Citizen Campanola CTU57-0681 Perpetual Calendar

Model: Citizen Campanola CTU57-0681

Year: ~2002

Features:

The History. Campanola is Citizen’s hand-crafted equivalent to Grand Seiko. A portmanteau of Campania and Nola, it derives its name from Nola, a town located in the Campania region of Italy. This town housed the first ever church that used bells to signal time to the local people. Not only does the name reflect this story, but the Campanola logo features two bells side-by-side.

The Collection. Campanolas are renowned for their use of layering, often opting for a distinctly three-dimensional look, as demonstrated above. Taking a typically chaotic complication, like a Triple Date Perpetual Calendar, and leaning into that chaos is the Campanola’s signature move. The hand-lacquered dial, with flecks of titanium added to evoke a starry nightscape, adds to the complex look.

The Design. It’s hard not to talk about the spiralling universe that dominates the dial. Not only does it look fantastic, but it also functions in an unexpectedly practical way. In the pictures, watch currently displays Thursday, December 12, 2024, as the date. The year 2024 is indicated by counting the dots after 2020 until reaching the dot that the white hand points to - in this instance, the fourth dot. Here’s the clever part: every year that aligns with the hand, both above and below 2024, shares the same day/date combination. August 24 in 1912, 1940, 1968, 1996, 2052, and 2080 are all Saturdays!

The Functionality. Holding the top or bottom right-side pushers will move the calendar backwards or forwards in time, allowing you to easily see which day falls on a specific date. A quick press of the left-side pusher resets the calendar to the current date.

The Craftsmanship. Much like Grand Seiko, the Campanola collection is hand-assembled, from the movements to the watch itself. Even the quartz movements, like this one, are hand-assembled! The case is immaculately hyper-polished, and the domed sapphire features Citizen’s proprietary multi-layered AR coating system, known as Clarity Coating. 

Specifications:

Condition: Just serviced by Citizen in Japan. In very good condition overall. Hairline marks can be seen on the bezel. 

Scope: No box and papers. 

Movement: Citizen 6702 Triple Calendar Quartz 

Dimensions:

• Lug to Lug: 51.0mm
• Case Width: 41.0mm
• Case Thickness: 15.0mm