CITIZEN

For almost eight decades, Citizen has been ahead of its time. Our brand has always stood for innovations and high precision that make life better for everyday people and now we are raising our sights to meet the needs of the new Millennium. Our History Our beginnings go back to 1924, when Citizen's forerunner, the Shokosha Watch Research Watch Institute produced its first pocket watch the "CITIZEN". The then Mayor of Tokyo, Mr Shimpei Goto, named the watch "CITIZEN" with the hope that the watch, a luxury item of those times, would become widely available to ordinary citizens and be sold throughout the world. Time and again Citizen has pioneered groundbreaking technologies and helped to make watches an indispensable part of modern life. Introduced in 1956, Parashock was the first shock resistant watch made by a Japanese manufacturer. And three years later, Parawater was hailed as the country's first water resistant watch. One of the latest milestones is our Eco-Drive system. Bringing new thinking to the art of watchmaking, this is a light powered solution that eliminates the need to change batteries - a revolution that made it the first watch technology to receive the Japan Environment Association's Eco Mark for environmentally friendly products. And in 2003, Citizen continues to evolve and be ahead of its time with the launch of Stiletto. This is the World's thinnest light powered watch - a watch so revolutionary it combines eco-drive technology with a refined, sleek and sophisticated case and bracelet from 4.4mm thick. Citizen is, however more diverse then simply watches. In fact watches only represent less than 40% of the company's business. Today we are drawing on a heritage of proven quality and technologies as we develop the market for watches, clocks, jewellery, eyeglass frames and health care products. Citizen believes that delivering excellence is the key to building successful partnerships with retailers and consumers alike. Excellence in product, marketing and service is paramount, and the resources required to achieve excellence are viewed as investments, not costs. Citizen looks forward to the challenges that the future will no doubt bring. Our guarantee is a commitment to continually strive and work towards an even more successful future for our retailers and consumers. Ready for further growth and progress, we are working harder than ever to explore new directions and contribute to changing lifestyles.