Citizen Independent 1481010 D500 Plastic Links

The D500 "shutter" moduleSally Vox is a versatile and we'll used module, and was featured is a lot of different Citizen watches in the late 90s, including a lot of the Citizen Independent 1481010 models. You can find out all about the 1481010 range from my 1481010 overview page.

This version of the watch has a distinctive wide plastic hinged strap which screws into a rectangular aluminium case. The watch case was mostly (maybe always) silver, but there are a range of different strap colours, along with variations on the colour surrounding the mirrored LCD display. This design came out in late 1999 as part of the fleur de lys range and was on sale until the end of the 1481010s  in 2003.

As with the other D500 watches, the default display is with seconds only showing in the middle. Pressing the display button makes the mirrored LCD reveal the time below with am animation looking like shutters are being opened. Normally, the watch beeps when you do this, except when the light is activated first. Other modes are alarm, chronograph, and timer.

Working out how to change the time is a little complex, but it's done by displaying the time and then holding both of the top buttons.

This particular model has the smoky black strap and black LCD surround. It has a full model number of D500-S73109, and a catalogue number of IT21-4501K. The originalsale price was 15,000 yen. 

Like many 90s watches, you need to watch out for the straps becoming brittle (but you may notice a slight sticky/oily feeling of the surface as a warning).

Citizen Independent 1481010 fleur de lys D500 Curvy Shutter

The module in today's watch is familiar, however the watch design isn't.

This is one of the Citizen Independent 1481010 collection, which was first released 1997 as a collection for the young and fashionable.

This particular design came out in late 98 or early 99 and is one of two watch shapes in the fleur de lys 1481010 models. Of the two shapes, this appears to be the womens version with a curved body, and thinner, more bracelet-like strap. The model was still available in 2001, but had disappeared by 2003.

The watch uses a D500 module, which was used in many Citizen designs around that time. The module has time, alarm, chronograph, and timer functions, shown in 3 lines of 2 digits on it's inverse LCD display.

I call the watch "shutter" as normally you see only the seconds, and when the time button is pressed, the display "opens" like a shutter (with a beep unless the light is on).

It has a model number of D500-S69375, and a catalogue number of IT21-4402K. It's original sale price was 18,000yen.