The Citizen Watch Company has the distinct honor of holding many titles for “first” in its history of over 75 years. The company was founded in 1930 and given its name as a way to appeal to the emotions of the wearer. This was to be their watch – the watch for all citizens. It was one of the first watch companies to target the masses in the wrist watch craze that was just beginning. Today, the wrist watch is an accessory as well as a fashion statement, with many people owning several styles to suit their own tastes and reflect their special interests and hobbies.

Since 1986, Citizen has been the world’s largest watchmaker. They lead the industry in technological advances that make watches affordable without compromising quality. Some other Citizen Watch firsts and top distinctions include:

In 1956 Citizen made the first shock resistant watch ever manufactured by a Japanese company
Made the first Japanese-manufactured water resistant watch
Creator of the world’s first professional dive watch to electronically sense depths
Creator of the slimmest LCD watch and the world’s thinnest light powered watch, the Stiletto
Creator of the first voice recognition watch
Leads the world in light powered watches with the Eco-Drive watch collection that uses natural and artificial light as power sources, and never needs a battery. In 1996, it became the first watch to receive an Eco-Mark.

The first Citizen pocket watch was produced at the Shokosha Watch Research Institute. The Japanese-made watch was given its name by Tokyo’s mayor in 1924, Mr. Shimpei Goto. While Citizen has expanded into making jewelry, eyewear, clocks and other products, The Citizen Watch Company remains strong with headquarters in Tokyo and facilities throughout the world.

The Citizen Watch Company began exporting their classic timepieces in July 1936 with shipment to areas of Southeast Asia and the South Pacific. By 1958 the company was shipping to the People’s Republic of China and shortly thereafter, in 1960, struck an agreement with the Bulova Watch Company in the United States for importing and exporting. Full scale exporting to Europe began in 1965 with the opening of a Citizen office in Germany.

Citizen watches continue to make time keeping an art form with stylish designs on the cutting edge of innovation and technology. As society, as a whole, strives to become more ecologically aware, Citizen Watches will already be there to keep it on schedule.

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