Twenty-six millimetres, and it never needs opening.

Twenty-six millimetres is a genuinely small watch, sized for a slender wrist rather than shrunk from a larger design. Citizen lists it at 9mm thick with a 14mm lug width, and the bracelet tapers to match. The whole thing weighs 65.2 grams, most of it bracelet.

The finish is two-tone: steel case and links with gold-tone bezel, crown and centre links. It is the classic dress-watch pairing and it goes with both metals of jewellery, which is why the format has never gone away.

Battery changes are the recurring cost of a small quartz watch, and the smaller the case, the more fiddly and expensive the job. Eco-Drive removes it. Light through the dial charges a rechargeable cell, so the caseback stays sealed for the life of the watch.

That sealed caseback is also why Citizen can rate a 26mm dress watch at 100m, 10 bar, which it describes as suitable for swimming. Few watches this size and this style can go in the water at all.

Citizen’s own site showed the EW1544-53A as sold out at the time of research, which is why this catalogue entry links to an Amazon search rather than one listing. Retailer stock comes and goes; check the reference number on whatever listing you open.

The crystal is mineral, which Citizen specifies as impact and shatter resistant. It is not sapphire, and on a watch that will spend its life against bracelets and desk edges, expect fine scratches over the years.