Citizen Is Coming for Grand Seiko’s Lunch With a Pair of New Watches

The Citizen, equipped with an astonishingly accurate Eco-Drive movement, gets a gorgeous case and dial upgrade, and still undercuts its biggest rival.

By Brad Lanphear

Published August 8, 2025

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Updated August 8, 2025

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Citizen’s reputation as Seiko’s sidekick in Japanese watchmaking is undeserved.

The brand is a worthy adversary in many respects, offering a balanced alternative to its horological neighbor, and often provides a better value.

a blue Citizen dress watch — The Citizen Super Titanium has a new washi dial and platinum DLC coated case.

There is no better example than the new The Citizen reference AQ4100, with a tonal blue washi paper dial and platinum DLC-coated Super Titanium case.

Citizen’s premier dress watch collection already boasts a quartz movement, the caliber A060 Eco-Drive, that matches Grand Seiko’s top 9F Caliber with an accuracy of +/-5 seconds per year and bests its rival with solar charging.

The front and back of a Citizen eco-drive solar quartz watch movement — Citizen’s caliber A060 Eco-Drive movement has an accuracy of +/-5 seconds per year.

Citizen achieves this astounding accuracy by growing its own quartz crystals, creating an advantage in quality control and refinement (Seiko is one of the only other brands to do this). The caliber A060 uses the best crystals from each crop and has built-in temperature regulation and overcharge protection.

The Citizen collection now has visual refinements that arguably outclass Grand Seiko’s quartz models, which are currently all made of steel and still cost over $1,000 more.

Alongside the reference AQ4100, Citizen also released the reference AQ4106, which has a rose gold DLC-coated case and a Duratect Sakura Pink dial that resembles white clouds with a rosy hue at sunset.

a gold Citizen dress watch — The Sakura Pink reference has a Super Titanium case DLC-coated with rose gold.

Both watches are complete with genuine crocodile leather straps, fitted with Super Titanium folding clasps. If you’re more concerned with accuracy than an automatic movement, The Citizen is starting to look like a more appealing value than its vaunted competitor.

Like flowing water

Grand Seiko has always been in a class of its own when it comes to dial textures. Along with Zaratsu polishing and Spring Drive movement technology, it has been a trademark feature of the elite watchmaker.

However, Citizen is gradually gaining ground in dial design by following Grand Seiko’s playbook. Both brands draw inspiration from Japan’s rich cultural heritage and natural beauty, but there is plenty of material to go around.

Citizen utilizes the ancient Japanese craft of washi paper, which is made from tree bark and meticulously dyed to create rich textures and colors. The brilliant aspect of this move is that the paper is nearly transparent, used for centuries in shades and lanterns, allowing light to pass through to the solar cells beneath.

The new reference AQ4100 has a tonal blue washi dial that resembles indigo tie-dye. The texture is inspired by a swiftly flowing river, and the gold-tone seconds hand represents sunlight reflecting off the water’s surface.

Citizen could not have chosen a more complementary strap than the accompanying indigo-dyed genuine crocodile.

Going platinum

One area where Grand Seiko is still miles ahead of Citizen, and pretty much every other watchmaker, is polishing. The Zaratsu technique is a level of sorcery no one else can replicate.

the side of a Citizen watch — The case is intricately finished.

So Citizen did what it does best: it turned to science. PVD coating the reference AQ4100 with platinum achieved an equally alluring case finish.

The only drawback is that the coating sacrifices the exterior durability of Citizen’s Super Titanium. While the material beneath is still highly resistant to scratches and dents, the precious metal coating is vulnerable.

the back of a Citizen dress watch — The caseback has the Citizen eagle icon etched in relief.

The Citizen collection watches aren’t Citizen’s most accurate or technically refined, but they do create a legitimate rivalry with Grand Seiko.

The new references AQ4100 and AQ4106 are two of the most stunning dress watches Citizen has ever produced. At least visually, they match Grand Seiko references that cost double the price.

Pricing and Availability

The Citizen Super Titanium Washi Dial reference AQ4100 is available now from Citizen for $2,895.

The rose gold-plated reference AQ4106 with the “Okashi” dial is $2,995.

Both watches are limited edition runs of 400 pieces each.

Citizen The Citizen Super Titanium Washi Dial

Specs

Case Size	38mm
Movement	Citizen caliber A060 solar-quartz
Water Resistance	100m

$2,895 at Citizen

About the Author: Brad Lanphear is an associate editor at Gear Patrol covering watches and style. Before joining the publication, he previously wrote for Heddels and Men’s Health. Now, he’s on a never-ending quest to find the perfect pair of Japanese denim.