I have an earlier version of this. People won't get it until you try on this watch. The crystal is so clear that you think it isn't there. Sometimes I catch myself poking the dial to make sure it didn't fall off. The comfort from the perfect balance of weight is incredible.
At least it has Sapphire glass,its also titanium, also at least its quartz/the time won't be off a minute to three minutes a day/hopefully it will only be off ABOUT fifteen seconds a month/maybe three minutes a year,the only way these watches are able to pull this off though/the only reason the time loss is in an acceptable range,is because,the Spring Dive movement,is regulated by quartz,with out the quartz, the Spring Dive movement,would be useless/trash as well and the Citizen uses quartz,to make sure its in an acceptable range,this is where the watch starts going way down hill/its tiny/its only 44mms,its a basic watch,feature wise/it also ONLY has 100mm water resistance,no solar,no Atomic,honestly for these prices, every single watch made by these companies should, MAYBE be made out of Titanium,even if its disguised titanium, meaning they can still keep the look their going for, but just add that durability, it should DEFINITELY have sapphire glass,it should DEFINITELY be 200mm+ water resistant,it should be solar and it should be atomic, no matter which watch it is,the value of these parts are DEFINITELY not worth the price tag anyway, your paying for a name and to be honest, they should make ALL of their watches keep time to 1 second a year or just perfect it,even if Atomic is built in or if it uses a satellite of some kind, after all for these prices, there is no limit/for the price their charging NOTHING should be left out/left off,no excuses,we should DEFINITELY hold these companies to higher standards/I think if you buy a watch at these prices, it should have ALL of these features and you should have access to their time keeping satellites,that could auto wind your watch/send a signal to automatically set and wind your clock at midnight every night. These are better watch,SOME lack SOME features,but they are all at least built well/they are not just junk/they will actually hold up; Bulova Sea King Omega Ploprof Omega Seamaster Ultra Deep Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Titanium Rolex Deepsea dweller Tudor Pelagos 25600tn-bkti Titanium Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon Deepquest ii Shinola The Ice Monster Seiko Tuna Orient Triton MTG-G1000D Steel GST-B100 MTG-B1000XBD Mudman Rangeman Frogman ProTreks GW-5610 GSW-H1000 GPR-B1000 Rangeman
@@mattmatt2417 we don't have access to atomic or satellite time in Australia Matt, so not necessary here. IMHO perfect Time is not really necessary, if I look at my watch and it reads say, 8.55, I will say to whoever is asking, it's 9 o'clock. Obviously, if a watch is losing 10 minutes a day it's no good, but sometimes, close enough is good enough. Or, is that just the Aussie in me waffleing on.
I will stay with my beast of a watch witch is just has accurate my bulova sea king I got it for les then a quarter of the price of your citizen but saying that you have got your self a nice watch
"The Japanese finish titanium better than the Swiss finish steel." Honestly, this is the first time I've seen titanium looking good enough for me to be interested. WOW! I am totally with you on the understated perfection for aficionados only.
I received an Oceanus OCW-T600 chronograph, secondhand with some signs of use, and I was honestly surprised at the finishing level on the Titanium. Really impressive!
Finally Citizen get the appreciation from you they deserve. Details like the artisanal handmade paper worked into the dial is what I love about Japanese watchmaking, subtle nods to Japanese culture that aren't in your face though. But all things considered, a Grand Seiko would give me more tingles.
Quartz watches are awesome and Seiko/Citizen have such a lot of really cool options. Have a GS SBGF021 from mid 2000's. Lumed indices + hands, 200m wr, 36mm, +/- 10s a year and independently adjustable hour hand. Great pickup Jody!
Absolutely gorgeous and I love the accuracy. Titanium is a huge bonus. I have the GS SBGV243 and love it but I can see these Citizens giving it a run for the money! In regard to GS accuracy…I sent mine to GS for a battery replacement. It was still under warranty so it didn’t cost me a dime, not even for shipping. In any event, they also serviced the movement. And…drum roll, it’s now at plus 0.017 seconds per day. That’s plus 6 seconds per year. Pretty cool for a watch that is rated at 10. I’ve read about others getting even better, right out of the box. 🎉🎉🎉
I had the 37.5mm AQ4020 model for about a year and a half. Truly incredible watches. The smaller models in addition to not having lume also don’t have a screw down crown and are thinner (10.5mm) with a flat crystal. It definitely seems like they try and make the 40mm models more of a GADA type of watch and the smaller watches more dress pieces
Great to finally get this one in detail after you teased it awhile back on Insta. Congrats on acquiring a beautiful ‘keeper’ in this Chronomaster, a new addition to several wishlists after watching this no doubt.
Love it . I've been looking at the very same model and color for a few weeks and literally an hour ago for the previous hour . Then the perfect video magically appears : )
I love it, it's beautiful. I have never understood the 'vanilla' reference to Citizen. To me, an average watch person , they have always been as good as any Seiko, at least in my price range anyway.
Grand Seiko is, hands down, my favorite watch brand and has been for many years. However, my very first decent mechanical watch was a Citizen. I think it may be time to bring it back around and grab one of these from the The Citizen line. They are absolutely stunning and can't be beat for the price.
I just ordered a AQ4091-56E yesterday 😬. I also own a Gs Sbgv207. I am even more excited now for the Citizen after i've seen your video. Thank you very much for your review!
Citizen in my opinion is overlooked far to often by far too many. They have a ton of offerings and build some outstanding watches. I've always loved this watch but have for some reason been nervous to pull the trigger. I love the classic understated, as you said, "if you know, you know" design. I have Rolex, Patek and Omega that were passed down from my father, so I'm always nervous wearing them out and about. Thank you for another honest review and helping me to makeup my mind. :)
I love Citizen but in terms of claiming the market, it can never surpass Seiko 5 in the budget segment. The reason is the availability. Seiko SNX series is available in India on sites at something like MRP+40 or 50$ but the only things that citizen pushes is the quartz ones at the same rate of inflation.
Evening Jody from the UK. I have now found & ordered this watch! I’m over the moon! Thank you very much for your detailed video. My Omega Seamaster will now be departing from me & this AQ 4030-51a will have a permanent place on my wrist whilst I’m not wearing my beater for work!
I've been waiting Sooo patiently for this review Jody and I must say... It's been worth it! I have never been a big fan of Japanese watches and always aimed for Swiss assuming that they were superior... But my, was I mistaken, the Japanese takes things to a whole new level. After pulling the trigger on my Oceanus T200 which I love to bits, this Citizen Chronomaster is going to be my next big purchase.. I've had my eye on it for a while.. love the superb craftsmanship and finish together with the understatedness!
This is truly impressive, and its under the radar character is part of that. It wasn’t called out in the review, but it looks the the hour and minute hands have a “tip of the sword” bevel at the tip. It looks so good!
Got the hand dyed indigo blue dial one. I love how it looks so plain, but when the sunlight catches the dial, the washi paper details really pop. There's nothing like it offered by any watchmaker. Also when given compliments by a watch repairman and salesman, you know you got something special.
Blue is a stunner mate! Good choice. I love mine and wear it more than any other watch. So comfortable, and always the right time and date. That is surely the point of a watch eh?
Beautiful watch, the AQ4020, a very similar model, may be my next purchase. I currently have a 9F quartz, the SBGP017, and it’s one of the +-5 secs a year like your Citizen, but still no solar charging or perpetual calendar like you have here. I’m really happy both Grand Seiko and Citizen give quartz the respect it deserves!
At least it has Sapphire glass,its also titanium, also at least its quartz/the time won't be off a minute to three minutes a day/hopefully it will only be off ABOUT fifteen seconds a month/maybe three minutes a year,the only way these watches are able to pull this off though/the only reason the time loss is in an acceptable range,is because,the Spring Dive movement,is regulated by quartz,with out the quartz, the Spring Dive movement,would be useless/trash as well and the Citizen uses quartz,to make sure its in an acceptable range,this is where the watch starts going way down hill/its tiny/its only 44mms,its a basic watch,feature wise/it also ONLY has 100mm water resistance,no solar,no Atomic,honestly for these prices, every single watch made by these companies should, MAYBE be made out of Titanium,even if its disguised titanium, meaning they can still keep the look their going for, but just add that durability, it should DEFINITELY have sapphire glass,it should DEFINITELY be 200mm+ water resistant,it should be solar and it should be atomic, no matter which watch it is,the value of these parts are DEFINITELY not worth the price tag anyway, your paying for a name and to be honest, they should make ALL of their watches keep time to 1 second a year or just perfect it,even if Atomic is built in or if it uses a satellite of some kind, after all for these prices, there is no limit/for the price their charging NOTHING should be left out/left off,no excuses,we should DEFINITELY hold these companies to higher standards/I think if you buy a watch at these prices, it should have ALL of these features and you should have access to their time keeping satellites,that could auto wind your watch/send a signal to automatically set and wind your clock at midnight every night. These are better watch,SOME lack SOME features,but they are all at least built well/they are not just junk/they will actually hold up; Bulova Sea King Omega Ploprof Omega Seamaster Ultra Deep Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Titanium Rolex Deepsea dweller Tudor Pelagos 25600tn-bkti Titanium Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon Deepquest ii Shinola The Ice Monster Seiko Tuna Orient Triton MTG-G1000D Steel GST-B100 MTG-B1000XBD Mudman Rangeman Frogman ProTreks GW-5610 GSW-H1000 GPR-B1000 Rangeman
I am in love with this watch and have been dying for this review! As a stealth item it reminds me of the Mercedes 6.9. Only you know what’s beneath the hood. Thanks for this. Time to get to work on that screenplay!
I own a Citizen Titanium Eco Drive dive watch and absolutely love it! It happens to be the watch I am wearing right now. I love the feel and lightness of Titanium. There is nothing more comfortable.
While on the topic of Citizen, if you're looking for a budget solar chronograph I would recommend the Citizen CA7030 series. I think there are 4 or 5 colours but the CA7030-97A and the CA7030-97W are my personal favourites.
I've been super interested in this watch for a while. I love Citizens in general, and in a brand-loyalty sense it would seem right to have it be my first $2K+ watch. Plus, dang, THAT PAPER DIAL. Thanks for the detailed overview.
Nice watch and good review Jody. I'm loving the Citizen Promaster that I won in your xmas drawing! I've regulated it to run about +/- 3 seconds a day. A real keeper. Cheers, mate.
i thought it would be more you than me mate...but i got to be honest the more i hear and see about this watch the more i think its right up my street.when i used to look at my dads citizens from the 80's they had that applied branding..as did seiko...yeah...this one is nostalgic and futuristic and undertstated all at the same time....nice one Jody!
As someone who bought a no-date GS 9F specifically to avoid the date-adjustment thing and maximise grab-and-go, I have to say a HAQ with perpetual calendar is right up my street. And although it *is* a Citizen, the titanium case plus washi dial has intriguing JDM snob factor. You've got me looking very seriously at the indigo-dialed one from this year now...
I have this exact watch but man sizing the bracelet is super super difficult, and all the local jewlers just basically looked at it and didn't want to bother. The watch otherwise is incredible. Quartz at this high of quality is so rare, and this watch was ultimately, I realized, what I was looking for during my whole journey in watches, the whole time. The only fault is that it's not blue and white at the same time!
At least it has Sapphire glass,its also titanium, also at least its quartz/the time won't be off a minute to three minutes a day/hopefully it will only be off ABOUT fifteen seconds a month/maybe three minutes a year,the only way these watches are able to pull this off though/the only reason the time loss is in an acceptable range,is because,the Spring Dive movement,is regulated by quartz,with out the quartz, the Spring Dive movement,would be useless/trash as well and the Citizen uses quartz,to make sure its in an acceptable range,this is where the watch starts going way down hill/its tiny/its only 44mms,its a basic watch,feature wise/it also ONLY has 100mm water resistance,no solar,no Atomic,honestly for these prices, every single watch made by these companies should, MAYBE be made out of Titanium,even if its disguised titanium, meaning they can still keep the look their going for, but just add that durability, it should DEFINITELY have sapphire glass,it should DEFINITELY be 200mm+ water resistant,it should be solar and it should be atomic, no matter which watch it is,the value of these parts are DEFINITELY not worth the price tag anyway, your paying for a name and to be honest, they should make ALL of their watches keep time to 1 second a year or just perfect it,even if Atomic is built in or if it uses a satellite of some kind, after all for these prices, there is no limit/for the price their charging NOTHING should be left out/left off,no excuses,we should DEFINITELY hold these companies to higher standards/I think if you buy a watch at these prices, it should have ALL of these features and you should have access to their time keeping satellites,that could auto wind your watch/send a signal to automatically set and wind your clock at midnight every night. These are better watch,SOME lack SOME features,but they are all at least built well/they are not just junk/they will actually hold up; Bulova Sea King Omega Ploprof Omega Seamaster Ultra Deep Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Titanium Rolex Deepsea dweller Tudor Pelagos 25600tn-bkti Titanium Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon Deepquest ii Shinola The Ice Monster Seiko Tuna Orient Triton MTG-G1000D Steel GST-B100 MTG-B1000XBD Mudman Rangeman Frogman ProTreks GW-5610 GSW-H1000 GPR-B1000 Rangeman
@@mattmatt2417 I don't really understand as the watch you listed doesn't keep time to 1 second a year, most are off by a few second everyday. Some needs maintenance every few years as well?
This is an amazing piece in all respects. I have the last generation and by far it's my favorite piece in my collection even over the large name brands. I love the size, light weight and perpetual calendar. I am dismayed though that you reviewed it in a selfish way...people might catch on to how amazing this piece is and then cause the popularity and price to go up!
Over past 2 months I have worn a Seiko Solar Tuna with a steel aftermarket shroud. I have an old tricompax perpetual calendar Citizen that is a bit to change for daylight savings and travel and looks like a WalMart discount bin reject. This one nails it. Striking resemblance to a Perpetual- or DayDate. Will watch this again in a week. Maybe shopping time.
For that amount of money, it better be. My sub-$100 Casios are hitting the markers perfectly. I don't know how we got to a point to accept manufacturing sloppiness on expensive watches and actually count as a pro that they are aligned/calibrated properly.
@@zwerko Agree. Casio can do this reliably in much cheaper watches so we should expect nothing less in something anywhere close to this. Honestly, any quartz timepiece over $100 that isn't properly assembled to hit the indices would be a deal-breaker for me.
@@bigwilliearmitage I wouldn't buy even a sub-$100 watch that doesn't hit the indices-to me, that's elementary, like missing to put the hour hand or having the dial upside down. It's unacceptable at any price, and just the fact that we have to list that as a good thing on $1k+ watches tells you how this hobby is horribly broken.
Thanks Jody for the definitive review of this watch I have the later black version and like you I wear it every day. I agree with all your points - its the ultimate sleeper watch - those in the know will get what a bargain it is. I would love it if Citizen produced a more sports/professional version like an explorer 1 with this finishing and accuracy.
I totally know what you mean by the Yahoo Auctions Japan rabbit hole. I have happily fallen down it several times and came away with some awesome old Casio G-SHOCK MR-G. I've been wanting to know more about the Chronomaster too, thanks for another really interesting and well done review!
Great video !! I bought my Citizen from an upmarket watch dealer and though I have other watches it is the one always on my wrist ! I love the Titanium and its almost (weight wise) non existent on my wrist It's the 300 meter Royal Marines Commando L.E. The Saphire crystal is the best out of all my watches !! The accuracy is exactly +20 seconds in 6 months which is also my most accurate out of all my branded watches And finally it's the watch that I always get envious remarks like "that's a nice watch" or if they don't verbally say anything, their eyes are focused on my wrist whilst I'm having a conversation! I look forward to your next video !!✌
Well done Jody I have this AQ4030 with Black dial, GS SBGN 9f, and Oceanus...along with a collection of Swiss. They are all 3 great! For around $350, Oceanus cannot be beat. Pros/cons between this and GS 9f. The 1 area Citizen falls a little short of GS is finishing particularly the hands. But they exceed GS in movement specs and of course Ti. I'd throw Seiko Astron in the mix as another strong option at price points between those above.
Hi Jody. Thank you for the review. i've been looking to one of those for years but, in the minetime, my wife offer me a Seiko Astron. I think you've never reviewed One, but you definately should. More or less the same money, supreme finishing and a great movement. Thank you once again. Take care
Very impressive. After filling my collection with mostly Divers( which you had reviewed 😄), I am getting more into the GADA category. This is a very top notch prospect. Thanks for the review.
I have been waitin for this one, Jody!!!! It did not disappoint, I must say. I have seen many the review, on the "Chronomaster" line, so I was completely familiar w/ the details of the model, but I was quite interested to see how it would fair in the eyes of "Bragain Grand-Master," himself....😅!!!! Best wishes to you and yours my friend, and wear it in good health. Cheers....
Definitely seems like the ultimate minimal maintenance GADA. This could easily be the only watch you need for someone who doesn't see the need for a collection (not me I like variety too much). I wish it had the Citizen Chicken on the dial to make it more delicious. It seems the best way for Citizen to differentiate between their standard fare and more premium choices is the chicken. Plus they could do a Smokey and the Bandit edition. Citizen is an underrated major brand for sure. Especially if you appreciate all practical multi purpose everyday watches. Still holding out for them to go all out mad scientist and create an Eco-drive Ultra Precisionist (they do own Bulova and best sweeping movement outside of Spring Drive imo) Super Titanium family of watches that are a technical tour de force.
Thank you so much for this comprehensive review Jody!! This video made me want to buy this watch now!! I like a good looking watch obviously but most importantly an accurate watch!! This Citizen Chronomaster AQ4030-51A in the white dial is an all rounder honestly. You have 95% of what a watch enthusiast is looking for in a watch. 😍😍😍 Keep it up!!
At least it has Sapphire glass,its also titanium, also at least its quartz/the time won't be off a minute to three minutes a day/hopefully it will only be off ABOUT fifteen seconds a month/maybe three minutes a year,the only way these watches are able to pull this off though/the only reason the time loss is in an acceptable range,is because,the Spring Dive movement,is regulated by quartz,with out the quartz, the Spring Dive movement,would be useless/trash as well and the Citizen uses quartz,to make sure its in an acceptable range,this is where the watch starts going way down hill/its tiny/its only 44mms,its a basic watch,feature wise/it also ONLY has 100mm water resistance,no solar,no Atomic,honestly for these prices, every single watch made by these companies should, MAYBE be made out of Titanium,even if its disguised titanium, meaning they can still keep the look their going for, but just add that durability, it should DEFINITELY have sapphire glass,it should DEFINITELY be 200mm+ water resistant,it should be solar and it should be atomic, no matter which watch it is,the value of these parts are DEFINITELY not worth the price tag anyway, your paying for a name and to be honest, they should make ALL of their watches keep time to 1 second a year or just perfect it,even if Atomic is built in or if it uses a satellite of some kind, after all for these prices, there is no limit/for the price their charging NOTHING should be left out/left off,no excuses,we should DEFINITELY hold these companies to higher standards/I think if you buy a watch at these prices, it should have ALL of these features and you should have access to their time keeping satellites,that could auto wind your watch/send a signal to automatically set and wind your clock at midnight every night. These are better watch,SOME lack SOME features,but they are all at least built well/they are not just junk/they will actually hold up; Bulova Sea King Omega Ploprof Omega Seamaster Ultra Deep Omega Speedmaster Moonwatch Titanium Rolex Deepsea dweller Tudor Pelagos 25600tn-bkti Titanium Ball Engineer Hydrocarbon Deepquest ii Shinola The Ice Monster Seiko Tuna Orient Triton MTG-G1000D Steel GST-B100 MTG-B1000XBD Mudman Rangeman Frogman ProTreks GW-5610 GSW-H1000 GPR-B1000 Rangeman
Hi Jodie, love watching your videos and this Citizen is definitely a great find. Your rationale behind choosing this piece over similar models is why some people opt for an IWC, a brand you swore you’d never buy, over similar looking, more attainable fliegers. Granted the IWC has a few more zeroes to it’s price tag and you shouldn’t really compare it to this Citizen but then again, just using your reasoning, those who’ve seen and experienced an IWC in person really know the difference between that and other more inexpensive pilot watches. And, well, when you know, you know. How about doing a review of, say, the Mark XX and see if your feelings about IWC change? Anyway great content as always and looking forward to a future one!
Es una obra de arte su construcción tanto de caja como el movimiento muy buen video deja ver qué citizen no tiene nada que envidiar a gran Seiko saludos de Panamá 🇵🇦👍
I own an older Citizen eco drive, I love it. Amazing build quality, understated looks, 200wr, but I forget I'm wearing it! I've never cared about brand name prestige.
fantastic piece! Man, that white paper dial looks amazing up close!! These are such killer watches. If I can find the CTQ57-0952 model, I may just splurge.....
I received a Citizen BN0151-09L Promaster Dive Eco Drive Blue face and Synthetic strap. I was on the fence for one of their Automatic offerings and I can say I am so happy to receive a watch that charges by light. Time is right on, lime is better than some of my more expensive watches. To have a EDC watch that just functions, seems tough and looks great. Citizen is not looked at like Seiko but you get a great made product by a company that has made strides in the watch industry
It's weird how I often have on a watch that either relates to or sometimes outright is the watch(like the pagani design gmt world timer) being talked about in a Jomw vid. Picked my citizen promaster to wear at work today, n lo behold, a citizen review!
Beautiful watch Jody 🏴 I am attracted to quality quartz offerings and this looks superb. Almost no service required in the years ahead and it's solar 👍 Great video review, again. 😂
Cracking watch that. I've had the 37mm version, and I congratulate you on your choice. I swapped my 37mm washi paper dial for a King Seiko limited, but I missed the paper. So I got myself the Iconic Nature limited Ibuki or Spring. That and the 37mm version of the chronomaster have hands that are slightly better proportioned, which is why I forego the lume. That said: Enjoy it! These are stunning, whatever one you buy. But as I also own a GS SGBP011 quartz watch, I can recommend picking up a GS quartz. They indeed have quite a bit of cachet, but honestly there are perks to the 9F85 movement as well. The double-tick is something to behold in real life. GS quartz and The Citizen / Chronomaster are the very pinnacle of the state of the art of timekeeping. But your Oceanus is no slouch either. So nice to see these get some love.
I've had my eye on these for a while. I own several Citizens and I'm very happy with all of. them. I don't think many people are aware of some of the higher end watches Citizen produces like the Caliber C100 with a stated accuracy of +/- 1 second a year! 🤣 Worlds most accurate movement so they say. The Chronomaster is a fantastic looking watch and the white dial was an excellent choice.
Citizen is on top of the quartz list for me. They make the most accurate and overall just best Quartz watches. But they leg behind the Swiss and Seiko when it comes to high end mechanical watches. I don’t like how they just bought Swiss company to transfer the knowledge on mechanical watches. They lack originality in that respect. But their quartz watches are superb examples of how quartz can represent craftsmanship as well. You can see decades of thought and experimenting that went in their quartz movements.
This week i've fought my glass OCD and been wearing my Citizen Eco with chipped mineral glass (raised flat mineral?). It also needs much better lume and better contrasting hand colour but it cost about $120US and has a EcoDriveGMT that is about15years old now and even I couldn't kill it by accidentally depriving it of any light source for probably a year
