Post by rossr on Jan 4, 2020 22:11:36 GMT -8
Hello all. I’ve been peppering the forum with Citizens for some years now. A bit here. A bit there. Well now it’s time to get serious. Here’s my collection of Citizen Leopards.
I bought my first Citizen Leopard about 10 years ago. It was a Super Beat 8 with a badly scratched crystal that I bought as a gift for my brother. After a service and a professional crystal polishing, it looked great. I liked it so much that I ended up buying a nearly identical one for myself soon after giving the first one away.
I’ve bought them from a variety of places, some in poor mechanical condition that have had to get serviced and repaired (I’ve got a couple of extras for parts). I like the designs, and consider that they are a high quality watch, not too expensive, underrated, and not so common as to make it too easy to accumulate a reasonable collection.
There are several generations of the calibre 72xx Leopards. The first generation that appeared in the late-60s and the later models with the small crown at 4 are quite nice, but I’m really only interested in certain pieces from 1970 and 1971 - the middle-ages of the model line. These are the watches with the big crown at 3, and the black leaping leopard logo on the dial. The higher grade models have Super Beat 10 (10 beats per second) or 36000 (36000 beats per hour) on the dial.
This is not a documentation of all variations, nor a contribution to the technical merits of the model. This has been very well done by Stephen sweephand . This is simply a snapshot of my own collection.
So here they are. There are the Super Beat 8 models, the Super Beat 10 models, and the higher-end Highness and Chronometer models. Some are not uncommon. Others are not seen very often at all.
1. Oval 36000. The hooded lugs limit the strap choices, but I think it works pretty well on the black leather.
2. Super Beat 10, pale blue dial. Badly scratched crystal, but a pristine dial and clean movement inside. I’ve had a half-baked attempt at polishing the crystal, and improved it a bit, but it’s a project I’d like to finish properly.
3. Super Beat 8, 7800 movement with the instant day/date change.
4. Super Beat 10, dark blue dial. I knew this variation existed, but it took a long time for a piece to become available. Possibly a favourite.
5. Super Beat 10, square case and dial. This is the only model of this shape with the higher grade 10bps movement.
6. Super Beat 10, oval dial. One of the more commonly seen 10bps models.
7. Chronometer 36000. One of the higher grade models with the 72xx movement.
8. Highness 36000. Another chronometer-grade 72xx model.
9. Super Beat 10, oval dial, gold plated. A very uncommon variation. I have only seen one other (in poor shape) outside the original catalogue.
10. Super Beat 8, yellow linen dial, 7800 movement.
11. Super Beat 8, round day/date. My least-worn piece.
12. Super Beat 8, round, no day or date. This was the base model, but is quite uncommon. I quite like time-only pieces.
13. Super Beat 8, round, cross-hair dial. The first Leopard I bought for myself.
14. Super Beat 8, silver-grey dial. I don’t know what to call this case shape. UFO? Quite an unusual piece that dramatically shows off the thick, domed mineral crystal.
15. Super Beat 8, buff-coloured dial, faceted case. In the right light, the multiple facets on the case reflect nicely.
16. Super Beat 8, square case and dial, silver-white dial.
17. Super Beat 8, round black dial, squarish case. Difficult to get a good photo due to the very reflective dial and crystal.
18. Super Beat 8, square case and dial, dark blue dial. A very rare variation.
Regards,
Ross
I bought my first Citizen Leopard about 10 years ago. It was a Super Beat 8 with a badly scratched crystal that I bought as a gift for my brother. After a service and a professional crystal polishing, it looked great. I liked it so much that I ended up buying a nearly identical one for myself soon after giving the first one away.
I’ve bought them from a variety of places, some in poor mechanical condition that have had to get serviced and repaired (I’ve got a couple of extras for parts). I like the designs, and consider that they are a high quality watch, not too expensive, underrated, and not so common as to make it too easy to accumulate a reasonable collection.
There are several generations of the calibre 72xx Leopards. The first generation that appeared in the late-60s and the later models with the small crown at 4 are quite nice, but I’m really only interested in certain pieces from 1970 and 1971 - the middle-ages of the model line. These are the watches with the big crown at 3, and the black leaping leopard logo on the dial. The higher grade models have Super Beat 10 (10 beats per second) or 36000 (36000 beats per hour) on the dial.
This is not a documentation of all variations, nor a contribution to the technical merits of the model. This has been very well done by Stephen sweephand . This is simply a snapshot of my own collection.
So here they are. There are the Super Beat 8 models, the Super Beat 10 models, and the higher-end Highness and Chronometer models. Some are not uncommon. Others are not seen very often at all.
1. Oval 36000. The hooded lugs limit the strap choices, but I think it works pretty well on the black leather.
2. Super Beat 10, pale blue dial. Badly scratched crystal, but a pristine dial and clean movement inside. I’ve had a half-baked attempt at polishing the crystal, and improved it a bit, but it’s a project I’d like to finish properly.
3. Super Beat 8, 7800 movement with the instant day/date change.
4. Super Beat 10, dark blue dial. I knew this variation existed, but it took a long time for a piece to become available. Possibly a favourite.
5. Super Beat 10, square case and dial. This is the only model of this shape with the higher grade 10bps movement.
6. Super Beat 10, oval dial. One of the more commonly seen 10bps models.
7. Chronometer 36000. One of the higher grade models with the 72xx movement.
8. Highness 36000. Another chronometer-grade 72xx model.
9. Super Beat 10, oval dial, gold plated. A very uncommon variation. I have only seen one other (in poor shape) outside the original catalogue.
10. Super Beat 8, yellow linen dial, 7800 movement.
11. Super Beat 8, round day/date. My least-worn piece.
12. Super Beat 8, round, no day or date. This was the base model, but is quite uncommon. I quite like time-only pieces.
13. Super Beat 8, round, cross-hair dial. The first Leopard I bought for myself.
14. Super Beat 8, silver-grey dial. I don’t know what to call this case shape. UFO? Quite an unusual piece that dramatically shows off the thick, domed mineral crystal.
15. Super Beat 8, buff-coloured dial, faceted case. In the right light, the multiple facets on the case reflect nicely.
16. Super Beat 8, square case and dial, silver-white dial.
17. Super Beat 8, round black dial, squarish case. Difficult to get a good photo due to the very reflective dial and crystal.
18. Super Beat 8, square case and dial, dark blue dial. A very rare variation.
Regards,
Ross
a variation for every taste.
