Tell the time by touch

A watch that works for everyone

Our goal was to design a watch that everyone, visually impaired or not, could use and enjoy equally. Fusing CITIZEN’s creativity and technology with precious input from the blind and visually impaired, we developed a model that combines high-level design and high-level usability.

Enhanced legibility. Instant time-telling

The markers at 12, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock are raised, while the point of the hour hand is shaped like an arrow to make telling the time by touch easy. To make the dial more readable for people who are vision impaired rather than blind, the dial is high contrast, with yellow indices against a black background.

Casual, stylish, discreet. A watch for every occasion

The case has a sleek hairline finish, while a casual font is used for the indices. The glass cover and the dial—the most frequently touched parts of the watch—have a matte finish to minimise fingerprints and deemphasize the tactile elements.

The result is a design that looks good regardless of your gender, outfit, or of the occasion.

A watch of durability and functionality

Over the lifetime of the watch, the glass cover will be repeatedly opened and closed. That is why we put it through rigorous testing.

The length of the band and the position of the buckle are easy to modify, guaranteeing that the watch stays snug on the wrist and does not fall off.

Because the mission of the Citizen Watch Company is to make watches that people everywhere will love, we always do our best to make our products from the customer perspective. When we started work on the development of a new watch for blind and visually impaired people, the first question for us was “What kind of watch do people really need?” It was our commitment to answering this question that eventually led to the partnership with the School for the Blind and the Blind with Multiple Handicaps Lopburi in Thailand.

What greeted our team on their visits to the school was the same sight you would see in any school: students busy enjoying school life. The team members made repeated visits to the school to gather the opinions of students and staff.

The blind want a dial that is highly ‘readable’ to the touch; the vision impaired want strong and highly visible colours. So far, so obvious. The students and teachers had a clear message beyond that. “We want a watch that doesn’t look different from a normal watch,” they told us. “We want you to make us a watch that we can enjoy as a fashion item.”

Talking watches are common in the vision-impaired arena. The problem they have is that the simple action of bringing them up to your ear attracts unwanted attention. The lack of variety in designs and the fact that watches for the blind or visually impaired are instantly identifiable as such were also areas of concern.

As we talked to the students and staff at the school, the direction we needed to take gradually started to become clear. What the blind and visually impaired really want is a watch that works for, and looks good, on everyone. That is the thinking behind this watch. Our goal was to stick to the principles of inclusive design and create a product that would provide the same fun and convenience of wearing a watch to all, with absolutely no exceptions.