CITIZEN INDEPENDENT Mechanical Watch INNOVATIVE 20th Anniversary Model Reference BJ3-411-91 – Just A Fashion Watch, A Review (plus Video)

Of the three mainstream Japanese watch brands, Citizen’s mechanical line is not as extensive as Seiko’s or Orient’s. They are also not as readily available outside Japan as compared to the other two brands. The sub- brands of Citizen are even rarer compared to the sub-brands of Seiko and Orient such as the Seiko 5 or Orient M-Force. One that is seldom seen is the Citizen INDEPENDENT sub-brand.

The INDEPENDENT celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2016. This sub-brand in known to adopt lifestyle or fashion watch designs in its offerings. Collaborations with famous artists in practically all branches of the art world from music to fashion, animation and games has created a brand collection that is eclectic to say the least. Unfortunately, the INDEPENDENT is a JDM line and any literature found on this line is limited and mostly in Japanese. Even in Wikipedia, the only sentence worth mentioning is; “Watches produced through the Independent label are generally released through seasonal collections.”

Seiko Presage SRPB41J1 (or SARY073) ‘Cocktail Time’ Dark Blue (Similar to SRPB43J1/SARY075, SRPB44J1/SARY076 and SRPB46J1/SARY078) – A Classy Dress Watch, A Review (plus Video)

One of the many famous designs by Seiko is the “Cocktail Time” watch series. It was launched a few years ago based in conjunction with the renowned Japanese bartender, Ishigaki Shinobu. Sold only in Japan, it is a series of dress watch with a deeply sunburst-textured dial and box crystal. Seiko fan went wild over this series as it exudes style and sophistication at an unbelievable low price. In 2017, Seiko has decided to reintroduce this series to the global market with the launch of the latest “Cocktail Time” under the Presage banner.

Strictly speaking there are two subsets of the new Presage Cocktail Time, each with 4 different options. The first subset has just a date aperture while the second subset has a sub-dial for the date and a power reserve indicator. The first subset goes under the “SRPB” coding while the second subset goes under the “SSA” coding.

My interest is the simpler SRPB models and what caught my eyes is the SRPB41J1 with a dark blue sunburst-textured dial and bracelet.