The Citizen Calibre 0200 “Japanese Armour” Limited Edition

The Citizen Calibre 0200 was one of last year’s surprise watches for us. It offered original aesthetics, with a very impressive movement, and an intriguing dial. Whichever way we looked at it, we always arrived at the conclusion it was a refined, detailed, consistent package overall. A year onwards, and Citizen is now ready to celebrate the initial Calibre 0200 with a new take on that very Japanese steel luxury sports watch. This is the new The Citizen Calibre 0200 Limited Edition, celebrating the 1-year anniversary.

The latest iteration of the Citizen Calibre 0200 features the same architecture as last year’s model but comes with a few updates in the materials department. It still has a 40mm wide, facetted stainless steel case with brushed and polished finishing. However, the bezel is now made from zirconia ceramic and is executed in black. This not only gives it the benefit of being highly scratch-resistant but also changes the look of the watch.

Along with the bezel, the dial is also new. Both are inspired by traditional Japanese armour worn by warriors when going into battle. The hammer tone finish of the dial is the result of electroforming. Its deep black tone contrasts nicely with the applied faceted indices and hands. The small-seconds subdial is framed and has a slight granular finish (without the hammer tone pattern). The track is printed in white, as is the outer minute track by the way.

Mechanically speaking, nothing has changed under the hood. There’s still that very nicely made Calibre 0200 automatic movement, a collaborative creation with La Joux-Perret S.A (a Citizen Group subsidiary). It comes with impressive features like a free-sprung balance and an escapement executed with LIGA fabrication process. We’ve explained all the technical details in our in-depth story last year. It is regulated to run well within COSC Chronometer rates and delivers 60h of power reserve. The finishing is also rather impressive, which can be admired through the caseback.

The Citizen Calibre 0200 Limited Edition is worn on a Himeji Kurozani black leather strap, which is made according to traditional Japanese leather tanning and lacquering methods. The cowhide gets a lustrous finish and unique texture in the hand-applied process. It is limited to just 90 pieces worldwide, available in Autumn/Winter 2022, for a price that remains to be confirmed (expect approximately USD 6,000).

For more information, please visit CitizenWatch-Global.com