A New Look (and Case Size) For Citizen Tsuyosa
Three millimetres isn’t much in relation to most things, but when it comes to watches it can make all the difference in the world. For proof, look at the comments section on any watch blog. That’s where you’ll find impassioned debates on the ideal diameter of a sports watch case, with some swearing it’s a robust 42mm and others opining in favour of the more diminutive 36mm. Vintage fans will inevitably opine that 34mm is perfectly fine for a men’s watch, and someone will inevitably point out that it’s actually the lug-to-lug distance that determines how large or small a watch looks on your wrist.
For those who don’t spend a lot of time in the online watch-o-sphere, the Citizen Tsuyosa is one of those watches that enthusiasts can’t get enough of. Combining the looks of a classic steel sports watch, a workhorse Japanese automatic movement, a range of dial options, and a price under $600, it has all the hallmarks of a great entry-level mechanical watch. Unsurprisingly, when the Tsuyosa was released in North America in 2023, it was met with near-universal praise — except for one small thing. If you prefer your watches on the smaller side, the Tsuyosa’s 40mm case was potentially too beefy for your tastes. Fortunately for those folks, Citizen has been keeping up with the chatter, and has released the Tsuyosa in a new 37mm version.
The Tsuyosa (which means “strength” in Japanese) is essentially a reboot of the NH299 series, which was one of Citizen’s best-selling mechanical watch lines in the late 1990s and early 2000s. At a time when many other brands were making cases for their entry-level watches out of brass, the NH299 boasted a stainless steel case with an impressive degree of hairline finishing and mirror polishing. As the successor to the NH299, the Tsuyosa is value-forward, with a refined look that’s versatile enough to dress up or down, sapphire glass, and fine brushed finishes. It also has a great selection of dial colours, including fan favourites like bright yellow and orange.
Like the larger Tsuyosa, the new 37mm version comes equipped with a date display, complete with a magnifier window, and an automatic movement made by Miyota. The 40mm Tsuyosa is currently available in more than a dozen styles, including a small seconds model with a guilloché pattern dial and, most recently, a Mickey Mouse version. Anyone shopping for the newest Tsuyosa, however, will have to be satisfied with a choice of ice blue, dark green, and an Easter-ready shade of pale pink — at least for now. If the 37mm version is as well-received as its larger sibling, you can pretty much guarantee that more dial options con’t be far off. Oh, and for those who care about such things, the newest Tsuyosa measures 40mm lug-to-lug.
Learn more about the Citizen Tsuyosa 37mm.
