Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)This review can't be completely comprehensive since I've only had this watch for two weeks now, but it sure is attractive, comfortable and easy to use.
I typically shy away from quartz watches except as cheap work knock-abouts. My best watches are all automatics. I have several Omegas, 3 Rolex's, and 2 TAG's and a Breitling. All Automatics. I also have a Luminox as my "cheap" quartz knock-about. I feel that it is silly to have an expensive watch and it be reliant on using a battery. A good watch should be self-sufficient.
Citizen has performed an amazing technological breakthrough with the Eco-Drive movement. It is powered by light through a solar cell underneath the face. The cells are so efficient that they are invisible and it is impossible to tell it is there. They seem to have overcome any limitations of face design, and they now come in a multitude of colors and configurations.
The watches are claimed to never need a battery. The solar cell keeps a capacitor charged and the watch needs amazingly little light exposure. A few minutes a day is all that is needed. Not only that but the power reserve on some Citizen models is meaured in years. I'm not sure about this one but I think it is at least 6 months. AND, the watch can go into a power save mode where the movement is disabled and still keep time. Take the watch into the light for a minute or so and the movement resets and you're back in business.
This watch has a perpetual calendar that knows the month, date and leap year status so the date calendar is always right. This is a terrific touch. There is a little dial that tells you the day of the week, as well as 24 hour dial. Mine the two tone model, gold on a black face and looks terrific.
It has an alarm that while low in db is at a frequency that seems to be able to wake anyone from a deep sleep.
Did I mention that this watch is classically beautiful and can hold it's own quality-wise with any of the high dollar competition from Switzerland. Most people when they see it think it's a Breitling.
The bracelet is heavy and is in my opinion superior the the Rolex Submariner bracelet in terms of feel, comfort and heft. Plus, the clasp has these two little tabs on either side for a nice positive lock similar to the Omegas. Both watches make the normal Rolex Sub bracelet and clasp look cheap, flimsy and unworthy of the price.
I find almost nothing to fault about this watch, but I would have liked to have luminous markers, but the hands glow well and last all night. This watch gives up nothing to a $2500 Breitling.
I am not a watch chauvenist by any means, but I have always like the autos better knowing I am not reliant on an outside thing such as a battery without which my expensive watch is nothing better than a fancy paperweight. I am satisfied with the Eco-Drive concept.
Like most watch guys I value accuracy and this watch has it. I have all my autos tuned to be within a few seconds a month when worn. Wearing an automatic watch in the different arm positions throughout the day averages out the mechanical factors that lead to inaccuracies. In reality and normal use even the best quartz watches generally cannot keep time like a well-tuned automatic.
If a quartz movement is +3 seconds it will always gain no matter if worn or in the box so the time drifts. With an automatic, it may be +3 sec up, but -2 down and +1 sideways etc. When worn a lot the averages stay at near zero variation.
Maybe I got lucky with this one, but I set it to my atomic clock 2 weeks ago. As of this writing it is to the second with the atomic. Your results may vary but I suspect that Citizen has done their homework in the QC department.
This watch is inexpensive yet looks very expensive. The quality of the watch is what I have come to expect from a watch in the $1,000 - $2,500 range. Fool your friends. This watch is a bargain at $475. At the Amazon price of $235 it a steal. I may buy another of a different color. Yes folks this is that good.
Buy one and see for yourself.
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Product Description:
Fashionably stylish as an accent to your business wear, the two-tone Citizen Eco-Drive Calibre 8700 stainless steel men's watch with bracelet band will also make sure you never miss an important date. More than just pretty face, it features a perpetual calendar that automatically adjusts for odd and even months and leap years through 2100. It has a wide, round silver stainless steel watch case and bezel that features a thin, gold-tone outline. It's further complemented by a stainless steel bracelet band that mixes silver brushed and gold polished finishes.
The black dial background is accented by day-of-the-week and 24-hour subdials, as well as a mode subdial that displays the selected function (local time, calendar, alarm). It also offers luminous, gold-tone hands (with seconds hand), a date function at 4 o'clock, and gold-tone dial markers. Other features includes a dual-time function for tracking a second time zone, scratch resistant mineral crystal with anti-reflective coating, and water resistance to 330 feet (100 meters).
This watch is powered by Citizen's unique Eco-Drive, which absorbs sunlight and any artificial light through the crystal and dial to recharge the watch continuously. With regular exposure to light, the Eco-Drive continuously recharges itself for a lifetime of use. This watch's Eco-Drive provides a 180-day power reserve, and it can be recharged with just 4 hours of exposure to light.
Summary of Features:
Retrograde perpetual calendar
Alarm
Dual time
Non-reflective mineral crystal
Month-Day-Date functions
12/24 hour time
Screw-back case
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