The elite Swiss watch companies are widely touted as the original inventors and ongoing innovators of watchmaking, while the role of Japanese watchmaking is often overlooked.

But Japanese culture, like that of the Swiss, embraces precision and technical innovation, and Japanese companies have been key players in the development of modern watchmaking. Citizen Watch’s Eco-Drive technology, which powers a watch by converting energy from light, represents a major contribution to the watchmaking world.

With 12 factories in Japan, Citizen is the world’s fifth largest watch company behind Swatch, Richemont, Rolex and LVMH. Citizen was producing mechanical pocket watches in the 1920s and exporting mechanical movements to other countries by the 1930s. In the 1950s, Citizen introduced the Auto, its first automatic caliber; the Parashock,

Japan’s first shock-proof watch; and Parawater, the first water-resistant Japanese watch. The company also produced the world’s first watch with titanium elements in the 1970s. It was in 1976, at the height of the Japanese-dominated quartz revolution, when Citizen introduced its first light-powered watch. It was awkward, with solar panels positioned on the dial—and not exactly a fashion statement.

Over the years the technology has evolved, and today’s models are equipped with smaller panels that have been placed under a dial, which has been specially engineered to be penetrated by light. Eco-Drive, the current iteration of that 1976 invention, now represents 80 percent of Citizen’s watch sales—with U.S. customers responsible for 90 percent of those purchases. Some reasons for this appeal are the lure of energy efficiency (after all, the product line was born during the energy crisis of the 1970s) and the environmental message. Old batteries can end up in landfills, and most of them contain oxins that are hazardous to the environment and human health.

Citizen recently opened its doors to a small group of journalists for a firsthand look at its coordinated production facilities, where movements, dials and components are made and final watch assembly takes place. I was among those who visited manufacturers in Kawaguchiko, about 62 miles southwest of Tokyo, and Iida, about 217 miles from Tokyo in the Japanese Alps. Traveling to Iida is not unlike driving through the Jura Mountains to the watchmaking district of Switzerland, with its snowcapped mountains, sleepy villages and pristine landscapes. The Eco-Drive dial manufacture at Kawaguchiko is nestled near the foot of Mount Fuji, or Fuji-San as the Japanese call it, which translates roughly to “Mr. Fuji.” (The view from the factory takes in not just Fuji but also a roller coaster; near the foot of the mountains is an amusement park, the one thing that distinguishes the scene from anything one might see in the Swiss Jura.)

The Iida factory is a hum of robotic assembly lines churning out on average one quartz movement per second, most of them for Eco-Drive watches. The production process is highly automated, including the placement of integrated circuit boards, right up until the final casing and inspection of the movements, which is done by hand. “Our machines are great, but we still prefer not to trust them completely,” says Norio Takeuchi, Citizen’s watch director and brand manager. “That’s why a human checks every watch we produce.”

During my visit to Citizen Watch’s headquarters in Tanashi, I was able to preview a key product introduction for this year’s Baselworld: a special-edition 40th-anniversary piece, the Eco-Drive One. This represents the culmination of Citizen’s 40-year quest to improve its light-powered technology and make watces using it smaller, thinner and lighter.

The visiting journalists also previewed the new women’s watches introduced at Baselworld, including the Ambiluna, a contemporary, minimalist design with Eco-Drive technology that demonstrates
Citizen’s commitment to creating separate watch collections for women. Its design, created with input from fashion designer and Citizen brand adviser Yoshiko Ikoma, was inspired by the work of renowned Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. The collection features a “moon-glazed” sapphire crystal that evokes a hazy pale moonlight effect on the casing. The bangle-style watch includes a unique drop element adjacent to the case that is finished in traditional urushi lacquer.

A limited-edition model with Citizen’s proprietary Super Titanium case sports a strap made of Nishijin textile, a fabric for traditional Japanese kimonos made by 350-year-old Kyoto textile manufacturer Hosoo. Super Titanium is a surface-coating titanium with different elements that can be used to make cases and bracelets in a variety of colors that are five times harder and 40 percent lighter than ones in stainless steel—and bearing a scratch-resistant finish. During their visit, the journalists were invited to rub sandpaper and a wire brush across the surface of the Super Titanium case and bracelet, and the watch emerged without a scratch.

Citizen has not overlooked current mechanical advancements in watchmaking, though. The Iida factory also makes more than 1,000 automatic movements a day that are assembled by hand by the “
meisters,” highly trained master watchmakers. It takes 10 years to become a Citizen watch meister. It takes 20 years to become a grand meister. And only after 30 years can a watchmaker qualify to be a super meister. Much of Citizen’s activities in mechanical watchmaking, however, are conducted in Switzerland. In 2012, Citizen acquired La Joux-Perret, which makes mechanical movements for several elite luxury brands, and Prothor Holding, the Swiss company that owns high-end mechanical brand Arnold & Son.

ECO-DRIVE: HOW IT WORKS

The Eco-Drive watch is driven by energy from light. The watch is fitted with a solar cell located just under the dial. Light passes through the dial plate and is absorbed by the cell and converted into electrical energy. An integrated circuit positioned under the solar cell sends commands to the hands and wheels, which are moved by a step motor.

An Eco-Drive watch often incorporates other technology. Citizen makes Eco-Drive watches that are Bluetooth connected, satellite synchronized, radio controlled or equipped with a depth meter for diving. When the watch is fully charged, its power reserve will last six months. According to Citizen, this is 90,000 times longer than what the power reserve of an Apple watch delivers when fully charged. In 1996, Citizen’s Eco-Drive technology scored the first Eco-Mark, a Japanese award recognizing environmental protection.