Riva is Citizen's high-end collection that offers elegant watches in sports or classic models. In both lines, Riva goes safe with steady, clean designs that incorporate two-tone steel and diamonds in the more elaborate and dressy versions. But even the sports chronographs make the impression of ease and effortlessness that usually accompany the luxury lifestyle – and imply how the wearer characteristically deals with time. Riva watches are made for men and women, although most timepieces will suit more the female wearer, due to fanciful use of diamonds and the mother-of pearl dials.

In this collection, Citizen marked the difference between ladies and men's watches by color: male chronographs are available mostly with black dials, looking essentially the same as women's. Riva is a unisex collection per se -- both sexes can wear either watch without compromising personal taste -- it will make an impression of robustness or finesse depending on the wearer. The chronograph function emphasizes this universal quality; it implies aggressive attitude towards time on the one hand, while the sleek, clean mini-dials tone down the aggressiveness on the other. In men's watches, the additional seconds-dials are colored with gray, contributing more to clarity and elegance of design.

Riva collection carefully balances Citizen's achievements in technology and style, and it is probably one of the few of the company's lines that provide additional depth and complexity of psychological meaning. It can be any kind of depth – but the wearer of Citizen Riva will project traits that take time to develop and master. Personally, I tend to find the balance – as it is shown between men's and women's watches – the strongest feature. Perhaps the name “Riva”, being so close to “river,” implies a flow of time that only water can express. Reading time from such a watch may literally equal to watching water go under the bridge.