The way I typically decide to buy a watch is very deliberate, reading multiple reviews, watching youtube videos and memorizing all the specs. I’ll try on the watch if possible in stores then I’ll hit every manner of website to try to track the lowest prices. That wasn’t the case with the Citizen Silver Leaf Lacquer NB1060-12L.

One day I chanced upon an article from Monochrome Watches. What captured my attention was that stunning green dial. It was like nothing I had seen before. The size was in in my goldilocks zone and it was priced at a reasonable EUR 885 or USD $935. I only managed to find one video of it online (in Vietnamese). Nonetheless, I couldn’t get it out of my mind and 2 hours after reading the article, I broke all precedence and I went online and I bought it.

The Citizen Silver Leaf Lacquer NB1060-12L isn’t a limited edition but it is a JDM model meaning it’s only officially sold in Japan. It took about a week to arrive but when it finally arrived, it did not disappoint.

The first thing that hits you about the Citizen Silver Leaf Lacquer NB1060-12L is the dial. It is a deep dark mossy green that is brighter in the centre and fades to black toward the edges in the fume style popularized by H Moser and Cie. Unlike a Moser dial though, the dial feels very organic with a textured surface that shines and shimmers when hit by light at different angles. The reason for the texture is that the dial uses the Silver Leaf technique and is then lacquered. The base metal dial is made by applying a silver foil followed by a thin layer of pigment. It’s a dial that demands your attention and the right light to get the best out of it. A watch is for telling the time, but this watch is one that demands your time because of its enrapturing dial.

The rest of the dial is simple but refined. The indices are baton style with double indices at 12 and thicker indices at 6 and 9 o’clock. They are relatively slim but tall, with nicely chamfered edges for a three-dimensional effect. The hands are dauphine style and long enough that the minute hand reaches all the way to the edge of the minute track which improves legibility. These are not Grand Seiko level by any means but they are very well done. The hands are grained on one side and polished on the other for added refinement. At 3 o’clock sits a framed date window and a white date wheel which contrasts against the green of the dial.

The best looking watches are of no good if they can’t fit the wrist. I’m happy to report that this watch should be wearable for almost anyone. It sports a 38.2mm case diameter with 12mm thickness and 46.5mm lug-to-lug. The wide dial aperture and narrow bezel means this watch wears closer to a 39mm watch. The case features vertically brushed top surfaces of the lugs which contrast well with the polished sides and bezel. Citizen added a Duratec hard coating to the case which should help protect it from scratches. The dial is covered by a double-domed sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating. While you won’t be taking it swimming any time, the watch features 100m of water resistance which is always a bonus. The lug width is 19mm which is not ideal but not a deal breaker by any means.

Inside the Citizen Silver Leaf Lacquer NB1060-12L beats an in-house Citizen/Miyota caliber 9011, an automatic movement beating at 4Hz and delivering 42h of power reserve. Functions include a hacking second and quick-set date, and accuracy of -10/+20 seconds/day. The movement is nicely but simply decorated with some simple striping and a skeletonized rotor. While no beauty queen, it’s definitely much better looking than the equivalent Seiko 6R35s.