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Citizen’s 55-Year Titanium Watch Story: From the X-8 to Super Titanium

Citizen marked 55 years of titanium watches in 2025, tracing a path from the 1970 X-8 Chronometer through ATTESA to modern Super Titanium.
Estimate3–4 min Catalogued SpecialistWatchRanker Team
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Citizen marked 55 years of titanium watches in 2025, counting from the 1970 release of its X-8 Chronometer. Citizen calls the X-8 the world’s first titanium watch; its later ATTESA line and modern Super Titanium material show how the company continued working with a metal it once described as exceptionally difficult to manufacture.

What was the first titanium watch?

Citizen dates the X-8 CHRONOMETER to 1970 and identifies it as the world’s first titanium watch. The company’s Japanese archive gives a more specific release date: September 1970. It records a case made of 99.6% pure titanium, an electronic caliber 0820 movement and a battery life of about one year. The X-8 is listed as discontinued.

The Japanese archive records the original release price as ¥45,000. That is a historical Japanese launch price, not a current valuation or a conversion to another currency. Citizen’s titanium history and its X-8 historic model record provide the company’s account and archive details.

Why was titanium difficult to use in a watch?

Citizen says titanium was hard to press-form, machine and polish. Its engineers nicknamed the manufacturing challenge “triple trouble.” That is Citizen’s description of its own engineering experience, rather than an independently established judgment about every manufacturer’s work with titanium.

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#1 Best Overall
CITIZEN Men's Eco-Drive PCAT 42mm Super Titanium CB5908-57E
  • With bold design and superior accuracy, Citizen Atomic Timekeeping watches synchronize to an atomic clock with a margin of error of just one second in 100,000 years.
  • An Eco-Friendly Evolution: Citizen launches first Titanium Watch in 1970. More than 50-year-old evolution of innovative timepieces crafted from proprietary space-age material.
  • Benefits of Super Titanium: Lightweight for Better Comfort, Scratch Resistant, Gentle on Skin, and Rust Resistant. Five times harder and 40% lighter than stainless steel.
  • 1/5 Second Chronograph Measures up to 60 Minutes, 12/24 Hour Time, Date, Anti-Reflective Sapphire Crystal
  • Sustainably powered by any light, with our Eco-Drive technology this watch never needs a battery. 200 Meter Water Resistant and 5 Year Limited Warranty

The X-8 was therefore an early milestone, not the end of the engineering story. Citizen says its work continued into later watches and processing methods that could make titanium more practical for everyday use.

How did Citizen develop its titanium watches?

ATTESA arrives in 1987

Citizen dates the debut of its ATTESA line to 1987 and says the original model was sold only in Japan. The company describes skin comfort as one consideration in its titanium research. It also recounts working with dermatologists on clinical trials involving people with metal allergies in the 1990s, but that company summary does not establish a general medical guarantee that a Citizen watch will be suitable for every wearer.

Rank #2
CITIZEN Men's Eco-Drive Garrison 42mm Super Titanium BM8560-53E
  • Men's luxury timepieces with technical advancements and a sporty style
  • 3 Hand, Day / Date
  • Silver-Tone Super Titanium
  • Sapphire Crystal
  • 100 Meters Water Resistant and 5 Year Limited Warranty

DURATECT and the first treated model

Citizen identifies ASPEC, released in 2000, as the first model treated with DURATECT. In its account, the technology marked a step toward combining titanium with surface-hardening approaches, rather than relying on the metal alone.

What is Super Titanium, and how is it different from regular titanium?

Super Titanium is Citizen’s branded material: the company says it starts with titanium and applies its processing expertise and proprietary DURATECT surface-hardening technologies. Citizen’s US technology page says each piece begins as pure titanium, is polished and receives DURATECT treatment. In other words, “Super Titanium” does not mean that all titanium watches have the same material or finish; the name refers to Citizen’s particular combination of titanium and treatments.

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Rank #3
CITIZEN Men's Eco-Drive Brycen Sport Casual, Orange Dial, Silver-Tone Super Titanium Bracelet and Case Watch (Model: AW1840-50X)
  • Take action and show your inner drive with the sporty styling of the Brycen, the latest addition to the Weekender collection.
  • Featuring a silver-tone Super Titanium case with a brushed finish, the 41mm timepiece is durable in form and function with its matching bi-directional rotating bezel and triple-link bracelet.
  • On the dial, a sunray orange texture serves as the eye-catching backdrop to highly legible timekeeping elements, while a 3 o'clock date window provides daily utility.
  • Featuring our proprietary Eco-Drive technology – sustainably powered by light, any light.
  • Never needs a battery. Caliber number J810.

Citizen claims Super Titanium is more than five times harder than stainless steel and about 40% lighter. Those are Citizen’s comparisons on its US technology page, not independently verified test results here. The page does not specify a testing method or conditions, so the figures should be read as the company’s product claims rather than as a universal comparison for every titanium alloy or steel watch. See Citizen’s Super Titanium technology page.

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Where can you find modern Citizen titanium watches?

Citizen’s US collection lists contemporary Super Titanium watches, including models in the Zenshin and Promaster families. They are modern products shaped by the company’s later titanium expertise, not reissues of the 1970 X-8. The X-8 itself is marked discontinued in Citizen’s historic archive.

For current examples, consult Citizen’s US men’s Super Titanium collection. Availability varies by market and can change; a collection page establishes that the category and examples are listed by Citizen in the US, not that every model is in stock elsewhere. When comparing watches, check the specific model’s case and bracelet material, movement, dimensions and weight, DURATECT treatment, functions, water resistance, regional availability and current price.

Quick Recap

Bestseller No. 2
CITIZEN Men's Eco-Drive Garrison 42mm Super Titanium BM8560-53E
CITIZEN Men's Eco-Drive Garrison 42mm Super Titanium BM8560-53E
Men's luxury timepieces with technical advancements and a sporty style; 3 Hand, Day / Date
$318.75

Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.

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