Paper sounds like a decorative choice for a watch dial. In Citizen’s two newest The CITIZEN references, it also performs a job. The crimson AQ4100-65X and white AQ4106-00B use two forms of Tosa washi that allow light to reach an Eco-Drive movement beneath the dial. That makes the craft material part of the power system, not merely a printed story.
Citizen announced both limited editions on 17 September 2026 for a scheduled October launch. Each is built around calibre A060, rated to ±5 seconds per year. The collector question is therefore unusually clear: when does a craft dial become more than decoration? Here, the answer lies in how the paper, solar movement and finishing support one another.
Two papers, two personalities
AQ4100-65X uses Tosa Tengujoshi, an exceptionally thin paper made in Kochi Prefecture. Citizen colours it a saturated crimson and places it in a 38.3 mm Super Titanium case with Duratect Platinum. A matching Super Titanium bracelet gives the red dial a cooler frame. The global announcement lists 300 pieces and a projected US price of $3,000.
AQ4106-00B takes a quieter route. Its white Tosa Unryushi contains long fibres and gold-coloured strands, so the surface reads more like a sheet made by hand than a uniform texture. Duratect Sakura Pink adds a restrained rose tone to the Super Titanium case, while a Leather Working Group-certified crocodile strap keeps the composition formal. Citizen lists 350 pieces and a projected US price of $3,100; the US product page shows $3,095.
The dial has a job to do
The useful distinction is not simply red versus white. Both papers are translucent enough for light to pass through to the solar cell. Eco-Drive turns that light into electrical energy, eliminating routine battery replacement while letting Citizen preserve the irregular fibres that make washi visually convincing.
This is why these dials deserve closer attention than a generic artisan finish. Their texture is not applied above an unrelated movement architecture; it is chosen to work with it. The paper can vary subtly from watch to watch, but Citizen does not use that fact to promise market scarcity or investment value. The practical achievement is integration.
Calibre A060 makes the ownership case
Calibre A060 is the harder technical argument. Citizen regulates it to ±5 seconds per year and adds a perpetual calendar programmed through 28 February 2100, an independently adjustable hour hand, automatic hand-position correction, impact detection and hand-locking, instant date change at midnight, and magnetic resistance to 4,800 A/m.
With power saving active, the published running time reaches about 18 months; under normal operation it is about seven months from a full charge. Both watches use a spherical sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment and provide 10 bar water resistance. At 38.3 mm across and 12.2 mm thick, they avoid turning the precision brief into an oversized showcase.
- References
- AQ4100-65X / AQ4106-00B
- Case
- 38.3 mm × 12.2 mm, Super Titanium
- Movement
- Eco-Drive A060, ±5 seconds/year
- Water resistance
- 10 bar
- Edition
- 300 / 350 pieces worldwide
- Launch
- Scheduled for October 2026
Bracelet or strap is the real fork
The two references share dimensions and movement, so the ownership choice is primarily about character. AQ4100-65X is visually stronger and more casual: the bracelet makes it easier to treat the watch as a daily high-accuracy piece, while the crimson dial ensures it never disappears. AQ4106-00B is more restrained, but the strap and sakura-pink case make it the more formal option.
Citizen says Super Titanium is approximately 40 percent lighter than stainless steel and its surface is about five times harder. Those are useful material claims, but they do not replace trying on a 38.3 mm watch or deciding whether a bracelet or strap fits one’s routine. Nor do the edition counts tell us which will be easier to buy once deliveries begin.
The collector decision
AQ4100-65X is the clearer choice for someone who wants the washi to be visible from across a room. AQ4106-00B rewards closer inspection: the pale fibres, gold-coloured strands and rose-toned case reveal themselves more slowly. Neither needs a scarcity narrative to be interesting.
The strongest reason to care is that Citizen has made craft carry technical responsibility. Tosa washi is not covering the solar architecture; it enables it. Paired with a calibre whose accuracy is measured annually rather than daily, that gives both watches a coherent identity: traditional paper above a movement designed to remove small ownership frictions for years at a time.
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