Super Titanium™ :
The Beauty of Time
An Exhibition to Celebrate 55 Years of CITIZEN Titanium Technology
Super Titanium™: The Beauty of Time looked back at 55 years of innovation in titanium processing, a CITIZEN core technology, and offered an immersive experience of CITIZEN’s dedication to manufacturing as expressed in watch exteriors. The exhibition was held at the KARIMOKU RESEARCH CENTER in Nishiazabu, Tokyo, in March 2025.
1. The exhibition venue and entrance
A sense of contrast and a sense of warmth.
Wood and metal. Technology and aesthetics
The exhibition explored the properties and potential of two quite different materials—titanium and wood—all in the setting of the KARIMOKU RESEARCH CENTER, a collaborative hub operated by KARIMOKU FURNITURE, a Japan-based wooden furniture manufacturer. Everyone who came was delighted by the interplay between the elegance of Super Titanium™ and the serenity of the space.
2. The installation
A colour gradient made up of 1,039 plates
Integrating video, sound and watches into a single cohesive whole, the installation consisted of 1,039 titanium plates arranged in grids to create nine low table-like structures. These 50 x 25 mm titanium plates are actually used in the development of CITIZEN’s surface-treatment technologies.
As the titanium plates caught the light coming from the screen, their appearance changed constantly, and they seemed to merge with the video images on the screen. The form of the piece—where beauty, gentleness and the intricacy and mental focus of watchmaking all coexisted harmoniously as if according to a mathematical formula—enabled visitors to experience the strength, lightness and beauty of Super Titanium™ at a sensory level.
3. 55 years of CITIZEN titanium technology
A thematic approach to technological innovation
CITIZEN’s multi-decade titanium-technology journey was introduced thematically. The six categories were: “Challenge,” “Technique,” “Gentleness,” “Strength,” “Space” and “Colour.” In addition to displays of successive generations of watches, objects that people rarely get to see, such as titanium sponge, a titanium ingot and a mould for the manufacture of titanium cases, gave an insight into the titanium materials development process.
4. Titanium laboratory area
Colourful DURATECT points to new possibilities
In this section of the exhibition, which was inspired by a research lab, samples of Super Titanium™ in a rich variety of colours were on show, alongside contemporary posters and catalogues. The lab area vividly conveyed both the depth of CITIZEN’s multi-decade R&D drive and titanium technology’s untapped future potential.
Overseas exhibition venues
United States of America
Singapore
