Is The Citizen Caliber 0100 The World’s Most Accurate Watch?

During the 1970s, the so-called "Quartz Crisis" hit the Swiss watch industry. For the first time, battery-powered (quartz) movements were introduced in wristwatches. These watches quickly gained popularity among consumers because they were less expensive. The new watches were in most cases a lot cheaper than their mechanical counterparts and made for a steep decline in sales for Swiss watchmakers. Quartz was hailed (by some) as the future of watches, and while quartz watches still have a stronghold in the market, mechanical watches in the mid to upper price ranges are selling better than ever.

There is however, a specific quartz watch that stands out from the rest. Citizen was among the first watchmakers using quartz movements, but the brand stated that they quickly understood the shortfalls of quartz watches, namely the short battery life, the inconvenient process of replacing batteries, and most importantly, the environmental issues of battery disposal. While the watch world was going crazy with new battery-powered quartz watches, Citizen took the concept one step further.
 

You could say that Citizen was an early adapter, sensitive even in the 1970s to the health of our planet. The Eco-Drive was a stroke of sustainability before anyone was ever using the term. The Eco-Drive watch batteries do not need to be replaced and are charged whenever the watch dial is exposed to light. It's pretty much a continual source of power (the watch charges in artificial light too). Unlike our ubiquitous connected watches, Eco-Drive technology isn't intended to become obsolete, and it won't any time soon. After all, it's been around for 40 years.
 

With the 0100, Citizen takes another jump forward with an even higher level of accuracy than it has ever achieved before. The watch has an astounding accuracy of just plus or minus ONE SECOND per year. To put this in perspective, the minimum accuracy required for COSC (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres) certification for mechanical watches is between -4 and +6 seconds per day. Achieving accuracy through a mechanical movement is by far and away more difficult by its very nature, so it's not really fair to compare the two.
 

The 0100's case and dial design are elegantly minimal. The essentials are easily read, with no extra, superfluous adornment to distract the wearer. The case, available in white gold or titanium, is inspired by a crystal's shape, subtly echoing the crystal oscillators in the watch's movement. Two of the models, the white gold version and the titanium fitted with a black dial, have seconds indexes. The second hands line up precisely with each of the 60 second indexes, which is tough achievement in itself. In fact, it's pretty rare. Citizen used a unique fabrication technology for making high-aspect-ratio microstructures for individual components.