Movado, a company with over 100 years of history in watchmaking, has been the go-to brand for luxury watches. Citizen is one of the world’s largest producers of timepieces and has always offered quality at an affordable price. The Movado vs. citizen debate will never be settled because each person’s needs are different. To help get you started on narrowing down your choice, we’ve created this comparison guide to show some of their similarities and differences.
1) History:
Movado is over 100 years old, being founded in 1881. Citizen watches are almost half that age at ‘only’ 61 years.
Both brands have gone through several variations and many different changes in styles. Their high-quality standards have not changed, though.
2) Price:
Movado offers a more expensive product, so if you want one of their watches, it will cost you at least $500-700 USD, but they claim to be worth every penny with the customer service and craftsmanship behind each watch. This brand’s style tends to lean towards dressier pieces that can serve higher-end purposes, like going out on special occasions or dressing up for work or a business meeting.
Some of Citizen’s watches may be found for $200-USD 300, which is much less than an equivalent Movado watch, such as small sports-style wearables or casual everyday watches. They have not strayed far from their basic styles (at least in recent years), so if you are looking for something unique that Citizen specifically designs, you might come away disappointed when comparing them to other brands with more variety like Seiko or Invicta.
3) Design:
Both brands have mixed and matched designs that all look fairly similar, especially when looking at their quartz pieces. The watches are not overly fancy or ornate. Instead, they are simple enough for everyday wear but elegant at the same time. One difference you may notice is the quality of the fit and finish on both companies’ movements (see below). You should also know that Citizen tends to use sapphire glass instead of mineral crystal, which adds up to $50-$80 to the cost of your watch. The biggest complaint with citizen watches is overall size because they tend to be bulky in appearance. They do make thinner watches, but those can go quite a bit higher in price.
4) Quality:
The quality and craftsmanship of both watches are high, but you may notice slight differences between each brand’s movements, although the quartz versions are identical outside of glass material.
Both companies offer a wide array of warranties for their watches: 2-3 years for mechanical, 2-3 years for quartz, and 5 years if you register the product online. If something does go wrong, it is more than likely going to be covered under warranty unless it is a defect in material or workmanship that occurred during manufacturing.
5) Water resistance:
They both have similar styles, with a screw-down crown at 4 o’clock to seal the case tightly against moisture getting in. Both watches are water-resistant up to 200 meters (660 feet) which technically means they can tolerate pressures beyond that depth, but we don’t recommend testing this out. Being rated at 200 meters is enough for most people, like swimming, bathing, or snorkeling will not exceed these limits, so it doesn’t matter if the watch is rated higher or not.
6) Movement:
In terms of movements, you should be aware that Citizen uses a Seiko quartz movement (which isn’t always bad), but what sets them apart from other brands is their ability to let people replace their batteries without having to take it into someone else to get it done. This means no more coin cells, spring bars, and winding stems that need replacing every once in a while, like some brands. It’s all based around this rotor which has an electromagnetic field rotating inside of it. This keeps your watch going when you are moving about or doing something active with it on, so you don’t have to worry about resetting it before going out running or working out. That is the major difference between them and Citizen since you can’t do this with any other brand (that I know of).
Movado also uses a Swiss-made quartz movement with 26 jewels, but they are using ETA/Ronda, or Seiko with their cheaper models rather than Miyota like Citizen does. They both have over two years of battery life before needing to change it out, so longevity isn’t an issue unless you don’t wear your watch often (maybe 6-8 times in that year). Since these are both high-quality movements, you shouldn’t have too many issues with them unless some sort of damage occurs, which should be covered under warranty if still covered at the time of failure.
There are also mechanical versions of the brand available, but these are typically only found in high-end brands, which require servicing every 4 – 5 years; otherwise, they will just stop working. They tend to be more expensive than quartz versions for the same type of model. Still, They have a better customer reputation as far as quality control goes since it is all done in-house vs. relying on other companies as Miyota Citizen uses for their cheaper models watches.
7) Status:
People associate status with fine things, and because you are wearing something nice, people will naturally assume that you have some sort of money or lifestyle, even if it’s not true. The amount of confidence this gives you when meeting new people can help smooth out introductions, allowing you to talk about yourself in a direction you want and not being forced into something uncomfortable.
To show off your watch is simple; wear it! You don’t have to constantly look at it; just make sure you put it on before going out so that you can keep an eye on the time or check it when someone asks what time it is. It’s also important to match your clothes with the watch and complement each other to create a suitable image for others around you. If you wear something casual like jeans and a t-shirt, don’t wear a dressy-looking watch; find one that matches what you are wearing already.
If carrying around a large gold or diamond piece isn’t your thing, then there are options available, and it doesn’t have to be a big piece of jewelry. You can opt for a nice leather strap with the metal clasp or even something linked together, but either way, you should always wear it if you want others looking at your watch over any expensive items they might see on you.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, both brands are fine watches to own; just based on overall quality, there isn’t much separating them. Be sure to shop around and find the best prices; there are always slight differences in pricing from one place to another, so do a little research before making your final decision.