Citizen Challenge Timer Tsuno (AN3660-81A): The 1973 Bullhead Goes Global at EUR 229

Description

Citizen has done something quietly important. Until this month, the modern revival of its legendary 1973 "Tsuno" bullhead chronograph — a panda-dial quartz reissue first launched on the Japanese domestic market in 2021 — was a near-mythical piece for the rest of the world. To get one, you had to navigate the grey market or hop on a plane. With the official rollout of the EU reference AN3660-81A in May 2026, and a simultaneous US launch on Amazon, that has now changed.

At EUR 229 the new Tsuno is, by some distance, the cheapest properly-styled bullhead chronograph on sale anywhere in the world. It looks the way a 1970s racing chronograph should — twin pushers at 11 and 1 o'clock, crown moved to 12, an orange seconds hand against a panda dial — and it is built with Citizen's in-house quartz Calibre 0510. Alongside the standard panda, Citizen is offering a 4,000-piece limited "Record Label Playground" edition (Ref. AN3660-73X) with a luminous-green Super-LumiNova dial.

This is a watch for the beginner who wants vintage-style for under a week's worth of groceries, and for the seasoned collector who wants a fun beater that has actual horological history behind it. It is also, frankly, the kind of release that reminds you why Citizen is one of the most underrated names at the affordable end of the market.

Design

The Tsuno (Japanese for "horn") earns its name from the two upward-sweeping chronograph pushers at 11 and 1 o'clock. The crown sits at 12 — a design choice that allowed Citizen, fifty-three years ago, to make a chronograph wearable while driving with the wrist pivoted forward on a steering wheel. The 38 mm sandblasted stainless steel case retains the original 8110A proportions: a compact diameter that feels modern, a 13.8 mm thickness that suits the case shape, and a 44 mm lug-to-lug that sits comfortably on smaller wrists.

The dial is a high-contrast panda layout — black main field, two silver sub-counters at 3 and 9 o'clock, applied indices filled with white Super-LumiNova, sword hands, and a single orange chronograph seconds hand to cut through the monochrome. A date aperture sits at 4:30. The fixed bezel carries a 60-minute scale with a red 15-minute warning sector — pure 1970s rally-watch language. On the limited "Record Label Playground" version, that entire dial flips to a fully lumed neon-green canvas with darker green chapter rings.

Specifications

Reference: AN3660-81A (standard panda, non-limited EU/US) / AN3660-73X (LE 4,000, JDM "Record Label Playground")
Case size: 38 mm diameter × 13.8 mm thickness; lug-to-lug ~44 mm
Case material: Sandblasted stainless steel, crown at 12, twin chronograph pushers at 11 and 1
Bezel: Fixed steel, 60-minute scale with red 15-minute warning
Crystal: Mineral, flat
Dial: Black panda with silver subdials (AN3660-81A) or fully lumed Super-LumiNova green (AN3660-73X)
Movement: Citizen in-house quartz Calibre 0510
Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, 1/5-second chronograph with 60-minute counter, date
Power reserve / battery: ~3-year battery life
Water resistance: 100 metres
Bracelet: Five-link stainless steel bracelet (standard); NATO / leather options on the LE
Price: EUR 229 / approx. USD 249 (panda) — EUR 379 / USD 419 (LE green, 4,000 pieces)

What's Exciting

The price is the headline. At EUR 229, this is the cheapest bullhead chronograph on the global market by a wide margin — Hanhart and Tutima examples cost five to ten times as much. Citizen is one of the few brands that can put an in-house quartz movement, a properly engineered 100 m case, and a piece of horological history into the same box at this number, because they make every component themselves. There is no Sellita or Ronda margin to absorb.

Equally exciting is the philosophy of the launch. Instead of treating the Tsuno as a Japanese curiosity, Citizen is finally letting the rest of the world own the watch on official terms — with EU warranty coverage, US availability through Amazon, and the LE green dial giving collectors a numbered version to chase. For a brand that often gets overlooked between Seiko and the Swiss midfield, this is exactly the kind of move that should win it new fans.

History

The original Citizen 8110A "Bullhead" launched in 1973 as one of the very first automatic chronographs with the now-iconic horn-pusher layout, sharing that distinctive case shape with the Seiko 6138-0040 and the Breitling Top Time "Bullhead". Powered by the in-house Calibre 8110A automatic chronograph with day-date and a flyback function, it was a serious piece of watchmaking — and at the time, one of the most affordable automatic chronographs on the market.

The 8110A was discontinued by the late 1970s as the quartz revolution swept Citizen's catalogue, and the original references quickly became cult collectibles. Citizen revived the design in 2021 as a quartz-driven Tsuno (the Japanese nickname stuck) sold exclusively in Japan. The 2026 EU/US release marks the first time in over fifty years that a Citizen bullhead is available globally as a core-collection piece — and the first time it is genuinely affordable to a beginner.

Sources

Gallery

Citizen Challenge Timer Tsuno