Citizen Watch Co.
The company Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.. (Japaneseシチズン時計 株式会社, Shichizun Tokei Kabushiki - gaisha ), is a Japanese watch and Movement Manufacturer.
The predecessor of the company, the Shokosha Tokei KENKYUSHO (尚 工 舎 时 计 研究所), was founded in 1918 in Tokyo. The produced with Swiss machinery goods were sold since 1924 as the Citizen Watch, a name that also in 1930, the company received. 1936, then began to export pocket watches.
After 1945
After the Second World War, the company expanded strengthened. 1958, Citizen published the first Japanese wristwatch with alarm, the same year began the collaboration with the American watchmaker Bulova. Until 1965, Citizen manufactured exclusively watches with manual winding, but in order to remain competitive, first automatic watches from own production were offered in the same year. 1966 Citizen launched the first Japanese wristwatch with electromechanical work. 1970 followed by the first tuning fork watch and 1972, the first quartz watch with LC - display.
Citizen Watch was developed by Favre Leuba - one of the first watch manufacturers, wristwatches for diving athletes with integrated depth gauge. This function is also included in digital dive computers. Beginning of the 1990s, was Citizen of the first major manufacturer, the watch case made of titanium.
A further step is the model Citizen Eco-Drive with solar-powered quartz watches as Funkuhrversion and dark power reserve.
Today
Meanwhile, Citizen Watch is the world's largest watch and Movement Manufacturer. Moreover, he is one of the three Japanese manufacturers who also manufacture mechanical movements. Works that are not incorporated into his own watches, carry the brand name MIYOTA. The main competitors are Seiko and Casio.
The offered only in Japan "Citizen Chronomaster " Citizen Watch is the promised with a maximum deviation of / - 5 seconds per year, currently the world's most accurate quartz clock for the consumer market forth. This is inter alia achieved by the use of a thermoplastic compensated crystal framework ( caliber A660 ).
Citizen Watch is now a subsidiary of Citizen Holdings.
Q & Q
Q & Q is a maker's mark of Japan CBM Corporation in Tokyo, since 2002, a wholly owned subsidiary of Citizen Watch Group. This Q & Q stand for engl. Quality and Quantity or German quality and quantity.
In October 1976, Citizen watches began to sell under the name of Q & Q Exclusive. Reached in 1999 Q & Q brand of 20 million sold worldwide watches. In the program are mainly analog quartz wristwatches.
Trivia
The company name Citizen used since 1918 is intended to express that the brand watches that are affordable for every citizen. The first mass-produced pocket in 1918 handed over to the Japanese emperor solemnly.