Citizen has a strong period in the first half of the 70s with bold and colourful designs and good mechanics. Here is two examples from somewhat opposite sides of the spectrum.
The left hand watch is a 1973 17j 6501 caliber auto. Citizen did a lot of black and/or PVD watches during this period. This watch has a more eloxated finish than an applied PVD layer so hopefully it is more scratch resistant. I got it NOS from Italian ebay so it should be possible to keep in good shape. The gold and black is perhaps a bit too 70s but the wide chrome bezel makes it look less dated. It has a bit of James Bond (Moore, not Connery) feel to it.
The right hand watch is a 1974 23j 8110 caliber chrono. The hibeat 8110 caliber has been mentioned before as one of Citizens best calibers and I would tend to agree. When it comes in a watch like this with a vibrant graded green dial set off by the orange second hand, it makes a great watch. One issue could be that the dial looks a bit small with both the broad tachy bezel and the wide case style, but it works quite well in practice.
![]()
/ martin
The left hand watch is a 1973 17j 6501 caliber auto. Citizen did a lot of black and/or PVD watches during this period. This watch has a more eloxated finish than an applied PVD layer so hopefully it is more scratch resistant. I got it NOS from Italian ebay so it should be possible to keep in good shape. The gold and black is perhaps a bit too 70s but the wide chrome bezel makes it look less dated. It has a bit of James Bond (Moore, not Connery) feel to it.
The right hand watch is a 1974 23j 8110 caliber chrono. The hibeat 8110 caliber has been mentioned before as one of Citizens best calibers and I would tend to agree. When it comes in a watch like this with a vibrant graded green dial set off by the orange second hand, it makes a great watch. One issue could be that the dial looks a bit small with both the broad tachy bezel and the wide case style, but it works quite well in practice.
/ martin
The chrono - model 67-9054 - came in 2 flavours, there was also a blue dialed version, my example of that has a plain black bezel which I believe is correct. I've seen examples of these with polished bezels, no doubt due to owners / sellers wanting to remove the scratched black coating which is rather prone to damage:
