Olivier5969's review on his Citizen

I rarely post pictures of my watches. I've never really liked displaying them, but this one is different. It all started with a simple idea: to find a mechanical watch from my birth year, 1969. I deliberately set myself a reasonable budget. I wasn't looking for a prestige piece or an investment, but a genuine 1969 watch, beautiful and reliable enough to wear regularly without hesitation. The search ended up being much longer and more thorough than expected. I focused primarily on Seiko and Citizen, which led me to understand their reference numbers, their calibers, and especially their numbering systems. I discovered that a watch advertised as "1969" isn't necessarily from that year, and that it was possible, on some Japanese models, to date them much further back. My criteria thus became very clear: I wanted a watch that I could reliably date to 1969, and not simply a watch "from the 60s." After much searching, I came across this Citizen Homer Date 63-1094, equipped with the 21-jewel manual-winding caliber 1802. Its serial number dates it to June 1969, a date I was able to confirm by finding other examples of the same reference with very similar numbers. The watch itself is remarkably simple: a 36mm steel case, a sunburst silver dial, a date window at 3 o'clock, manual winding, and the inscription "Parawater." A few signs of age are visible on the dial and case, but that's precisely what I was looking for: a 57-year-old watch that doesn't try to look 20. Buying it at auction was also a first for me. A few minutes of waiting, a little adrenaline rush when the hammer fell, and then the satisfaction of seeing the winning bid. Upon receiving it, the watch proved even more captivating than in the photos. Understated, very elegant on the wrist, and perfectly proportioned. I simply replaced the black strap with a thin, seamless brown leather one, which I think gives it a much warmer feel. All that remained was to check the movement. The date changes smoothly a few minutes before midnight, the timekeeping is very satisfactory, and the power reserve, measured after a full wind, is 41 hours and 9 minutes, very close to what one would expect from this caliber. And finally, this is where this little Citizen truly comes into its own for me. It's 57 years old. So am I. I find it quite fascinating to wear a small mechanical object on my wrist, made in 1969, which, after all these years, continues to do exactly what it was designed to do. A few signs of age, but still functional, understated, elegant, and rather handsome. A bit like me, actually. It's probably neither the rarest nor the most valuable watch I own, but it's certainly one of the most meaningful. And most importantly, it's a watch I really want to wear.