Page 70 - SHARP September 2022

WATCH
TO THE MOON
CITIZEN CHARTS A COURSE FOR THE MOON WITH THE NEW LIMITED-EDITION HAKUTO-R
By Jeremy Freed
IT’S BEEN MORE THAN HALF A CENTURY SINCE
the first astronauts set foot on the lunar surface, yet despite giant leaps in technology, colonizing the moon remains the stuff of science fiction. With the help of Citizen, however, Japanese space exploration company ispace hopes to make this a reality. The first stage of ispace’s ambitious Hakuto-R project, which aims to es- tablish a permanent settlement on the moon by 2040, will touch down on the moon’s surface this coming winter. Among the many high-tech components that will allow the Hakuto-R lander to complete its mission are a set of titanium legs made by Citizen.
As a celebration of Citizen’s contribution to the Hakuto-R mission, the new Citizen Super Titanium Hakuto-R Collaboration is a watch that’s almost as high-tech as the lunar lander itself. The brand’s
second collaboration with the Hakuto-R lunar exploration program and ispace, this limited-edition chronograph features the brand’s famous Super Titanium alloy along with a new material development: recrys- tallized titanium. Combining titanium’s incredible strength-to-weight ratio with a unique crystalline pattern reminiscent of the lunar surface, this material is the perfect tribute to the ambitions of Hakuto-R and makes a powerful statement on the watch bracelet and bezel.
In addition to this space-age material (which is coated with Duratect DLC for enhanced durability), the new Citizen Hakuto-R features high-tech advancements like GPS timekeeping, which receives time signals from satellites in as little as three sec- onds for incredible accuracy. Other advanced features include world time in 27 cities and 40 time zones, a universal coordinated time dis- play, and a perpetual calendar, not to mention an Eco-Drive movement powered entirely by light. Limited to 1,000 pieces worldwide, Citizen’s new Super Titanium Hakuto-R is the closest you can get to landing on the moon in 2022. If ispace and Hakuto-R are successful, however, that may soon change.
($4,500)
70 SEPTEMBER 2022
SHARPMAGAZINE.COM