Looking to get a dress piece to add to the collection within the next year, and I stumbled upon the Citizen AQ4100-65W limited release JDM HAQ after having my eyes set on the Longines Flagship moonphase for a while. Prices are somewhat similar, with the Citizen at $3300ish shipped, and the Longines between $2500-3000. Here’s my assessment:
Longines:
- Automatic
- Moonphase
- Lower price and available domestically without customs duties
- Greater availability due to non-limited release
- Gold plated hands and dial markers
Citizen:
- Quartz
- HAQ with lots of features to compensate
- Jumping hour (frequent travel) ++ Beautiful washi paper dial with platinum leaf
- Lightweight titanium bracelet (but could also look great on a leather strap)
- More expensive
- Harder to find
- JDM with proprietary HAQ movement requiring shipment to Japan for service
Any other thoughts or suggestions? Thanks!
The flagship has a special case back design that's pretty cool. Not a fan of the gold tho, makes it look dated in a tacky kinda way.
The citizen is beautiful, but needs to be seen in person. I've heard complaints about the plastic looking dial, because there is a layer of plastic over the dial.
I’ve seen the AQ4091 in person (Tokyo), and it looks quite impressive in person. Comparing side by side with the GS Shunbun and White Birch, my gut was leaning toward the Citizen washi dial. Obviously the spring drive wins out price notwithstanding, but the features on the HAQ do well to compensate for it being a quartz.
There's a version with white hands and markers too. Personally, I like this version better