. I assured her when I gave it to her that it could keep up with her, her work, and her lifestyle. My girlfriend has owned and worn the watch for a year. A butterfly clasp and push/pull crown without guards reduces some security, but I guess that’s the price for dainty styling… The bracelet can be switched out easily enough to a fancier, less water-ready leather strap if need be. The stainless steel case is water resistant to 100 meters, and a matching 19mm steel bracelet sets this watch up for swimming, no problem. But the 37mm case provides a ruggedness not typically expected of ladies’ watches or traditional dress-watch complications. We’ll get to why it’s especially so for my girlfriend in a bit. Now, a full-calendar watch for ladies is a premium feature, even if it’s quartz-driven. Light passes through the mother-of-pearl dial to the solar cell directly beneath. Only 12 hours of direct sunlight stores 6 months’ worth of power, though the Calendrier can charge from any light source. As such, months with less than 31 days require adjusting.Īll of this is powered by one of Citizen’s solar-powered Eco-Drive movements, the 8651.
It’s a full calendar, though not complicated or connected enough to be perpetual. The three sub-dials indicate the month, moonphase, and day of the week at 3, 6, and 9 o’clock respectively. The minute and hour hands are lumed in blue and are as bright as any Seiko I’ve seen - a checkmark for practicality. Stemming from the central cluster of hands is an hour, minute, and seconds hand as well as a date pointer with an elegant crescent tip. But thankfully, the women’s Calendrier packs a lot under a small case and a single crown. Usually, we see the best examples of this with Citizen’s men’s tool watches, like the Promaster Skyhawk. That’s the uber-efficiency of Japanese engineering and industry for you. If there’s one thing that Citizen does well (though the brand actually does many things quite well), it’s packing a ton of functionality into relatively affordable watches. But as far as a versatile, elegant feminine watch is concerned (with a moonphase complication - very important), Citizen beats every other option within a certain budget. The closest I’ve come to wanting a Citizen watch is with the JDM “The Citizen” Eco-Drive solar quartz with Tosa Washi paper dial (ref. Truth be told, I’m not normally a fan of Citizen watches. I don’t know now whether I picked it because I liked it more than any other, or if I like it because it’s now the watch she owns and wears. I have to admit, I’m biased: I chose this watch for my girlfriend over a year ago. In the case of the Citizen Calendrier for women, it’s more capable than some of the “men’s” watches I own, and it looks quite good being so. Not every watch I like needs to be a tool watch. But within watches that are still firmly labeled for and marketed to the feminine, I’ve found a few that I appreciate.
I prefer watches not to be gendered at all, and I think we’re seeing the beginnings of a shift towards that with some brands. Gender draws design lines in the sand that can be difficult to cross, if one even wants to.