Citizen Vintage Homer Second Setting watch: a hidden gem!

A confidential watch

Reserved for employees of Japanese railway companies, the Citizen Homer Second Setting was never exported or even marketed. Here are all its secrets:

Japan and its railway excellence

If you have had the opportunity to travel to Japan, you may have been struck by the precision of the trains. The average delay in 2017 was only 30 seconds. The Japanese Ministry of Transport requires railway companies to report delays of more than 3 minutes and to submit detailed reports for delays considered to be “significant.” This is something the rest of the world, and particularly the French, can only dream of.

The extreme punctuality of Japanese subways and trains is cultural. The Japanese consider being late for an appointment to be an unforgivable breach of etiquette. Train schedules are programmed to within 15 seconds. Recently, one company even issued an apology because one of its trains left 20 seconds early.

All railway staff are disciplined, conscientious, never go on strike, and make it a point of honor to achieve near perfection. And for that, they need the right tools... Do you see where I'm going with this?

It is well known that Japanese railway companies provided train drivers with Seiko pocket watches and their staff with wristwatches. Which watches? Welcome to the heart of the matter. We are in the 1960s and 1970s, and I present to you the Citizen Homer Second Setting!

The story of CITIZEN

To gain access to this market, it must be said that the brand has worked particularly hard.

Citizen was founded in 1918 under the name “Shokosha Watch Research Institute” by Kamekichi Yamazaki, a Japanese jeweler with a passion for watchmaking, who wanted to produce pocket watches and clocks in Japan instead of importing them from Europe.

In 1930, the name Citizen was chosen by Goto Shinpei, a friend of Yamazaki and mayor of Tokyo, who wanted watches to be accessible to all citizens. Emperor Taisho was one of the first to own a Citizen watch.

During World War II, production slowed and the company name was changed to Dai-Nippon Tokei Company to avoid any English connotations. Citizen produced military watches during this period.

Citizen quickly established itself as one of Japan's leading watch brands and in 1956 launched Japan's first automatic watch, called the “Citizen Autodater.” This was an important milestone that helped Citizen become one of the leaders in the watch industry.

 Bauhaus, a minimalist design

The guiding principle behind this design is simplicity and clarity, creating a 100% functional and legible worker's watch. The typography is simply magnificent!

As you can see, the hands are generously coated with lume and stand out perfectly against the clear white dial, which is also luminescent, making it easy to read the time, much like a military watch. It's a kind of civilian military watch! We are at the heart of the Bauhaus style, an artistic movement where design is reduced to the essentials and function dictates form. Currently at the pinnacle of this watchmaking discipline is the Nomos manufacture. The essential thing is to offer a functional object that tells the time!

An elegant and mysterious case

 

Let's talk numbers: topped with reinforced acrylic glass, this stainless steel case is perfectly proportioned. It has a diameter of 36 mm excluding the crown, 43 mm from lug to lug, and a thickness of just 9.75 mm. This makes it a relatively slim watch that fits perfectly on the wrist.

I really like the triangular chamfers on the lugs, which give this vintage Citizen a more dressy look. The goal is clear: this is not just a simple tool for workers, as it remains comfortable on the wrist of its owner when he finishes his day's work and heads to the nearest izakaya (Japanese bar).

Let's move on to the bottom of the box, the heart of the story.

A large clip-on bottom with kanji engravings that we can read as follows:

 

• The year of manufacture in the Showa calendar, for which a conversion table is provided below (https://photojpn.org/PPC/gui/year.html)
• The serial number of the watch
  The department of the Japanese Railway Company for which this watch was produced

 

 The Citizen 911 movement

We continue with a manufacture movement, the Citizen 911 mechanical hand-wound movement equipped with 21 jewels and a stop-second function that allows for perfect adjustment when setting the time, the famous “Second Setting” inscribed on the dial. Very common on most contemporary watches, this complication was a real asset at the time.

A simple construction and an industrial look that exudes robustness were all that was needed to bring this tool to life. It is powered by Citizen's “Homer” movement, with a few extra jewels and a stop-second function. “Homer” has its origins in ancient Greek, derived from the word Hómêros, meaning “he who is obliged to follow.” Powerful words!

It is the same base as the movements found in the vintage Citizen Chronomaster, Citizen's Grand Seiko.

(The stop lever is between the middle wheel and the crown wheel. Did you find it?)

The art of playing with straps

 

Even after extensive research, I was unable to find out which strap this Citizen was fitted with when it left the factory. Nevertheless, I can tell you that with its 18 mm lug width, it goes with everything! NATO, leather, steel, Tropic—it's a real beauty!

 

Conclusion

 

If you're looking for a versatile, relatively inexpensive watch that's steeped in history and can accompany you every day, the Citizen Homer Second Setting is for you. Personally, I fell in love with it, so I'm definitely keeping one in my collection!

 

Is there a better combination of history, quality, and price on the vintage watch market today? If you have any ideas, I'm all ears!

 

Ressources : 

https://thesamuraivintage.com/products/vintage-watch-citizen-homer-railway-watch-second-setting

https://musingsofawatchaddict.wordpress.com/2019/01/05/citizen-homer-second-setting-railway-watch/

https://www.fratellowatches.com/citizen-homer-second-setting-affordable-vintage-watch/#gref

https://sweep-hand.org/2012/03/26/this-weeks-featured-watch-28-the-homer-railroad-watch/

 

This article is part of an ongoing exploration of vintage watches.
I offer independent analysis and private inspections for collectors.

Have a great time on the website!

Joshua Grillet