Citizen Independent G110

It's a smart looking watch today, and one of a line of watches I collector but have not blogged for a little while.

This watch is from the Citizen Independent range. It isn't one of the original Independent 1481010 watches, but from the collection that came out in October 2007 (at around the 10th anniversary of the 1481010 models initial release).

This model is based around the G110 module and is a 3 hand design quartz analogue watch. It has a relatively plain design with a round dial featuring white markers on a black background. Only the 12 o'clock has a number for the hour markers, but there are small minutes numbers around the very edge of the dial.

The case design is a little more unusual as it is octagonal and has the look of a giant bolt head. The back is a screw on design, with the watch being waterproof to 10 bar. It has a stainless steel construction and was cased in China (with a Japanese quartz movement). The strap is also stainless steel, with a special first connector which is matched to the case.

The back of the watch has the full model number, which is G110-003255-02, and from the serial number, it seems to have been made in 2009 (and isn't available anymore). I've not found this exact models details online, but a black version of this design has a catalogue number of ITQ21-5261, so the number for this version should be similar. The original price seems to have been around the ¥14,298 mark.

1481010 Bonzaipaint Journal Standard D600

It's been a long while since I posted a 1481010 (in fact I didn't post one in the entire of 2014).

This model is one of the solar powered Eco-Drive models and has a D600 module inside. I've blogged one of these watches in 2012, but this is a special model. This model is a collaboration between Citizen, Bonzaipaint, and Journal Standard. In the guarantee form, it states that this is an "Independent Bonzaipaint custum limited edition", and I've spelt it exactly as the paper says...

Journal Standard is a Japanese brand which has been around since the 90s, with creative, quality contemporary casual clothing. They are running in Japan, Hong-Kong, and Paris, and have over 30 stores. Bonzaipaint seem to have been a group looking at custom designs or special editions of clothing, but their website just has a single cartoon image. For info on the Citizen Independent 1481010 range itself, I've got lots on information on my 1481010 overview page.

The 1481010 D600 is a large solar watch with an LCD display. It has a curved solar panel above the LCD display which uses a dotted pixel style 6 digit display with an animation as the numbers change. The watch has buttons on the front which control the modes and start the light. The modes are dual time, stopwatch, alarm, and countdown timer, and which is shown by circles along the top of the LCD. The size of the solar panel and battery, combined with the power saving mode means that this model should have 4 years life between charges.

This special edition has different paints than the usual 1481010 D600, and a special style of strap. The strap is extremely wide with a velcro fastening, and includes the Bonzaipaint and Journal Standard names.

The full model number is D600-L20271, and the watch seems to have come from 2000.

Independent Truck Company - Built To Grind

As many regular readers will know, I collect the Independent range of watches. Today's watch is also an Independent, but nothing to do with my normal collection.

This watch is an Independent as in the Independent Truck Company, who manufacturer skateboard trucks (the axle, it's hanger, and the baseplate which attaches it to the board). The company was established in 1978 and is based in California. They are well known in the skateboarding world and sponsor many riders, including Tony Hawk. It is recognised by their Alisee cross logo, and this logo is on the watch face behind the Independent name.

The watch also has the statement 'Built to Grind' on the face. There was a book published in 2004 also called Built to Grind which was based on the Independent Truck Company archives of skateboard material, so my guess would be that this watch may be a similar age.

The watch itself is a pretty plain 3 hand dial design, in silver colour, with a rotating bezel. Inside is a Japanese Morioka Tokei (Seiko?) module which takes the standard AG4 battery.

Independent 1481010 Abacus G.S.D blue grey and silver

It's been a while since I've done a Citizen Independent 1481010, and so I'm blogging one today. You can find out much more about the 1481010 range from my 1481010 overview page.

This is one of the G.S.D models with the Graphic Sparkle Display, but the Abacus form. I blogged new of these a long time ago, and there I mentioned that in the abacus models with a D410 module, there were 4 colour variations. That the I blogged the cream model with a orange and silver buttons, and this time it is a blue green watch with light blue grey and silver buttons.

For the Abacus model, the display is made up of rows of LEDs of different colours made into 4 columns. Each column represents one of the four digits in the time, and are made up of 4 single digits, and a red LED which counts as 5. Pressing the bottom button shows the time followed by a flashing pattern of dots which changes each hour.

This watch was made at the end of 1998 and has a full model number of D410-S70134. This colour combination was the one that lasted the longest, officially being released in 1999 and stopping in 2001. The catalogue number was IT21-4131H and it originally cost ¥10,000.

Citizen Independent Girl painted face watch

I was having trouble finding a name to describe today's watch, as I have with a few others from this range.

The watch is part of the Citizen Independent Girl range, which was part of the Independent line of watches that was released in 2007 and aimed at fashionable young persons. The Independent Girl watches were aimed at women, but as you may have noticed from my blog, many are large enough to be unisex.

This model uses the 1036 quartz module that is used by quite a few different watches in this range. It is a 3 hand dial design with a crown at the 3 o'clock position. It has a basic round face, but this is covered in raised lines (looking like I N I), with a painted style of writing (saying Independent) between them.

The full model number is 1036-003140-2, and it sold for 18,000 yen (+tax). I don't know when this was released, the serial number suggests 2000, but I know it is not sold by Citizen anymore. The catalogue number was ILA21-6132.

Citizen Independent U021 Tsuyoshi Nimura Collaboration Model

I've blogged this design of watch before, but several special editions were also released, and that is what I'm blogging today.

The watch is part of the Citizen Independent line of watches that started on 29th October 2007. The line covers interesting designs at reasonable prices for the fashion conscious, and was a follow-up to Citizen's Independent 1481010 watches that were initially released about a decade earlier.

This model is one of the first batch of the Independent watches released in 2007, and is a special edition Collaboration Model with Tsuyoshi Nimura. Nimura is a Japanese designer, art director, and stylist, born in 1970 who has worked with many clothing lines and celebrities.

The watch is based on the U020 module which is an ana-digi design. The watch is square with a round dial, and round LCD display on the watch face. This Nimura version is all white and has the designers name engraved on the back plate.

The analogue part is a 3 hand dial, operating with a crown. The LCD display (of mirrored digits on a white background) has a curved time display around the top of the dial, and text on mode and time zone around the lower half. For the modes, this watch has world time, 2 alarms, chronograph, and timer (and the display can of course show the date too).

The watch came on sale in October 2007, with a catalogue number of ITX21-5004 and cost 21,000 yen. The full model number is U020-002689-01.

Citizen Independent 1481010 Spawn Special Edition: Spawn

This watch is another of the special edition 1481010 watches that was released in the late 90s, and is the second of the 4 watches released in 1998 to commemorate the release of the 1997 movie from the comic book Spawn.

The 1481010 range is one of my favourites, and much more information can be found on my 1481010 summary page (link).

The Spawn comic was created by Todd McFarlane in 1992 and published by Image Comics, and in 1997 a movie came out loosely based on the origin of the Spawn character. The comic and movie revolve around a government assassin who is killed and offered a deal by the Devil to lead his army. Spawn eventually realizes his true purpose and fights both the forces of heaven and hell, along with various criminals.

This model is the Spawn version and is one of two D380 models that were released in the Spawn range. It features the Spawn logo on the button instead of the radioactive symbol, and the Spawn title above the display. The back also has an engraved version of McFarlane's signature on. As it has the standard D380 module, the watch has dual alarms and a chronograph mode, and the usual cured dot matrix display

The full model number is D380-L18692, and the catalogue number is IT21-4231G. It was originally released for 15,000 yen, and I think it was a limited edition of 5000.

Independent 1481010 Neophilia Jonathan Barnbrook + Beams Works D501

After discussing 1481010s yesterday, I thought I'd share another one today. And this one is one of the most limited release watches from the entire range. You can find out much more on the 1481010 range in my overview page (link).

At a glance, this looks like it has the same module as the 'shutter' D500 watches that I've blogged before. A closer look shows that the seconds shown in the middle of the LCD display have a curved look. Starting up the time display reveals the LCD digits which are all very stylised too. This is due to the special edition done for the Japanese clothing brand Beams with British designer Jonathan Barnbrook.

Beams is a clothing brand and department store established in Harajuku, Tokyo in the mid 70s, and have been involved in a few watch designs. Barnbrook is a designer who is most known for work with album covers (including David Bowie and Jamie Foxx), but is also a well known font designer, and this has been put to use in the watch. All of the text on the watch also has a special font. He is well known in Japan, having designed the logo and identity for Roppongi Hills in Tokyo.

The watch has a special D501 module which is a variant on the D500 or D510 (link) with the new fonts. It is part of the Neophilia line within the 1481010s and this particular one seems to have been given the name Ignis. These watches match the 'shutter' LCD design with the resin surrounded metal straps from others in the range.

The display starts as a mirrored LCD with inverse seconds in the middle. The time display below is a standard LCD with 3 lines of two digits which is revealed on a button press (with an animation of the mirrored display opening like a shutter). This normally makes a beep unless you start the light first. This module gives the watch chronograph, alarm, and timer modes too.

It had a very limited release with only 200 being made (so is one of the rarest 1481010s). It came out in 2000, in the middle of the 1481010 era.

The full model number is D501-S92693.

Citizen Independent 1481010 D295 Blue

It's another variation on the 1481010 range again today. The 1481010 range is the collection I have the most of, and a lot of information can be found on my Independent 1481010 overview page.

This model is one of the Independent 1481010 watches that uses the D295 module. The module has a square LCD panel which is behind a front plate that splits it into 3 rounded sections, and is housed in a round case . These models were usually in a silver case with different coloured front plates, and in this model, the text is also blue. The top section shows the time, while the bottom has the date and day. The middle section is where the mode marker is found, and the watch has dual alarms, dual time, a stopwatch, and a timer. The strap is made of metal sections which are bent into a shallow v shape.

This design of 1481010 came out in 1997 and was one of the first watches in the 1481010 range.

The full model number is D295-L16819. This model either never was in the catalogue, or it only appeared in the one of the two 1997 catalogues I don't have, but I have the details from one of the tags. The catalogue number was IT21-4062F, and it sold for 12,000 yen. 

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 GSD - Chipie Edition

There are many of the Independent 1481010 watches I still have to blog, and today is another.

The Citizen Independent 1481010 range came out in the late 90s, and are probably my most extensive collection. Much more about these watches are can be found on my overview page.

This model is one of the GSD LED watches. The GSD stands for Graphical Sparkle Display, and describes the type of LED display that was used in the 1481010 models with a D400 module which has a shimmering effect. The display uses 7 segment LED groups to show 4 digits. It only has time and date options

Today's model is another of the collaborations with the clothing brand Chipie (which seems to be based in Paris judging by the attached label). Chipie are a brand making girls/womens clothing since 1972 and are influenced by American college clothing. The Chipie name is marked on the face of the watch under the display (and engraved on the back plate), and this model has a unique colour combination in the buttons (black and orange). Looking at the serial number, it looks like the model was released in 1998.

It seems that the catalogue number for Chipie is WTCXKS0002, and the watch came in a plastic pack rather than the normal box. The attached cardboard label has a slightly different number CWTCX KS 0002 and shows it was sold for 12,000 yen. The full model number is D400-S69314

Citizen Independent 1481010 - Boxed D380 White

Today I'm going to do something strange today - I'm blogging a watch model and version I've blogged before.

The watch in question is one of the 1481010 watches by Citizen that are one of my favourite collections (but you may have noticed that already).

This model is one of the D380 versions that usually have a radioactive symbol on the front button. They have dual alarms (composed by Ken Ishii) and chronograph modes.

The reason why I'm blogging the same model again is that before I didn't know any catalogue number or details, but now I've got a boxed version.

So this one has a catalogue number of IT21-4235G, model number of D380-L18665 and were from 1998.

The box features an x-ray style image of a head and points out parts of the brain (the cerebellum and the cerebral cortex), as well as 'a flash of inspiration'. It also shows a 3-D wireframe image of the watch. The case is interesting and squeezes the watch between two sheets of stretchy plastic to hold it in place in the box.

The seller also gave a page from a magazine called 'Used Marked Premium Research'. This shows the watch and gives it a price of 120,000 yen - i guess it's a typo though and should be 12,000 yen (but it does have the higher number in two places). I've included the photo, so any translation would be great!

Citizen Independent Girl Rotating Disc watch

I'm wearing another girls watch today, but I definitely don't think it looks too feminine for my wrist.

It is part of the Autumn/Winter 2009 collection of the Citizen Independent Girl range of watches. The Independent watches are aimed at fashion conscious young people, and have mens and womens models. The concept for the Autumn/Winter collection for 2009 was 80s Power Girl, and the watches were styled in this theme.

They also seem to have a bit of a pirate fixation in the Independent Girl watches with releasing Pirates of the Caribbean models, and having compass motifs and other piratey things on many of their other models. This one doesn't have any pirate look, but an attempt to translate the description reveals the link. This watch is meant to represent the image of a female pirate waiting to counterattack her enemy while posing as a prisoner of war. The two sides represent the mix of weakness and hidden strength in the face of the enemy. The stone in the crown represents the femininity, and the dark disc is for a sense of fun. I'm not sure how on earth they came to that conclusion, but I do like the watches styling.

It is a rotating disc model using a Japanese quartz 2502 module giving it a +/-20 sec per month accuracy. There are three rotating discs, and unlike the original 1481010 disc models, you read the time on the right side - although this means in a normal left to right flow, you read the time backwards - seconds, minutes, and finally hours on the outside.

The model number is 2502-003069-2, and the catalogue number /product code was ILA21-6101. The original retail price was 24,150 yen

Citizen Independent Girl Small Dial

I've not actually been wearing a watch today, so thought I'd blog a ladies watch that just doesn't look right on my thick hairy wrist.

The watch is a small dial watch with three copper coloured hands on a black dial. The copper coloured stainless steel strap then matches the hands. It uses a Japanese 1032 movement (same as the letterbox dial from February) and as cased in China.

It is part of the Citizen Independent Girl range which is a collection of fashionable watches aimed at young women.

The full model number is 1032-003454-01 and would have had a catalogue number starting BB1 (but it isn't for sale anymore). It was manufactured at the end of 2011, but sold early 2012, and likely cost 13,650 yen.

Citizen Independent 1481010 Astronaut Snoopy

I'm back with a 1481010 again today, but an unusual and quite rare version.

I've blogged a lot about the Citizen Independent 1481010 watches before, and you can find masses of information on my 1481010 overview page.

This one is a collaboration piece between Citizen and Snoopy. The character Snoopy is a dog featured in the Peanuts comic by Charles M Schulz which ran from 1950 to 2000. The Peanuts characters are very popular in Japan, and there are large Snoopy Town shops selling all kinds of Snoopy merchandise. To be more correct, the collaboration is with United Feature Syndicate Inc who hold the copyright to the Peanuts brand. This is mentioned on the back of the watch, and unusually is the only information that the back shows -there is no model number, makers mark, serial number, or place of manufacture shown, which is unique for the 1481010 watches. The only hint this is a 1481010 Independent watch is by the logo on the face.

The watch design features Snoopy in am astronaut suit standing on the moon looking at Earth with Woodstock the bird (also in an astronaut suit) flying nearby. The image is made up of both etched lines on the case and painted lines under the glass.

It is a rotating disc model with a quartz Citizen 6038 movement, and has a window at the left where the discs showing the time can be seen. It is like the old jump hour watchs, but the dials are continuously rotating.

There is no date on the watch, but from the timing of the range, I'd guess this was late 90s or very early 2000s (most of the collaboration models i can put a date on were out from 1998 to 2001). I've not seen this model up for sale very often (-maybe when I bought it was the only time), so I think it is one of the rarer 1481010 watches.

Citizen Independent 1481010 Eco-Drive White Round model

I changed my mind at the last minute on today's watch, as the other one I'd chosen needed a bit more work.

Instead I chose one of the Eco-Drive models from the Citizen Independent 1481010 line (which you can find out lots about on my overview page).

It uses a 7821 module which is a 3 hand dial model (including date at the 3 o'clock position) with the solar panel hidden in the watch face. This is one of the round versions, and there were other 1481010s with the same module in a rectangular shape (as you can see on previous blog entries).

The design came out in 1999, but this one was made in 2000. The full model number is 7821-S72072, and it original sold for 9,800yen.