Hands-On Gold And Titanium Meet With The 38mm ‘The Citizen’ LE – A Most Surprising Watch

The watch in question came my way with a comment – that I wouldn't believe how light it was. And I understood why someone would say that because the watch, from a distance, appeared to be gold. And on that particular note, let's pause and properly introduce this piece.

So this "looks-to-be-gold" watch is the limited edition The Citizen AQ4103-16E in super titanium with a case that could pass for gold any day of the week until you pick up the watch and put it on. It is preposterously light due to the use of super titanium. The golden coloration comes via a Duratect coating, and super titanium is a trademarked material that adds hardness and scratch resistance.

The Citizen, in a limited run of just 350 pieces, slots into the very near top of the brand's pricing structure at $3,800 and represents Citizen's prowess with high-accuracy quartz watchmaking. This is the sort of watch that is meant to compete with the likes of Grand Seiko and while many might scoff at such a price for quartz, you must understand that this is where Citizen excels, and with a watch like this, you're getting the best of the best.

It's really all about utility with this piece. The Citizen Caliber A060 boasts supremely high accuracy to ±5 seconds per year. The watch features an independent hour hand that allows you to change the time without stopping the watch (or its accuracy), which comes in handy when traveling of course. But that's just the beginning of what you get for this sub $4,000 price tag.

The movement is also a perpetual calendar, which means the date automatically changes correctly at the end of every month. In addition, you get a power reserve indicator, an insufficient-charge warning, an energy-saving function, shock detection, automatic hand position adjustment, time difference correction, and a calendar function that switches over at midnight on the nose. And if all that weren't enough, the movement is equipped with Eco-Drive technology, meaning it is sustainably powered by any light source and will never need a battery.

I have chosen to give the technical features of the movement up front in this story because it speaks to the capability of this watch and a level of accuracy that can only be achieved using quartz. And I say this because it helps me drill down my point about utility. Because, as you read this, you might be asking yourself why the brand just didn't fashion this watch in solid gold.

Well, for one thing, that would have driven the price up considerably to the point that it may have alienated the intended target market. And from what I can gather here, that market is young professional enthusiasts who are looking for a high-end watch that can toe the line between dress and casual and not break the bank.

The use of super titanium allows this watch to function at the aforementioned high level in a package that is lightweight and scratch-resistant with a golden hue that has multiple methods of finishing. The case is water resistant to 100m, and The Citizen comes on a supple leather strap (normally straps on these watches are disappointing) with a deployant system, and a matching golden clasp.

Okay, so we have established this is one seriously functional timepiece, but what about the looks and what about how it wears? Well, these are the two areas of this watch that initially surprised me when I first saw it in New York. They are what kicked off my fascination with the watch and demanded serious time with it for review. In a word – this thing is slick both in look and feel. Okay, that was nine words.

Once the whole "it looks gold but it's so light" thing subsides, what you're left with is a truly wearable watch that feels like a limited edition in all the right ways. There are enough speckles of special elements but the watch is still entirely usable in a day-to-day scenario. And my favorite thing about The Citizen has to be its 38mm case size. It's pitch-perfect, and for a guy who tends to like things between 36mm and 40mm, this really worked for me.

The soft leather strap also helped the watch really hug my wrist and wear true to size. To my eyes, I would consider this to be a textured black dial – almost a matte dial. But there's actually a more official way to describe it. The brand calls this a "washi paper" dial that is directly influenced by the texture of the Tosa washi, which is used in shoji sliding screens in Japan to bring natural light into living spaces.

On the dial, you also find gold leaf, which is, as you might expect, applied in a meticulous fashion using a traditional Japanese method called Sunago-maki. The dials are handcrafted by master papermakers, ensuring that each is one-of-a-kind. And I can attest to the fact that there is nothing cheap looking or low quality in the execution of these dials. The framing of the date window, the numerals within that date window, and the application of the Citizen Eagle mark all speak to a high level of execution in the creation of this watch. Even the closed caseback, where that Eagle motif is carried over, is done very well.

It's in looking at this complete picture where that $3,800 price tag really makes sense. I have to be honest, I had a difficult time parting ways with The Citizen. It is the kind of watch I could see myself wearing a lot and stealing time away from other pieces I love. And this is a truly limited model of just 350 pieces, so I doubt it'll be around long. I am definitely excited to see how Citizen continues to iterate and improve on this model range going forward.

The Citizen AQ4103-16E 38mm gold color Duratect-coated Super Titanium case. Gold leaf washi paper black dial and a three o'clock date aperture. Citizen Caliber A060 with hours, minutes, seconds, date functionality. Accurate to ±5 seconds per year and features perpetual calendar functionality. Additionally, the movement provides a power reserve indicator, insufficient charge warning, energy saving function, shock detection, automatic hand position adjustment, time difference correction, and midnight sharp calendar update function. Equipped with Eco-Drive technology, sustainably powered by any light and never needs a battery. Water resistant to 100 meters. Closed caseback. Brown leather strap. Price: $3,800.