Citizen celebrated its birthday by unveiling a concept pocket watch at Baselworld in Switzerland last year. The said concept pocket watch was touted as more accurate than any other watch that was available in the market. The technology has now made its ways into the Citizen’s new Caliber 0100 line of wristwatches. These wristwatches are scheduled to go on sale by the end of 2019. The three latest Eco-Drive watches are said to have an accuracy of ±1 second per year thanks to a new quartz crystal design.
Quartz watches are already known for their accuracy. In fact, most of the owners can wear them for months without having to reset them. However, the accuracy for such watches, on an average, is about ±15 seconds per month. For most of the people using the watches, this is more than enough. However, it is not enough for those who yearn for a more accurate timepiece.
Citizen has plans of manufacturing its Caliber 0100 line as a limited edition of three models with a total of 800 units to capture this luxury accuracy market. Each 37.5mm case of the Caliber 0100 line will house Citizen’s Eco-Drive quartz power technology along with an exceptionally accurate timekeeping feature.
Citizen makes use of an amorphous silicon photocell for the sake of powering the movement and charging a unique titanium lithium ion secondary battery. The Caliber 0100 is capable of running without light for about six months on a single charge and can survive for eight months if it’s being used in its power conservation mode.
However, the heart of the Caliber 0100 line is what makes it so special. The quartz movement that is responsible for maintaining time using ultra-high accuracy without requiring the input from external sources such as GPS, internet, or radio networks is what makes the Caliber 0100 line so special. The watch manufacturer has replaced the conventional tuning fork-shaped quartz crystal that operated at a frequency of 32,768 Hz with an AT-cut quartz oscillator that has been cut at an angle of 35.25 degrees. This enables the crystal to vibrate at a much higher frequency of 8.4 MHz in the temperature range of -20 and 60 degrees Celsius.
The movement’s circuits are anti-magnetic and shock-resistant. At the same time, the mechanical components of the Caliber 0100 line have been made using a very high standard for the sake of maintaining accuracy throughout the watch’s system. The Caliber 0100 line will be available in three versions; the White Gold Model (AQ6010-06A)in a white gold case that will feature front and back sapphire crystals. It will be sold at a price of $16,800 and will have a limited edition of only 100 units. The second and third versions are named the Super Titanium Models (AQ6021-51E, AQ6020-53X) and are priced at $7,400. AQ6021-51E will have a total of 500 units whereas the AQ6020-53X will have a total of 200 units.
