Citizen, one of the world’ largest watchmakers by numbers, teams up with niche Parisian watch customizer Romaric André for a surprisingly good collaboration with the Citizen Tsuyosa seconde/seconde/. Creative, quirky, and very affordable, the Tsuyosa collaboration depicts the aftermath of the minutes hand slicing through the applied hour markers. And it does it quite well: the artfully positioned hour markers really do look like they have been cut in half.

Citizen’s latest Tsuyosa is interesting, clever, and affordable. In fact, it is only around US$20 more expensive than the entry level Tsuyosa, making it something of a no-brainer for someone who wants a well-priced watch with a sense of humour.

Like Seiko’s “5KX”, the Tsuyosa is an ideal platform for this project, as the model has intrinsic appeal as an integrated bracelet sports-adjacent watch, while also being affordable enough to be an impulse buy based on a cool dial.

Nitpickers might point out that a pixellated sword isn’t sharp enough. The pixel art “sword” minute hand may be seconde/seconde/’s best known motif, but it also requires suspension of belief that the hour markers have been cleaved in twain by the minutes hand. Which is unfortunate, as the effect is otherwise so well executed.

Of course, without the 8-bit katana it wouldn’t be immediately recognisable as a seconde/seconde/ project, but that is true of many of the best Mr André’s best works, such as the Uncatchable pendulum clock or the Spinnaker Fifty Phantoms.

The Tsuyosa bracelet is reminiscent of Rolex’s well-known President bracelet, normally found on the Day Date. The rounded profile is an odd fit with the angular case, but the links themselves look great in a vacuum, especially for the price, even if the clasp feels rather flimsy. A key part of the Tsuyosa’s value proposition is the sapphire crystal, which is far from a given at this price point from other Japanese brands like Seiko or Casio.

Perhaps the Tsuyosa’s greatest flaw is the tempered glass display case back, which gives an unwelcome look at the no-frills cal. 8210, and probably does less to mitigate movements infamous rotor noise than a full-metal back.

On this iteration, the movement is half obscured by the watch’s thesis: “Being smaller has never stopped Minutes from slicing Hours into pieces”. The movements also sports a less generic rotor and dispenses with the jarring “gilt” finish of the movement found in the normal Tsuyosa.

Citizen Tsuyosa seconde/seconde/ Collaboration Limited Edition
Ref. NJ0157-81L

Diameter: 40.0 mm
Height: 11.7 mm
Material: Stainless steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 50 m

Movement: Caliber 8210
Features: Hours, minutes, sweep seconds, date, automatic winding
Frequency: 21,600 BPH / 3 Hz
Power reserve: 42 hours

Strap: Stainless steel bracelet

Limited edition: Yes, 3,600 pieces worldwide
Availability: At Citizen boutiques and retailers
Price: US$495

For more, visit Citizenwatch-global.com.

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