Uh-oh! More Cosmotrons.

(All images may be increased in size by clicking on them)

PURPLE FACE
Well, just one Cosmo wasn't enough - I saw two more which attracted my attention and their cost fell right within the price-range which I have allowed myself for this hobby.

 

This first one is distinguished by its mauve/purple dial which has an almost iridescent effect, changing shade slightly as it is tilted towards or away from the light. I find it very appealing and very similar to a Seiko Advan I have - also from the early 1970s - although the intensity of the colour on this Cosmotron is not as strong as that on its Japanese cousin.

Apart from the colour the dial and hands are rather simple, consisting of thin silver batons for the hour indices and hour & minute hands of matching colour and width. The sweep second hand is also a simple silver sliver (how's that for a catchy phrase?!).

At the top of the dial, under the '12' baton, are displayed the CITIZEN name in silver relief letters under which is the word ELECTRONIC in tiny white-printed lettering.
At the bottom, above the '6' baton, is the Cosmotron logo, in silver relief, and the word COSMOTRON printed immediately above in white.

The '3' position is taken up by the combined day/date display, with the day showing in both Kanji and English.

The crown is recessed at the '4' position, easily popped out by a fingernail when time or date needs adjustment.

The whole watch is set in a stainless-steel case with bracelet of matching material, the design featuring broad rectangular folded links in a satin finish, all secured by a clasp signed CITIZEN and the Cosmotron logo.
Case is 37mm across x 42mm top-to-bottom and the dial face is 29mm in diameter.

The overall condition of this Cosmo is excellent; it appears to have hardly been worn or, if done so on a regular basis, then it has been well cared-for.

It runs perfectly, keeping very accurate time. I have never adjusted it since it arrived (July) other than to initially set the time and date.

ORANGE FACE
SOLD March 2013
This is the third "safety watch" that I own!
You may recall the two Seiko items that I recently featured here. Well, Citizen made an orange-dialled Cosmotron several years before Seiko produced those quartz items.

This Cosmo has a cool name to go with its brash face - 'X8'!
And the '8' is a stylised 'X', so looks like the 'X' laying on its side. Fab move, Citizen!

So at the top of the dial we have 'CITIZEN' in the same raised silver characters as the purple watch (above) but under that wording is the 'X8' instead of 'Electronic'.
At the bottom is the special Cosmotron logo, just the same as the other watch, with 'COSMOTRON' printed above it, but now there is the word 'TRANSISTORIZED' underneath.

The hour indices are also really neat items, consisting of chunky rectangles of alternating silver/black stripes and featuring a bevelled surface on the inside face.The hour and minute hands are styled in a similar manner as the indices, made of a silver material with black striping along the length - 2 stripes for the hour hand and 1 stripe for the minute hand.
The sweep second hand is finished in overall white.
Around the circumference of the dial face is a register of a lighter orange and it is marked with 1-minute segments, a bolder mark at every 5-minutes.

At the '3' position sits a date-only window and the crown, like its sibling, is located at the '4' position, although in this case, although recessed, it is not shrouded from above by the case overhang.

The bracelet on this watch is made of solid stainless-steel links in a "tank track" style, tapering slightly from maximum width at the lugs to a tad narrower at the clasp, which is signed 'CITIZEN' but without any reference to the type of watch to which it is attached.

Dimensions overall are about the same as the first of these two, but the dial is slightly larger at 31mm in diameter.

This Cosmotron - which, incidentally, came with the original Citizen cardboard tag - keeps excellent time and has also not required adjustment since purchase in July (from a vendor in Spain).

So there you have them - two 40-year old transistorised timepieces, each with a bright face and both capable of providing colourful and cool time-keeping.