OUR STORY
Citizen Watch Europe G.m.b.H
Our efforts to find new possibilities began in 1918. In 1918, the “Shoukousha Watch Research Institute” was founded, which later became the “CITIZEN Watch Co. In the 1920s, almost all the watches that existed in Japan were still imported from overseas. The first CITIZEN watch appeared on the Japanese market in 1924, six years after the company was founded. During these six years, the founder opened the watchmaking school to train his employees and make them experts in the manufacture of precision watches. The spirit of craftsmanship had already begun at that time. The price for this watch was about 20% of the monthly base salary of government staff. Considering that the imported watches were considered a luxury product, our watch was affordable for the public. We can say that CITIZEN has opened the door for more people to buy their watches in Japan.
Therefore, our first watch was called CITIZEN by the mayor of Tokyo.