July « 2014 « AZ Fine Time Blog

Continuing there additions of automatic movements to the Citizen Signature Collection, Citizen has introduced their first diver model in the series. The new NB1031-53L Grand Touring Sport is going to be the first to feature a screw down crown, have a 60 click uni-directional blue diver bezel, and have an impressive blue dial with orange accents.

The blue dial on this piece is very well executed, using a sandwich type style for the minute/second track on the outer edge of the dial. The first 15 minutes of the are highlighted in orange, and the rest in white making for a nice subtle accent. The hour and seconds hand are in white with the minute hand in orange making for an easy indication of minutes passed when coordinated with its blue uni-directional bezel. The bezel has 60 clicks and functions solid and smooth giving clear indications of what minute marker you are aligned with.

The blue dial definitely has a slight radial pattern to it and looks metallic in certain lights, however, in most situations the dial looks to be a matte blue. It is sort of an optical illusion with this model as you really have to pay attention to see its detail. The applied indexes are very thick with generous amounts of lume applied towards the outer edge of the dial. Finishing on the indexes is mostly brushed but its faceted edges are done in a high polish.

With the new NB1031-53L, you have a 300m water resistance achieved mostly due to its screw down crown. None of the other Citizen Signature Automatic have had this feature, or this water resistance as of yet. The crown protector, very similar to the Grand Touring model that came out last year, is still attached to the actual crown through an insert on the side profile. As the crown is unscrewed and pulled out, you will see the insert protrude from the crown protector as pictured above.

The movement utilized in the Grand Touring Sport is the automatic Citizen produced caliber 9012. This movement (which was also featured in the original Grand Touring) has 28,800 bph, 24 jewels, a 42 hour power reserve, striping and skeletonized rotor exposing more of the internals. The rotor is uni-directional winding and moves at a very fast, smooth pace. You can tell the weight of the rotor is significant, as it throws itself around like a 7750, though this is only a three hand with date. Very impressive, especially for its price point.

The retail price on the NB1031-53L is going to be $1,195, but is available for order directly on our site for $896.25 HERE. There will also be a black dialed version with rose gold accents (pictured below) that will retail for $1,295, but sold for $971.25 HERE.

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Seiko had a very exciting announcement at the Baselworld 2014 fair. The announcement was that Seiko’s Propsex brand was finally being launched on an international level for the first time. The brand was gently introduced last year with the SBDB008 Limited Edition in the US market, and now, an entire series will coming to the US. Part of their international launch was the introduction of new models for this series. Today we feature the Prospex Kinetic Diver GMT, models SUN019 and SUN023, which are the now most anticipated in the series.

The SUN019 will feature a 47.5mm stainless steel case and bracelet, mostly brushed in finish. The shrouded design is inspired from their 1st 600m dive watch from 1975 with openings from 12:00 to 3:00 and 6:00 to 9:00 allowing for easy access to its uni-directional divers bezel. The dial and bezel for the SUN019 will be in black, with the dial matte, making for great contrast along with it’s heavily applied luminous (Lumi-Bright) markers and hands. All four hands, along with the hour and minute markers, the frame of the GMT hand, and the tail end of the seconds hand will all be coated in the Lim-Bright material. As we all know, Seiko’s Lumi-Bright is very strong and with this heavy of an application is sure to glow tremendously.

The next model is the SUN023. It will have the same case design, but with a black hard coating on the shroud, orange accents for the dive features (rotating bezel and minute hand) and blue accents for the GMT hand and 24 hour numerals. The strap attachment for this model will be a black silicone giving it a soft and comfortable feel. The date will be featured just before the 5:00 marker, and the watch will also have a power reserve display that can be activated by pushing the upper right button. The second hand will act as your power reserve display. When pointing at 6:00, the power reserve is completely full. The closer it gets to 12:00, the lower the power.

The case sides on both models are hollowed out, allowing you to see the inner case. The attention to detail is incredible and gives you a lot to look at while on the wrist. These pieces are going to be thick and while I don’t have the exact measurements as of yet, I would guess them to be around 15-16mm. Of course, this is common and expected in most dive watches. The SUN019 and 023 will both have screw down crowns, and 200m water resistance. They will also have sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating.

The movement used is the Seiko Kinetic GMT caliber 5M85. This will obviously display a secondary time zone, which is read in 24 hour increments and also features an independent setting hour hand, which can be adjusted by the first click out on the crown. Kinetic movements work off of body movement to recharge the watch. Essentially, 250 swings of its rotor is equivalent to 1 days worth of energy. The watch can run up to 6 months without movement before it needs to be recharged. This would be from a full charge, and if you can manage to keep these beauties off of your wrist for that long.

The MSRP on the SUN109 is $695, but is currently available for pre-order on AZFineTime.com for $521.25 HERE. The SUN023 will have an MSRP of $675, but also is available on our site for pre-order at $506.25 HERE. Both pieces are scheduled for early to mid September for delivery.

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