The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “hypebeast” as “A person who is devoted to acquiring fashionable items.” This is an accurate description, but for those unfamiliar with hypebeast culture, it fails to capture the extent of these devotees’ obsessions. Being a hypebeast means keeping close tabs on all manner of new releases, from sneakers and clothing to limited-edition fast food packaging, and doing whatever it takes to acquire them, from lining up overnight outside a sneaker store to tracking down sold-out pieces on the grey market. Anyone who’s curious to learn more will find everything they need at Hypebeast, the internet’s main source of fashionable collector catnip. Among the latest grails to appear on the site, alongside the latest limited-edition Asics and a rundown of Rick Owens’ Paris Fashion Week show, is the Zenshin Three-Hand x Hypebeast 20th Anniversary Limited Edition.
Described by Hypebeast’s editorial as “a clean, monochromatic masterpiece, bridging the gap between refined streetwear style and top-tier precision engineering,” the collab was created to honour two major milestones: Hypebeast’s 20th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of Citizen’s pioneering Eco-Drive technology. At the heart of the collab is Citizen’s Zenshin Three-Hand model, an integrated bracelet watch made from Citizen’s signature Super Titanium with a design-forward, industrial look. As with many other Super Titanium pieces, the 39.5mm case is finished with DURATECT Platinum, a surface treatment that makes it five times harder than stainless steel. The Hypebeast of it all can be found in a monochrome, chromed-out aesthetic, with a silver-tone dial featuring a custom Arabic numeral “20” at four o’clock, and a subtle Hypebeast logo.
In honour of Citizen’s milestone anniversary, the watch runs on Eco-Drive technology, which converts any kind of light — fluorescent, sunlight, even the glow of your computer monitor — into power, eliminating the need for battery changes. It’s a fitting nod to the technology’s 50th birthday that, after half a century, Eco-Drive watches aren’t just vessels for some of the world’s best solar timekeeping technology but also among the world’s most stylish watches.
Scarcity is a central pillar of hypebeast culture, and fittingly, the Zenshin Three-Hand x Hypebeast 20th Anniversary Limited Edition is capped at 600 numbered pieces worldwide, each one packaged in a custom presentation box with a metallic limited-edition authentication card. Better still, Hypebeast superfans and Eco-Drive devotees will be pleased to learn that, unlike the latest limited-edition Nike Air Force Ones (or a certain recent Swatch collab), buying one won’t require lining up overnight or outbidding a horde of fellow collectors on Grailed.
Learn more about the Zenshin Three-Hand x Hypebeast 20th Anniversary Limited Edition.
FEATURE IMAGE: ZENSHIN THREE-HAND X HYPEBEAST 20TH ANNIVERSARY LIMITED EDITION, PHOTO COURTESY OF CITIZEN.
