Citizen tapped into something special with their Tsuyosa design when it launched in 2023, and the Japanese brand has expanded the collection with care in the years since. The accessible sport watch with an integrated bracelet design (quite different from the type of Citizen we usually talk about) has welcomed all manner of color, but this week, the watch takes on a very different quality in collaboration with French creative, seconde/seconde/. The Tsoyusa is a perfect canvas for exploration of artistic expression, and that’s exactly what we find here, with a minute hand that’s been replaced with the pixelated likeness of a sword, swiping the hour markers into pieces as it travels across the dial. Not literally, of course, but the theme is executed perfectly atop a deep blue dial.
This watch marks the first collaboration involving the Tsoyusa, and it will likely not be the last. Working with seconde/seconde/ feels like the perfect foray into the idea, as it shows a certain level of restraint and even reverence for the design. Conceptually, seconde/seconde/ watches fall into their own category within the vast landscape of collaboration watches available these days, offering a message of sorts that, while may not take itself too seriously on its face, is done with a huge amount of care and thoughtfulness. The artist has worked with the likes of everyone from Christopher Ward and Furlan Marri, to Spinnaker and Timex, each time bringing a unique vision to life in a playful manner.
The word Tsuyosa in Japanese translates to ideas of power and strength, and that’s exactly where the inspiration came from for this collaboration. No stranger to substituting hands for swords, seconde/seconde/ uses a katana like sword in place of the traditional minute hand. The sword itself is rendered in the artist’s traditional pixel art style, so it looks straight out of the world of Minecraft. The concept is taken a step further with the applied hour markers, which have each been cut into two separate pieces with a visible swipe of the sword between them. If you’ve played Fruit Ninja on your phone, you get the idea.
The idea is brought into further clarity with a quote on the oscillating weight of the movement visible through the caseback: “Being smaller has never stopped Minutes from slicing Hours into Pieces”. It’s a wonderfully playful concept brought to life in an artful manner, and my only single gripe is the use of a magnifying cyclops atop the crystal to aid in reading the date. It feels an unnecessary distraction from everything else going on here. On the whole, however, the watch reads brilliantly.
The rest of the watch remains unchanged, featuring a steel case measuring 40mm in diameter, and 11.4mm in thickness. Inside sits Citizen’s automatic caliber 8210 with 42 hours of reserve, and -20/+40 seconds of accuracy per day. Nothing to write about there, but it’s difficult to complain with an MSRP of $495. A tucked crown at four o’clock and integrated three link bracelet round out the familiar package.
seconde/seconde/ continues to be a beacon of creativity, bringing a welcome sense of levity to an otherwise all-too serious world. This Citizen Tsoyusa becomes one of the most effective expressions of the artist’s unique talents to date. Just 3,600 examples are planned for production, with availability directly from Citizen.
