Long before the Citizen 67-9119 “Spyder”, the first watch that made an impression on me was a Citizen Eco-Drive chronograph that my late father gifted me “for no reason” (as was his way) in the summer of 2002. It will turn 20 years old this year and hasn’t missed a tick. The emotions we associate with particular watches tend to burrow down deep into our psyche and, in my case, it’s resulted in a micro-collection of Citizen watches spanning the brand’s journey from the early ’60s to the early ’80s.

In browsing the reviews here, I noticed there isn’t that much on the brand – and nothing on its vintage offerings. Let’s correct that with the first in a (planned, at least) series of reviews on vintage Citizen. First up – the Citizen 67-9119 “Spyder” Chronograph, from August 1980. Through the 1970s up to 1980, Citizen rolled out a series of funky, colourful chronograph designs known as “Challenge Timers”. The most well-known of the bunch are the “Bullhead” models that feature the crown and pushers at the 11, 12 and 1 o’clock position. One particular reference is enjoying a resurgence in popularity thanks to it featuring rather prominently on Brad Pitt’s wrist in the film “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”

My 67-9119 is one of the more restrained models. It apparently gets its nickname from the arrangement of the hour lume plots resembling the outstretched legs of a spider. It’s a good size with a 38mm case. The hooded 18mm lugs limit your choice of strap, but I think it looks best on a bracelet that flares out to 20mm to meet flush at the case. The bracelet on this example is a period correct Citizen bracelet used on other chronographs, including the famous “bullheads”, but it is not original to the watch. This model came with a unique bracelet with a PVD-type black coating on the centre link. They’re not easy to find and often command prices in excess of what you’d pay for the watch itself – especially when the bracelet is in great condition.

At first glance, it looks like a typical chronograph but the aesthetic and technical details make this watch really stand out. The dial is matte grey and resembles the bowl of a stadium. The internal rotating bezel, graduated in minutes and worked by a signed crown at the 10 o’clock position, plunges steeply from the flat mineral glass to a raised ring featuring a date window, lumed hour markers and a fixed, printed minute track.

We step down once more to the dial’s centre. The subdials at 12 and 6 (a 12-hour totalizer and 30-minute counter, respectively) are sunken into the dial, a darker shade of grey and sunburst. They also follow the curvature of the dial and deepen as they approach the minute track.

The watch’s engine is the Citizen 8110A. This is a column wheel, vertical clutch, high beat chronograph movement with handwinding, quickset day and date and fly-back capability – meaning you can simply depress the top pusher to instantly restart the stopwatch. This movement does everything the vaunted 6139 from Seiko does and more – but it does it better.

I owned a 6139-6005 blue dial for 15 months. I liked it. But I love the Citizen. These aren’t terribly difficult to track down and relatively affordable, and, if you’re looking for something similar but modern, Citizen does have Eco-Drive offerings that nod to this particular design. As a pilot, it’s my go-to if I am doing a test flight timing climbs and distance runs or figuring out speeds. The flyback function is so useful in this regard.

At the end of the day, my affinity for the brand and my love for the Citizen 67-9119 “Spyder” in particular boils down to the fact that it looks cool and it reminds me of a nice moment with my dad. Next up: one of Citizen’s early automatics featuring an innovative rotor design.