Citizen is celebrating 55 years since it revolutionized the watch industry with the world’s first solid titanium watch, the X-8 Chronometer.
Now, in 2025, the brand pushes the boundaries again with new innovations in its proprietary Super Titanium – a material five times harder and 40% lighter than stainless steel.
This space-age material is treated with our proprietary surface-hardening technology, Duratect, which enhances durability and scratch resistance while preserving titanium’s lightweight comfort.
While titanium timepieces are having a moment, Citizen’s engineer Kazuma Sato explained to WatchPro that “we are the only ones to successfully pioneer Super Titanium technology in-house, and we use this technology exclusively for wrist watches,” where it is usually reserved for the realms of intergalactic exploration.
President of Citizen Watches America Jeffrey Cohen said: “Citizen is a market maker, not a leader. This material isn’t new to us – it symbolizes our achievements and being way ahead of the competition in any price range.”
Notoriously difficult to work with, here Citizen have harnessed the “triple whammy of being hard to press, hard to cut, and hard to polish” by creating a heat forging technique so reliable that they can even use it to create ineffably intricate designs.
To commemorate the milestone anniversary, Citizen has introduced two new Duratect colorways: DLC Blue and Amber Yellow.
Duratect DLC Blue uses thin-film interference technology to create vibrant blue tones that shift with light, echoing the iridescence of soap bubbles. This was achieved through complex titanium recrystallization and precision coating, resulting in a surface hardness of 1,000–1,400 HV. Meanwhile, Duratect DLC features a dynamic crystal pattern that changes with viewing angles, ensuring no two watches look the same.
The standout innovation, however, is Duratect Amber Yellow. Developed from a nickel-free niobium-titanium alloy, this hypoallergenic metal boasts exceptional hardness at 1,700–2,300 HV – making it up to 20 times harder than gold plating.
Mr. Sato explains that this warm, golden tone was specifically developed in response to customer demand for “less flashy, gaudy gold with more of a vintage feel” – a level of adaptiveness only achievable given Citizen’s in-house production.
Currently, the newest Amber Yellow model is only being offered only in Japan for a Hikari women’s watch powered by an Eco-Drive movement, priced at approximately $750.
With prices of the brand’s Super Titanium watches starting from around $250, Cohen says “Citizen watches have always been accessible luxury, we always go over and beyond. We over spec our watches purposely, and our levels of finishing are unheard of. The polishing on our $3,000 watch, others do this on $800,000 watches, and we’re able to do that because of our vertical production.”
This emphasis on ‘a watch for all’ is something Citizen is really leaning into, and Cohen highlighted Gen Z as a key target market: “We want to talk to the younger generation, and we’re really aging down as a company. The material story, the ease of use, the sustainability, it’s very important to them.”
Keeping this competitive in a difficult economic landscape isn’t easy but Cohen appears optimistic: “There’s a lot of disruption in the industry in terms of jewelry, diamonds and tariffs. But this company always took disruption as an opportunity, and I see this as a big opportunity to take market share, and we’re going to play into design innovation and perceived value. I think right now, the consumer is going to be looking for things that are authentic and real storytelling.”
While technological advancements, chemicals and machinery are at the core of Super Titanium, Mr. Sato emphasises that such an impressive timepiece can only be made at the hands of exceptional craftsmen: “It takes a lot of experience, and some have trained for over 50 years. It’s not something anyone can do, and it’s the only way to make the very distinct hairlines, mirror surface and all the details.”
These advancements are at the heart of Citizen’s Super Titanium: The Beauty of Time traveling exhibition, showcasing the evolution of titanium in watchmaking.
The immersive display features 9 pod-like structures crafted from over 1,000 titanium plates in various Duratect finishes, illustrating the beauty, strength, and color innovation of Super Titanium.
Currently based in New York, the travelling exhibition is limited to invited guests, and will be travelling to Singapore and Paris later in the year.
With such a legacy rooted in material science and sustainability, Citizen is looking ahead to continue to define modern watchmaking with more “exciting things” in the pipeline. Propelled by a young design team with bright, big ideas and more technological advancements, Cohen summarizes the brand’s longevity hack: “We don’t need revolution. We like evolution: slow and steady, and building up momentum.”