Here is a fabulous and rare, all original Citizen Record Master from 1968 in a very large size for the era. The black crosshair dial is in very fine condition, with white lettering and a tachymeter scale along the rim. It has steel bar hour markers with central lume, wider marker at 12 o’clock. There are a few small marks around the dial, none of which are really visible to the naked eye. The faceted baton hands with the original lume are in fine condition. The central seconds hand shows the chronograph seconds count and is operated with the chronograph pushers. It does thus not run if the chronograph is not activated. The steel framed window at 3 o’clock displays the date, which can be semi quick-set by first turning the hands through midnight so the date changes, then immediately turning the hands backwards to 21:00 and then forward through midnight again. Repeat as necessary.

The stainless steel bezel is in fine condition with light overall wear, perhaps most notable a nick at around 12 o’clock. The very large for the era stainless steel case with the original crown and pushers and batman lugs is in fine condition, with some overall wear both at the lugs and on the sides. The chronograph pushers show some wear. The stainless steel case back is in fine condition with a few scratches and marks. The case does not appear to ever have been polished.

The watch comes on an after market leather strap and buckle of good quality.

Inside the watch, Citizen’s first chronograph movement, the 5701, beats strongly and accurately to within about +12 seconds per day. The watch was fully serviced in September 2026 and comes with a 12 month warranty on its proper mechanical functioning.

The Record Master was Citizen’s first chronograph and it is a wonderful piece of watch history that is increasingly hard to find. Citizen has some fabulous pieces in their back catalog, and the overall condition of this one makes it a real find.

Our watches are delivered in a luxury wooden watch box, fully serviced with a 12 month warranty that covers the mechanical functioning of the watch under normal use. We offer 14 days full return rights and are very proud of our reputation for outstanding customer satisfaction.

NB! Note that we are based in Switzerland and that the buyer is responsible for any import fees their country may impose on a purchase from abroad. Ask us if you have any questions.

Basic info

Brand    Citizen
Model    Record Master
Reference number 53001-TA
Code    VWS-3388
Movement    Manual winding
Case material    Steel
Bracelet material   Leather
Year    1968
Condition    Very good (Worn with little to no signs of wear)
Scope of delivery    No original box, no original papers
Gender    Men's watch/Unisex
Location Switzerland, Lonay

Caliber

Movement    Manual winding
Movement/Caliber   Citizen 5701
Power reserve    36h
Number of jewels    21
Frequency  18000 A/h

Case

Case material    Steel
Case diameter    38 mm
Water resistance    Not water resistant
Bezel material   Steel
Crystal    Plexiglass
Dial    Black
Dial numerals    No numerals

Bracelet/Strap

Bracelet material  Leather
Bracelet color    Brown
Lug width   18 mm 
Clasp    Buckle
Clasp material    Steel

Functions

Date

Others

Central seconds, Only Original Parts, Quick-set, Luminous Indices, Luminescent Hands