Citizen Star Wars Death Star
The Force Is Strong With Citizen's New Star Wars Inspired Watches
Released on Triple Force Friday, Citizen’s Star Wars limited edition online-only collection celebrates all things Star Wars.
By Rhonda Riche
Editor-At-Large
Spider-Man: Far From Home made 1.129 billion dollars. Avengers: Endgame made $2.796 at the box office. Joker just made $96 million in its opening weekend alone. Clearly science fiction is not just for kids anymore.
And neither are character watches. The Citizen’s new five-piece, Star Wars-themed collection. Yes, fanboys and girls with money are more than happy to wear their fantasy favorites on (or under) their sleeve.
A NEW HOPE
The impact of science fiction on the modern psyche is bigger than just box office dollars. On the positive side, author Ta-Nehisi Coates appeared on The Late Show talking to Seth Meyers about how speculative fiction was a safe space to tell stories and explore ideas in a polarized political climate.
On the negative side, director Martin Scorsese disparaged the genre when Empire magazine quoted him as saying that he didn’t watch Marvel movies, and they are "not cinema." Prompting a lot of clap back from other filmmakers. Ironically, the newly released Joker is a partial homage to Scorsese’s The King of Comedy. See, even a movie about a clown originally portrayed as campily as possible by Cesar Romero, and directed by The Hangover’s Todd Phillips warrants vigorous intellectual discourse these days.
In the sci-fi canon, we at Watchonista would wager that Star Wars has had the most enduring impact on pop culture. Its characters and storylines have inspired fans since 1977. There are movies, books, cartoons, and tv shows exploring this complex world from a galaxy far, far away.
So, why not watches? Sure, you could buy a digital R2D2 or any number of timepieces that came with a McDonald’s Happy Meal over the years. But we’re talking about something a little more – sophisticated.
Enter the Triple Force Friday celebration. These five Limited Edition timepieces take their design cues from the original trilogy: Episode IV - A New Hope, Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, and Episode VI - Return of the Jedi.
THE REBEL ALLIANCE
The first piece pays tribute to the hero of the franchise, Luke Skywalker. This watch picks up on details from young Skywalker’s pilot helmet. The dial is black with white indices while red and yellow highlight the 1/5-second chronograph (measuring up to 60 minutes, 12/24-hour time and date — useful for flying an X-Wing).
Some other items to appeal to fans: the 44mm stainless-steel case comes with a dark grey bezel and matching Cordura strap. And, the second hand is a miniature lightsaber.
While Luke Skywalker was the hero of the Star Wars saga, you have to admit that Han Solo was sexier. Likewise, the limited edition inspired by the legendary smuggler has a bit more swagger. The watch is meant to evoke Solo’s iconic uniform of blue pants with a brown leather studded belt. Those elements are recalled on the strap and the dial, which also features the iconic red stripe.
COME TO THE DARK SIDE
For those wanting to project a more dangerous vibe, the Boba Fett tribute comes complete with distressed-looking olive green dial and leather strap. This watch is limited to 1,980 pieces, the year the bounty hunter was introduced in The Empire Strikes Back.
The fourth and final character watch is a brooding timepiece inspired by Darth Vader’s (unmistakable) black ensemble. The dial features a mesh pattern that will immediately remind you of his scary ventilator mask and textured breastplate. The stainless-steel case and matching bracelet are also black. There are also red and blue details inspired by Lord Vader’s chest module. This timepiece is limited to 1,977 pieces globally.
THE ULTIMATE WEAPON
The fifth limited edition watch is inspired by a thing, rather than a character – the Death Star. This 40mm timepiece features a blackout stainless-steel case and bracelet.
But, on the caseback is the intergalactic superweapon's green silhouette, the same one the rebels study before their bombing run in A New Hope. This timepiece is also limited to 1,977 pieces.
These timepieces are definitely designed with fans of the series in mind, but there are some thoughtful touches. For instance, casebacks from the collection are numbered and the watches will come in special Star Wars packaging.
The limited edition Star Wars Collection is also a little unusual in that it's only available on Amazon.com. It’s part of a larger grouping of Star Wars-themed merch that went on sale on October 4th. To learn more about the collection or to get alerts about future collaborations, please visit www.amazon.com/citizen.
(Photography by Liam O'Donnell)
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