Select a city by rotating the disc with the crown and display its local time
Expression as a light-powered radio-controlled watch
In designing, I took as motifs the expressions of light—artificial, linear reflections and highlights that evoke urban landscapes. Behind this was a strong desire to visually emphasize not only the image of “receiving,” embodied by the signal reception and light intake of a light-powered radio-controlled watch, but also the image of “emitting,” continuously providing time by harnessing the quasi-perpetual power of light. Compared with conventional quartz watches, light-powered radio-controlled watches have more design constraints, and at the time I felt my own designs tended to play it safe; this was why I aimed to push the visual expression further.
Images of the linear artificial beauty of high-rise architecture / linear brilliance of light / layered feel / sense of speed
A dial that visualizes light
On the dial, I wanted to highlight the nature of a light-powered watch—being powered by light that is supplied virtually perpetually. Normally, the dial of a light-powered watch uses a translucent resin as the base material so that the solar panel hidden beneath can receive light. However, with that material alone, it is difficult to express the metal-like brilliance characteristic of a watch, so metallic parts such as indexes and ring components are used to supplement a jeweled sparkle. Since metal parts do not transmit light, the key is how to balance and reconcile the dial’s base “area that transmits light” with the metal parts’ “area that carries brilliance.” This is the reason I wrote earlier that there are more constraints than in designing a quartz watch.
Continuing to consider whether we could turn this handicap to our advantage, we arrived at a theme of expressing the layered feel and chiaroscuro of the dial by leveraging the resin’s characteristic whereby thickness creates tonal differences, and by likening the shining metal components to buildings illuminated by light to convey the shadows cast by urban high-rises. With this, I aimed to express both splendor and smartness on the dial as a tool that supports businesspeople facing ever-changing situations.
A dial that emphasizes, through shadow and brilliance, that it is a tool which absorbs light as its power source (receiving) and displays information derived by electronic control (emitting)
Commitment to developing a titanium exterior
In the early 1970s, when we first began adopting titanium for watch exteriors, cases could only be formed by pressing, which limited the shapes we could express. Because of titanium’s tough, ductile nature, chips would cling to the cutting edge during machining and cause problems. Mirror-polished and hairline finishes were also difficult, so essentially only a matte sand-blast finish was possible. This meant constraints on expression as an ornament, but CITIZEN looked ahead to titanium’s essential suitability as a watch material—its lightness and hypoallergenic nature—and continued development aiming for beautiful finishes and a rich palette of tones. As a result, today we can design under conditions almost the same as for stainless steel processing, and it has become the signature material of the ATTESA brand.
Left: The X8, the first mass-produced titanium model in the early ’70s. A simple pressed form with a sand-blast finish. Right: Machining conditions have become comparable to stainless steel and surface-treatment technologies have improved. Mirror finishing has become possible, expanding the expressive potential as an ornament.
How it looks and how it feels
For the exterior case and band, we composed planes from straight lines to express an artificial beauty—the image of the brilliance and reflections brought by light. Employing the machining technologies gained through ongoing development, we aimed for a sharp appearance that would renew the image of titanium. We also sought to impress a sense of smartness befitting a sporty business watch.
For example, we set the width of the rising side surface of the case (the red area in the figure above) to taper narrower, so the case feels thinner. I believe that for a watch, the intuitive impression of “how it looks and how it feels” when actually worn, rather than the literal dimensions, is what matters.
In addition, by printing the brand logo and minute track on the back side of the glass, we added an effect that lets you perceive light casting shadows onto the dial surface.
For the band, we used a composition of lines and planes to catch the flow from the case. By dividing the link components, we achieved differentiated finishing that is impossible with a one-piece structure and expressed highly precise surface quality. We changed the direction of the hairline finish on the center link and the end links so they would not appear the same in tone, once again allowing the effect of light to be perceived.
We also set the band to sit one step higher than the case lugs to emphasize the band’s presence (above). However, as this would make the band stand out alone and look unbalanced, we added cylindrical parts at the connections between the case and the band links (below).
The rounded shape of the cylindrical parts eases the height gap between the top surface of the case and the top of the band links, thereby achieving both an emphasis on the band’s presence and a heightened sense of overall unity.
Pre-checks in 3D
When checking the 3D form in the completed state with the case and band combined, I place importance on the balance when viewed from an angle. That’s because during use, you look at a wristwatch more often from an angle than straight on. I check from every angle the shapes of each part and the balance of the areas occupied by mirror-polished (brilliant) and hairline (matte) finishes. In this way, I refined the exterior design themed on “light.”
Checking the balance of the three elements—shape, finish, and tone—at viewing angles common when worn
Red: mirror-polished finish
Blue: vertical hairline finish
Green: horizontal hairline finish
Yellow: vertical hairline finish (side surface)
Light blue: sand-blast finish
As a maintenance-free partner
This model does not require regular battery replacement; it is a maintenance-free, eco-friendly watch. The function of generating its own power from light and operating with low power consumption shares common ground with a mechanical watch that runs by winding a mainspring, in the sense that it is a tool that continues to operate stand-alone. It combines the functional beauty unique to Japanese watchmakers with the romance that also resonates with mechanical watches. Unlike a merely sporty watch, it was designed with the concept of “the satisfaction and smartness of mastering functions as a business tool,” with the hope that it will become a partner for those who keep moving forward day after day.