There are few things that say old-school racing quite as efficiently as a perforated leather strap, a tachymeter bezel and a dial that looks ready to clock a lap. Citizen’s latest chronograph has all three.
The new CA4716-09L brings a distinctly retro motorsport feel to Citizen’s Racing collection, with a 39.5mm stainless-steel case, deep blue dial and matching blue tachymeter bezel. The reverse-panda layout give the watch plenty of contrast, with two silver sub-dials breaking up the blue at 3 and 9 o’clock, while a smaller running-seconds counter sits below.
Citizen
Then there are the details that really sell the racing-watch look. The central chronograph hand and pushers are picked out in red, while the brown perforated leather strap comes finished with cream stitching. It’s a combination that wouldn’t look out of place on the wrist of Paul Newman. Citizen’s B620 Eco-Drive movement runs on light, meaning there’s no regular battery replacement to worry about, and a full charge provides up to 270 days of power. The chronograph can measure intervals down to 1/5 of a second, while the 100-metre water resistance means you don’t have to treat it like a museum piece.
There’s also a date window tucked between 4 and 5 o’clock, luminous hands and markers for easier reading, and an accuracy rating of ±15 seconds per month.
At £349, the CA4716-09L lands in a particularly accessible part of the mechanical-looking-but-actually-quite-clever chronograph market. And while you may not be driving a Porsche 917 around Le Mans, you can at least dress like you might.
Underneath all that retro styling, however, this is a thoroughly modern daily watch. Citizen’s B620 Eco-Drive movement runs on light, meaning there’s no regular battery replacement to worry about, and a full charge provides up to 270 days of power. The chronograph can measure intervals down to 1/5 of a second, while the 100-metre water resistance means you don’t have to treat it like a museum piece.
There’s also a date window tucked between 4 and 5 o’clock, luminous hands and markers for easier reading, and an accuracy rating of ±15 seconds per month.
At £349, the CA4716-09L lands in a particularly accessible part of the mechanical-looking-but-actually-quite-clever chronograph market. And while you may not be driving a Porsche 917 around Le Mans, you can at least dress like you might.
