In 1987, Citizen debuted the Attesa watch, named after the Italian word that loosely translates to a feeling of “expectation, waiting, or anticipation.” The focus of the Attesa watch was titanium, and it has remained so ever since. Along the way, the collection has picked up some cool tech, too, including Citizen’s famed Eco-Drive light-powered battery, radio-controlled functionality, GPS module, and Super Titanium treated with a proprietary surface-hardening technology called Duratect. The newest model to join the lineup is the limited edition Citizen Attesa Hakuto-R watch, which looks to the stars for design inspiration and is filled with Citizen technology.
Let me set the stage because there are a few parties to understand here. In 2019, Citizen became an official partner of Hakuto-R, a commercial lunar program. Hakuto-R is run by ispace, which is a Japanese lunar robotic exploration company. As part of its relationship with Hakuto-R and ispace, Citizen provides Super Titanium (the same material used on its Attesa watches) for the legs of the program’s lunar lander.
Now that we have some background information, let’s get to the watch. The new-for-2023 Citizen Attesa Hakuto-R watch sports a 42mm case (10.8mm thick), crafted from Super Titanium coated with Duratect DLC. This means that the moody dark gray case and matching three-link bracelet are not only lightweight but scratch-resistant, too. Of course, the sapphire crystal shielding the dial is scratch-resistant as well, and benefits from anti-reflective coating. The bezel is marked with major cities to use in conjunction with the watch’s world time function (we’ll get to that in a bit). The solid caseback is engraved with the Hakuto-R logo, and the watch is water resistant to 100 meters.
The dial is a kaleidoscope of blues, purples, pinks, and silvers, mimicking a mini-universe with glittering stars and nebulae. To create the dial, Citizen used recycled polycarbonate printed with structural color ink developed by Fujifilm. I had to look up what structural color is; in case you’re also unsure, it replaces traditional dye or pigment with a nanostructure that reflects or scatters light and doesn’t fade. While the tech may be beyond my comprehension, what I do know is that the resulting effect is beautiful, especially in contrast to the dark details that dominate the watch.
Moving on to the functions of the watch, in true Citizen form, there are plenty. First, there’s the chronograph, complete with a central chronograph hand, chronograph minute counter at 12, and chronograph hour counter at 6 o’clock. Then there’s the perpetual calendar with a date window at three and a day of the week indicator on the right side of the bottom subdial. Next, is the 24-hour hand at 9 o’clock, marked with A and P for day and night. The world time function can indicate the time and date of any of the 26 pre-programmed cities and even includes a Daylight Saving Time on/off switch (displayed on the right of the upper subdial). Citizen calls the easy world time adjustment that’s done with a twist of the crown Direct Flight.
There’s a small scale on the left of the upper subdial for the power reserve and right under it, on the left of the lower subdial, is the signal reception indicator. Of course, the Attesa watch is both radio-controlled and fueled by solar-powered Eco-Drive, which promises to run on a full charge for 10 months, if in power save mode. This is all possible thanks to the Caliber H800 movement inside the watch, accurate to ±15 seconds per month without time signals from atomic clocks.
Multi-functional, good-looking, and replete with all the best innovations Citizen has to offer, the limited edition Citizen Attesa Hakuto-R watch (ref. AT8285-68Z) will no doubt have plenty of fans willing to pay the price of $1,495 USD to own it. Citizen will only make 2,700 pieces worldwide and it will be available to purchase in October. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.
