Sweephand's Vintage Citizen Watch Blog

I finally managed to finish the new page on Citizen’s automatic mechanical chronographs – thought I’d not make it before Christmas!

I’ve included at this stage all models and their variants that I believe are original, so there may be more variants or even models out there….I would be very happy if you would let me know if you have information on any not included, or if you think I might have got something wrong.

Also, I’ve used some images from the internet, so if you recognise one as yours please let me know so I can include a credit, or remove it if preferred.

Happy Christmas 🙂

Following the 67-9038 in my last ‘Featured Watch’, it seems logical now to present the other  automatic chronograph line by Citizen, this time with one sub-dial. Both movement types were introduced in 1972 – the twin sub-dial being the 8110a (there was never a ‘b’ version!) and the single sub-dial 8100. As with the 8110, this type has 23 jewels and uses the central sweep hand as the second counter, whilst the sub-dial counts minutes. Otherwise its features are the same, running at 28,800 beats per hour with hand winding and ‘flyback’ (instant reset and restart of chronograph function without having to stop it first).

Good examples of the 8100 are not easy to find, rather like some of the lesser known 8110 models.

As far as I am aware the 67-9577 was made with two dial designs, in the same black case with stainless steel bezel (edit on 10th December: possibly a third dial design now found which will be shown on the Chronographs page once I’ve finished it!) . Here’s the first type, with black dial and lumed white main hands and orange chronograph hands:

This one was produced in October 1972:

And is shown in the relevant ‘museum book’:

The second design is a more colourful model, featuring a blue dial and white inner tachymeter ring, with a brightly contrasting orange hand set and orange highlights on the hour markers:

This was produced in July 1973:

For reference purposes, note the different dial codes for each model: black is 900071-Y, blue is 900062-Y.

Finally, here’s a group shot of these two 8100’s alongside the 67-9038, to illustrate the design similarities and differences:

Many people who know about vintage chronographs are familiar with the Citizen ‘bullheads’, since they are the models most usually seen on the internet auction sites. However, Citizen made a number of other models using their 8110a twin sub-dial movement, some of which are rarely seen and are difficult to find in really good condition. So to mark the first ‘featured watch’ from the chronograph model lines, I’m starting off with one of the less seen models which I was fortunate to acquire in close to pristine condition – the 67-9038:

This model was also made white and black dials, it seems to me that the one most likely to appear has the blue dial. From examples Ive seen for sale the dial looks prone to fading, and the black bezel can get chipped so is sometimes polished back to shiny metal, so this one stays in its box when not in use:

The 8110a automatic movement is a fine piece of engineering – it is compact in size, can be hand wound and has ‘flyback’ functionality (i.e. can be reset to zero and instantly restarted without stopping the chronograph function first). 

I haven’t taken the back off this one, to minimise the risk of damaging the back, so no movement shot as yet. Typically the back is  marked with case material code (SSB – stainless steel with black bezel), case number (4-9010371A) and model number (67-9038). The serial number shows production in April 1974:

The original solid link bracelet is very comfortable and is signed on the clasp:

The colour combination on this model, especially the bright orange hands on the blue background certainly give it impact on the wrist:

I’ll be doing a separate page in the not too distant future on the chronograph models, to provide as much reference material as I can on these excellent time pieces.