Last July, Citizen released a limited edition 37mm Tsuyosa with a smoked gradient dial and rose gold accents, and the enthusiast crowd christened it the “Time Slip.” It sold on vibe more than spec, and the pieces went out the door on the strength of a dial that looked considerably more expensive than the asking price. Citizen clearly took notes. A year later the same idea is back, bolted onto the sportier chassis the brand introduced in February. It’s the the Citizen Tsuyosa Shore limited edition, reference NJ0238-57E.
The Shore arrived earlier this year as the Tsuyosa’s answer to everyone who wanted a bezel. It kept the 40mm integrated case, the recessed crown at 4 o’clock, and the three-link bracelet, then added a 120-click unidirectional bezel, 100 meters of water resistance, and about a millimeter of thickness. Standard colorways run somewhere between $445 and $490 depending on the coating, and they sit in the permanent collection. Until now, none of them had gotten a limited run.
The NJ0238-57E follows the Time Slip playbook closely enough that the resemblance can’t be accidental. The dial is a black gradient with a textured surface instead of the sunray finish on standard Shore models, and the warm gold treatment now runs from the indices out onto the bezel scale. Citizen’s own copy leans on nostalgia and a “journey back in time,” which is close to word for word what the brand said about last summer’s release. Everything behind the dial stays put. That means the automatic Caliber 8210, 42 hours of reserve, 21,600 vph, a sapphire crystal with a date magnifier, and a display caseback.
That caliber remains the honest soft spot in the package. Citizen rates it at -20 to +40 seconds per day, which is a wide window on a watch approaching $500, and the mechanical Tsuyosa has always asked buyers to accept that trade in exchange for design and finishing that sit well above its price bracket. But let’s be real—accuracy is probably way better during real-world use.
The projected US price of $462.50 is the more interesting number here. It lands between the standard blue Shore and the red one, so the limited edition premium works out to almost nothing.
The limited edition tag still deserves the usual side-eye. Citizen is making 12,000 of these worldwide, up from 8,000 for the original Time Slip, which puts the run comfortably past the point where scarcity means anything at all. If you miss this one, it will be on purpose. What’s harder to read is what the timing says about the Shore’s first year. Citizen built a sportier Tsuyosa in February and is already dressing it in the dial treatment that moved units last summer, which either means the Shore needed a nudge or that Citizen has found a formula it intends to run every August. The watch itself looks good enough that the answer probably won’t hurt it either way.
The Citizen Tsuyosa Shore NJ0238-57E is scheduled for August 2026.
Co-Founder & Senior Editor
Michael Peñate is an American writer, photographer, and podcaster based in Seattle, Washington. His work typically focuses on the passage of time and the tools we use to connect with that very journey. From aviation to music and travel, his interests span a multitude of disciplines that often intersect with the world of watches – and the obsessive culture behind collecting them.