Citizen Vs Orient: Japanese Brands Collide

In today’s comparison we will be looking at Citizen Vs Orient watches. Both of these brands are well known Japanese watch brands. However, one of them must be in some way superior to the other, right?

This is why people do comparison shopping. if you are only going to buy from one or the other, you want to know which brand is the better value for your money. Each brand has its differences; their pros and cons.

In this comparison, we are going to examine those differences in an attempt to find out which brand is better overall. To do this, we are going to be looking at key factors in watches. These are: the build quality, design, and pricing. Surely one brand will excel in some of these areas over the other!

But before we begin, we will get briefly acquainted with each of these brands.


About Citizen And Orient


Citizen

While Citizen is primarily a Japanese brand, it does have Swiss influences. Both Japanese and Swiss investors had a hand in the creation of this company. In fact, in the early 1900’s, it was a Swiss watchmaker named Rodolphe Schmid who opened up some of the manufacturing plants in Japan. This alliance between Swiss and Japanese manufacturing helped Citizen grow in its early days.

From there, Citizen went on to make a name for itself, which included several innovations in the industry as a whole. One such innovation was Eco-Drive technology. The purpose behind Eco-Drive watches was to reduce the impact of battery disposal on the environment by introducing solar cells into watches. This proved to be successful, as by 2007 Citizen had achieved an estimated reduction of 10 million batteries in North America.

Another innovation by citizen was the launch of the world’s first atomic watch in 1993. This technology uses radio waves to synchronize with world atomic clocks to provide the most accurate time possible.

Orient

Orient was also formed in the 1900’s. Although originally, it was known as the Yoshida Watch Shop. The company began as a small wholesale shop for selling imported wristwatches and pocket watches. From there they grew and changed the name of the company to Toyo Tokei Manufacturing. It was at this time that the began selling clocks, and wristwatches.

The company experienced some tumultuous times due to the post WWII economic downturn. This resulted in it shutting down in 1949. However, one year later it was reborn as the Tama Keiki Company. One year after that, the company changed its name again to finally be known as Orient.

From there, the company produced many notable watches and started gaining recognition in the industry, mainly for their diving watches. In 2009 it became a subsidiary of Seiko, and by 2017 it was fully merged into the company. Despite completely merging with Seiko, Seiko kept the Orient name, and still continues to produce Orient watches.


Next, we will get into the details about these watch brands, starting with the build quality.

Citizen Vs Orient: Build Quality

citizen orient build

Citizen

They make both quartz and automatic watches. The cases on Citizen watches are stainless steel. Their dial windows are overwhelmingly made of mineral crystal, though they have some models with sapphire. The watch bands can be made of stainless steel, nylon, leather, or rubber. Water resistance ranges from 30 to 100 meters depending on the model. (Although their Eco-Drive Promaster Diver is rated 300 meters, but that’s an exception really.)

So as far as build quality goes, Citizen keeps it basic. They are pretty much your standard fare as far as construction goes.

Orient

Orient also manufactures both quartz and mechanical watches. Their watch cases are stainless steel. The dial windows, however, have a variety of glass types from mineral, to sapphire, and even Seiko’s own proprietary hardlex glass.

Hardlex is more scratch resistant than ordinary mineral glass, but not as much as sapphire. The bands on Orient watches will be stainless steel, leather, rubber, or silicone. It all depends o which watch you purchase. Lastly, orient watches are water resistant between 30 meters all he way up to 200 meters for their diving watches.

Build Quality Verdict

Overall it looks like Orient has a slight edge when it comes to their builds. Orient watches have a more robust and resilient structure, especially when it comes to water resistance.


The next thing to look at are their designs and styles.

Citizen Vs Orient: Designs And Styles

citizen orient fashion

Citizen

Upon browsing Citizen watches, you will see that they have a pretty healthy selection of different watches and watch types. They have everything from dress watches, to divers, sport and even smartwatches. A lot of these watches are pretty stylish and fashionable.

For the most part, Citizen has a lot of variety to their designs. They definitely have a style of their own, that can appeal to a wide audience.

Orient

Orient too, has a lot to choose from. Even though they are known for their divers, they have quite the selection of classic, contemporary, and sport styled watches. They indeed have fashionable timepieces, but it goes a bit further. Orient, in a way, distinguish themselves from the competition with their designs.

One thing you will may notice when looking at Orient watches is that they have a more luxury look to them overall. It’s a bit subtle, but you do notice it. This luxury flair to their style sets them apart from the crowd.

Designs And Styles Verdict

While both brands have a lot to offer as far as variety in their styles and fashion, Orient has a seemingly more distinguished and elegant look in their designs.


The last thing we need to look at is the pricing of these two brands.

Pricing

citizen orient price

This one is pretty close, as both brands inhabit that mid level price tier. Each one has both lower priced, and higher priced watches, but they never get super expensive to the point of being priced like high end luxury watches. While it is pretty close as far as pricing goes, Orient watches tend to be a bit cheaper on average than Citizen.

Check Citizen Prices On Amazon

Check Orient Prices On Amazon


Citizen Vs Orient: Final Conclusion

These two brands are pretty closely matched. Ultimately though, Orient has a slightly better builds, more distinguished designs, and are a bit less expensive on average than Citizen watches.

Ultimately though, which brand you choose is going to come down to personal preference.

That completes our Citizen Vs Orient comparison! If you liked this one, you can find similar articles here

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