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 Citizen Eco-Drive Men's Calibre 8700 Perpetual Calendar Watch #BL8000-54L By: Citizen Average Rating: 4.5 Total Reviews: 66 More Information fresh piece, fast delivery  On: 2008-07-15When I found amazon is offering this at half the price, I was a little doubtful about the quality or the service. The only hopeful thing was the enormous number of positive feedback. Now as I am writing this feedback, I understand amazon feedbacks are real. About the product, The watch really looks nice. Excellent build quality. Very stylish. And various adjustments are a fun thing to do. And most importantly I got it in my hand in four days. Awsome, I highly recommend this one Great watch with some minor issues On: 2008-06-14Great watch with some minor issues I bought this watch four months ago. I love this watch. It is well built and looks very good. The dial is not big and it fits my wrist very well. It comes with different colors. If you fancy a black or golden dial or a diamond ring, you can search for it. The watch is fairly accurate. My watch is 5 second slower in one month. I also love the alarm clock function, which usually does not come with watches of this style. The dual time zone is a plus for me when I travel internationally. The watch is very light sensitive. The second hand stops running, if the watch is in darkness for over 30 min.s, while other hands continue their movement. I also has a super slim Citizen eco-drive. Together, these two watches meet most of my needs. I wear a fine watch for very formal occasions and a Casio during workout. Some minor issues: The glass could be better. It is only mineral crystal (regular glass with hardened surface). Only 2 hands are illuminated. I can not read the time without illuminated time marks!!! The wacth is relatively heavy (but well built) CRYSTAL SCRATCHES WAY TOO EASILY IN NORMAL USAGE  On: 2008-06-07This is indeed a nice watch as many of the reviewers have stated. However after two years of normal usage the crystal face has accumulated multiple scratches. Long ones, short ones, you name it. I have owned several other less expensive watches that did not have this problem. This is very disappointing considering the maker and price of this watch. The blue face is also a little too dark. This obscures the details and features of the watch and makes it appear somewhat ordinary. I should have gotten the white one instead. Great watch, great price, good looks On: 2008-05-11This watch is truly wonderful. Ive had this watch for a month now and purchased it through Amazon for half the retail price. This watch is quite accurate; noticed an increase of 5 seconds after the first month of purchase. The quality of the watch is very good. Looks expensive, and youll get second looks from folks around you. The blue in the picture is not that blue, it is much darker (like navy)when you see the watch in person. You can dress up or dress down with this watch, and the best part is, you do not need to replace a battery (Eco-Drive). This watch is about 38 mm in diameter, good for folks with small to medium wrists. I highly recommend this watch. Great watch On: 2008-05-11I bought this watch a month or so ago. It has proven to be a good buy. High quality and very sharp. It can be worn casually or to more demanding occasions. It has just enough shine to stand out, but not so much bling that you embarrass yourself with vanity. A solid watch and I highly recremmend it to others. I have no complaints with any of the funcations and most importantly, no issue with its accuracy. Ordered it From WatchSavings Instead and Saved $75!  On: 2008-05-01I ordered this from Amazon and when I went to show a friend..the Hyperlink took us to Watchsavings and the watch was $75 less!! This link was within my order and as you can imagine made me wonder why, and if Amazon would match. I called and got some offshore country where they would not help me and would not match the price. I am in the process of returning the one from Amazon and just purchased from WATCHSAVINGS. $75 Difference is quite a bit. I am disappointed that Amazon did not even attempt to meet me 1/2 way or offer something..anything..besides NO. So they will pay for 1 Day shipping here (since it was free for me) and then shipping back and lose a customer who has bought quite a number of items here. I will post more about the actual watch when I have it for a bit. A year old. On: 2008-04-14I have had this watch for over a year now and have no complaints. There have been no issues with the function of the watch, and it continues to work as well as the day I bought it. Even when I have left it in a dark case for a couple of days, it still works fine when I finally bring it out for use. I also frequently get compliments on the watch. It looks more expensive than it actually is. Great watch On: 2008-04-03I bought the watch for a gift. It is nice-looking and works very well, though a little bit heavy. Beautiful Watch On: 2008-03-25This watch is very nice. Some things to note however. The face is not as blue in the picture, but is a very dark almost black colour in normal light. My opinion is that it actually looks classier in real life than what the picture suggests. Another thing is that the watch face is not large which seems to be popular amongst watches now a days. For someone with medium to small wrists I think its a good size though. If you are used to large faces, then it can take some getting used to. In terms of function, its very unique. The dial on the bottom indicates the different modes with 1)Time 2)Calendar 3)Alarm 4)Local time. The time mode functions like a convential watch showing the time with the second hands ticking. The Calendar mode is the same as the time mode, however, the second hand points to the month and doesnt tick. The Alarm mode once entered will cause the watch to move the hands to the time the alarm was set. This becomes a nuisance the alarm time is distant from the current time because the hands gradually rotate to the time the alarm is set. It looks cool but it takes a long time to get to the alarm time and its recommended you dont play around with the watch until the arms come to a stop.. Once you set the alarm and return to time mode, the hands move back to the correct time. Pretty cool looking but can get tiresome if you use the alarm regularly. The calendar mode is only used when adjusting the date. Since this is a perpetual calendar youll only have to do this once. However, if the watch runs out of juice, which is very difficult since it can go without light for 6 months once fully charged, you may have to set it again. Finally, the local time mode allows you to set your watch to a different time zone. Again, if the local time is different it will take a while for the hands to reach the appropriate time. The two buttons above and below the crown are kind of useless. They are only used when setting the alarm or changing the date on the calendar. When you press the lower button in time mode, the hand that points to the day of the week swings around to tell you if the alarm is on or off. The top button doesnt do anything, and Ive only used it to adjust the calendar. Adjusting the watch band is a hassle. You can do it yourself but you need to be careful. A jewler would be better because they have the tools. If you dont want to spend an extra ten bucks or are impatient like me, then use a thumb tack and a good sized safety pin. If you look at the links there are arrows which tell you what direction to remove the pins. Use the thumb tack and press down very hard to remove the pin. Then when the pin has nudged out, use the safety pin to push it all the way out...takes a lot of force so make sure you dont damage the watch. One more thing. People complain that there is no fine adjustment of the watch band complaining that it is either too loose or too tight. There are actually two small links towards the end of the band that can be used for fine adjustment. I removed two large links and a small link and it fits just fine for me. The great things about this watch are the appearance of it. It looks very beautiful. Another thing I like is that it is a thick heavy watch. It looks and feels like an expensive classy tiime piece. Another thing I like about it is that solar powered feature. Once fully charged the watch can keep the correct time and date in its memory for six months. And unlike an automatic watch it keeps very accurate time. Ive only lost a second after wearing it after a month. Very Happy On: 2008-03-14I am very picky about watches, in the past I have had a seiko and a Buluva. I have only had this watch for 1 day but I love it and I am sure I will for a long time. I found it very easy to set up all the features, I did use the guide for some of the set up but it was easy to understand. Great price from Amazon, Great service from Amazon. Thanks to Citizen and Amazon! Citizen Eco-Drive Calibre 8700 On: 2008-02-17Excellent watch. It arrived right on time and in perfect condition. I gave this as a present and the only thing negative mentioned was that it was kind of a heavy watch. Other than that he loved it! Terrific Watch with a Lots of Appeal On: 2008-02-09I bought this watch (my first Citizen) 6 months ago and I think I love it more with each passing day. It is gorgeous and has many useful features. Very eye catching, very sturdy and rugged, and seems to be built with high quality materials. My wife loves it as much as I do. I found it easy to size the watch myself using an ordinary thumb tack and small needle nose pliers. Very pleased with this high quality product from Citizen. I am now a customer for life. Very high quality, very classy On: 2008-01-26I was looking for a watch that was both classy and rugged and this was the watch I came to select. I have been very satisfied with it. What first sold me on it was its appearance. To me the quality of the band is as important as the machinery itself. I really like the way this one looks and it is very comfortable to wear. The band and watch is stainless steel is very shiny. The clock itself is in a class of its own. I have never seen anything like it. It keeps time perfectly. It never needs to be reset and records the time of day (am/pm via the military time dial in the upper left side). It also tells the day of the week and the day of the month. It records the month internally as well as whether its a leap year or one, two, three years after. This can be displayed in the calendar mode. It is incredible power efficient using sunlight and normal, indoor lighting as a power source. When in the dark the second hand stays vertical and motionless while keeping tract of the exact time internally while the minute and hour hands continue moving. As soon as the watch is brought back into the light the second hand moves back precisely into the correct position and starts moving regularly again. Its really cool! I get a lot of compliments on it. It really is a great deal in the $300-500 range and has the characteristics of watches that sell for thousands of dollars. So if your looking for a watch in that price range The Citizen Eco-Drive is one of the best. Fantastic watch On: 2008-01-19Bought the watch from sivermoon jewelry, fast delivery. This watch is so beautifully designed, with solid stainless steel bracelet. Looks like a very expensive watch. I have not seen any other watches that as beautiful as this one. Ecodrive technology that doesnt require change of battery, perpetual calender, what more do you want? Paid for new, got what appears to be a used watch.  On: 2008-01-03This watch arrived without the protective plastic covering on its crystal. It was ticking and had the correct day and correct date already set. It also had the correct time for the west coast, but I live in the midwest so it was 3 hours off. Reported to Amazon and have waited 10 days for an explanation. They did notify me that they would need 2-3 more days after about the 3rd day. I have heard nothing since, Times up! I consider this a used watch, If it had not arrived the day before Christmas it would have been returned immediately. I will think twice before ordering expensive jewelry from Amazon again and I am a very good customer. Awesome On: 2007-11-20Just neat for the price you pay. Not a big fan of citizen brand, but this one changed my views... +++++ product. Great looks comfort and ease of use. Hassle free. Awesome On: 2007-11-19Just neat for the price you pay. Not a big fan of citizen brand, but this one changed my views... +++++ product. Great looks comfort and ease of use. Hassle free. Best watch I have ever owned On: 2007-10-11I bought this watch on a cruise and loved the perpetual date function. A year later, I still get complements on this watch. The watch is stylish, durable and good quality and I couldnt be happier with it. I never write these reviews, but had to do so on this product. amazing price for an amazing watch On: 2007-10-10this watch is the best quality watch ive ever seen. At this price you cant say no. This is an absolute steal I love this watch!!! On: 2007-09-05Nice style. Classic Look. Beautiful and completely functional face. Stylish band. Overall a beautiful and very functional watch thats not gaudy. Its exactly what I was looking for. I love this watch!!! On: 2007-09-04Nice style. Classic Look. Beautiful and completely functional face. Stylish band. Overall a beautiful and very functional watch thats not gaudy. Its exactly what I was looking for. Very Nice Watch Overall On: 2007-08-21I bought this watch on a trip to St. Thomas for 200 US dollars. Overall, I would say, a great bargain, as I didnt have to pay tax on that price. The watch looks very nice and is not as heavy as other similar models I have seen/tried on. Not as light as my titanium watch, but a little classier looking (than the brushed look of the titanium). As others have said, the hands take a good amount of time to spin around and do their little dance when you switch modes, which is annoying. Also, to adjust the damn thing took a thorough re-reading of the instruction manual and several minutes of frustration before I got it on the third or so attempt. The Eco-Drive technology is great. The battery stays fully charged easily and requires no special "charging" on my part. Fantastic watch On: 2007-08-17I bought my watch a few weeks ago, and I have been really happy with it. The watch looks great, is fairly easy to set-up (if you read the manual) and the fact that it is solar powered is amazing. I actually didnt buy it on Amazon. I paid $158 for it on eBay. The deal was a bit shady, but here is the reason that you are seeing these watches for so much less than you would in the stores. If you buy a citizen watch through a department store or an authorized reseller, then it comes with the Citizen 5 yr warrenty. If you buy it via Amazon or eBay, these are companies based overseas and it does not come with the Citizen warrenty. I spoke with Citizen to confirm this. My feeling was that if the watch is so great, then I shouldnt need a warrenty and so far it has been wonderful. You are probably wondering how I got it for $158. I simply won an eBay auction and this was the highest bid. I was then charged $30 for shipping. The eBay vendor that I bought it through claims that there is something called an "International Warrenty", but I would consider this worthless. You should buy from one of these vendors expecting that you will not have the fallback. But then again, at these prices, I dont mind. Hope you enjoy your watch. Great Watch!! On: 2007-08-11I bought it as a birthday gift for someone special to me and it was everything I expected it to be! He loves all of the functions and mostly, that it doesnt use batteries. Outstanding On: 2007-08-03The watch looks better in real life than advertised. The condition of the watch was impeccable and I expected no less. It has a sophisticated design, one that is easy to decipher and to use on a daily basis. The watch looks and feels luxurious. The delivery was timely and there were no damages on the package or the inside item. Excellent service all around. Excellent watch On: 2007-08-01This is absolutely an excellent watch. I can describe it as the masterpiece of citizen. The art and style in the inner circle of the watch is really noteworthy. It is a top-level product of citizen. I really like the design and can use it with any type pf clothing. It looks good with a suit as well as a nautical style. It is really classy and strongly recommend it for anyone who is looking for a classy watch with a reasonable price. The best thing about this watch is, in design and look it can be compared with omega semaster series and tag-heuer aquaracer or link series but it costs much less. I think this is one of the best watches in its class. Easy, Fast, and Awesome On: 2007-07-15The watch that I bought from "The Watch Spot" came days earlier than expected, with all of its items--the Guide CD, the Citizen Jewel Box, the instructions. More amazing was that the watch was also set to the correct time, date, and year when I recived it. I didnt have to mess around with it at all! The watch itself was a great buy. Most stores were asking around $450, whereas I bought the watch for nearly half that. Ive now owned it for almost a month, and I have to say that I couldnt be happier with it. The finish is bright, and the faceplate itself is beautiful and nearly black in color. The alarm, despite what other reviewers may say, is insistant, but not loud and overly annoying. It would not wake someone up, but it is a good reminder. Buy this watch if at all possible. Excellent Timepiece On: 2007-07-09After reviewing the Citizen line of watches, I settled on this one because it does one thing a lot of the others apparently dont: show the current time of day when the alarm is engaged. The 2100 seems to have this ability as well, but its size and weight were huge turnoffs to me. The complicated nature of setting up this watch is offset by the fact that youll probably never have to do it, again, thanks to Citizens eco-drive -- there is an odd satisfaction in seeing the second hand spring to life after walking out of a dark theater or taking it out of a drawer. Be sure to keep the manual in a safe place, though -- youll need it for reference if you ever need to reset anything. It is fully possible to set the watch to GMT and use the watch in "local time" mode, although you cannot use the push button alarm check to see if you have the alarm set to on in that way. I love the classic, almost steampunk, look and feel of this watch and the easy to read face. Even in the dark, the bright, glowing hands can be read from some distance away. My Order was late and then canceled without my consent On: 2007-06-26I ordered this watch as a graduation present. The order was a few days late however, Fashion & Time had been communicating with me. I was shocked however to receive an e-mail from Amazon canceling my order without my consent. I was promised to have received the watch tomorrow by the seller. I would like an explanation. Order number 002-9490574-5264857 I am upset by this, I have bought from Amazon for 6 years. Nothing like this has ever happened. I look forward to hearing from someone about this. My Order was late and then canceled without my consent On: 2007-06-25I ordered this watch as a graduation present. The order was a few days late however, Fashion & Time had been communicating with me. I was shocked however to receive an e-mail from Amazon canceling my order without my consent. I was promised to have received the watch tomorrow by the seller. I would like an explanation. Order number 002-9490574-5264857 I am upset by this, I have bought from Amazon for 6 years. Nothing like this has ever happened. I look forward to hearing from someone about this. ideal synthesis of style and function On: 2007-04-27I just received the watch this afternoon. [Thursday, April 26]. I must say that I am thouroughly impressed by the style and quality of this timepiece. The watch is actually closer to black than the dark blue in the picture. The photonic cell that powers the watch is visible on the face. The face is the perfect diameter. I love the fact that the watch moves the second hand to zero when setting the time; it makes setting the atomic time via the internet much easier. The overall quality and craftsmanship of this watch appear to be top notch. Only the test of time will reveal any flaws. Great watch On: 2007-04-05Ive never paid more than about $50 for a watch until this one jumped at me. It was time to get a "decent" watch, and I really liked the chronograph styling. Going strictly on aesthetics, this one looks great, and feels sturdy. When I took a closer look and found all the features available I was instantly sold! The perpetual year is a great feature, and Ive seen several other reviewers complain that it doesnt have a daylight savings feature... well, there are actually places in the world that DONT do daylight savings; and after living in Hawaii for the last 4 years, it would have been really annoying for my watch to suddenly adjust itself. Stunning and very nice looking watch On: 2007-03-30I purchased this watch just a month ago. I have been wearing on daily basis to work and parties. It looks great. Everyone liked it. Its very easy to setup and learn. I have about five watches, this is my most favorite of all. Loving it... I love this watch! On: 2007-03-29I wanted a large faced wrist watch, but I dont have big wrists... this watch is the perfect solution for me. For the price Im not afraid to wear it everyday and it requires no maintenance. Its solar powered and will last up to six months on a charge. Occassionally if I feel like I havent exposed the watch to enough light I will leave it under a lamp overnight... simple solution if you are worried about the solar aspect of this watch. I've had it almost 2 years... On: 2007-03-28Ive had this watch for going on 2 years now and have had many compliments on it. The watch still works as it did the day I bought it and I cant bring myself to wear any of my other watches anymore either. This one looks great, it has the non-scratch crystal as well and it still looks new, even though Ive bumped into things with it, no scratches yet. I love this watch and cant say enough about it. It keeps perfect time and looks great. 5 stars and then some. I love mine On: 2007-03-16I have owned this watch for about a month now. I somehow have the BLACK face. I have not seen this anywhere, but I do have it, and no, its not a dark blue, it is really black. I bought mine from a very popular online auction site. I love the perpetual calendar, March 1st came around right on schedule. It keep great time, is attractive, and has nice features. The one main lacking feature is a Stop watch. There is none. But thats ok, I still think this watch is tops. Like others have said, the alarm is very quiet, thats true. I LOVE this watch!! On: 2007-02-16Okay, I was looking for a "nice" watch for myself.. kind of a Xmas gift from to me (like Alvin and the Chipmunks). I have quite a few ~$100-150 range watches, plus a nice (real) divers watch, etc. So I am somewhat familiar with watches. I figure its the German in me. What I was looking for was something a little flashy, yet classy, that I could wear with jeans or a business suit, and had decent features, wasnt gaudy or in poor taste. My price range was anywhere from $50 up to Tags to Rolex, etc.. and while price was a consideration, if there was a watch I "fell in love with", I would have spent the money. That being said, I am extremely satisfied with the Citizen! I originally was looking at the leather band watches, because I have *always* had issues with the metal link bracelets and my arm hair, wrist, etc. This one GIVES ME NO TROUBLE WHATSOEVER. Its also not sharp on the sides of the band (ala: Rolex), so it wont scrape you (or a loved one) up either. I was also looking closely at the Tag Link series. And while nice, they simply didnt have the features that this model has. I couldnt see spending $1400+ for a watch that Id have to buy a watch winder box for, or put batteries in, that didnt have alarm, dual TZ, perpetual date, etc. etc. Additionally, the QUALITY of this watch is superb. I hand my watch to people that want to take a look at it--most say "wow thats heavy". But its really not. It has a more solid feel than my ultra-thin watches, but I also forget Im wearing it. The hands line up perfectly, it keeps great time, the alarm works well, etc. I was also comparing this to the Citizen with the moon-phase watches. And while I would LOVE to have moon phase, the addition of that function pushes the watch size to "Hey, is that your dads watch" size. And I have skinny wrists so it (I) would have looked even more ridiculous with a big watch. Right now the watch [dial] is a perfect fit for my wrist. I also like the uniqueness of the BLUE face, over other face colors. And the roman numerals. I think the white face is a dressier look, if thats what youre looking for. The blue was the right choice for me; a little unique but still classy. In short, I have been wearing this watch for a few weeks now.. and absolutely love it. In fact, I have not worn any of my other watches since getting this one--if that tells you anything. And this is extremely unusual since, in the past, I have *never* had any luck with meatier watches.. especially with the link/metal bracelet. But this fits/wears awesome! I highly recommended at least checking out the Citizen watches in general. This is my first Citizen ever, and I am 100% satisfied with the brand and this model. And Id bet that most of their other ones are good too. To me it comes down to spending less for something thats every bit as good as the "other" watches, and youll likely get even more/better features to boot. Beautiful Watch On: 2007-02-14I give this watch 4 stars only because Ive had it only a few weeks and havent used all its features yet. To this point, its a 5 star watch. It looks great on my wrist and functions perfectly. Amazon had far and away the best price anywhere and I am very pleased with my purchase. Very Nice Watch. On: 2007-01-03This is a beautiful watch which I purchased from a retailer for $250. The watch keeps perfect time and I have exposed it to very little natural light. As someone mentioned in a previous review I found it disappointing that the watch does not adjust itself for daylight savings. It adjusts for leap years but not daylight savings. Oh well. I think other than that the watch is flawless. I will add that I purchased this watch before doing any research which is rare for me, and when I got home the night I purchased this watch I saw the Calibre 2100 Titanium and I fell in love with that watch. I purchased that watch from amazon for $300 and I was intending to return the Calibre 8700, but when I recieved the Calibre 2100 I couldnt bear to part with the 8700, so I kept them both and I love both of them. I get more complements when I am wearing the 2100 which I attribute to the larger face. I am slightly inclined to recommend the 2100 which I would rate 5 stars, but I bought both of these watches for much less than they are selling for now. The 2100 also comes in stainless steel which sells for about $100 less than the Titanium. Beautiful Watch On: 2006-12-26Bought this watch for Christmas from Amazon for $225 after seeing some better photos on eBay. Picture here does it no justice. It is a darker, richer metallic blue with a metallic silver and blue inner region. Easy to read in minimal light due to the subtle reflections of the silver numbers and wide hands. Band is actually two-tone with polished and brushed finishes. No need to go to a jeweler or buy a special tool to remove links to adjust band - can remove links by using a thumbtack to push pins out in direction of arrows on back of band (I read this somewhere else and it does work). I grinded the thumbtack point a little so it wasnt so pointy. Details on the face mechanisms are classy. Not difficult to operate after reviewing table in the instructions. It is a heavy watch compared to my thinner Seiko, but I like it. My Seiko used a battery which was somewhat of a chore to replace and date needed to be adjusted at the end of the short months, so decided to get something else. I like the local time feature for a an easy and accurate change to another time zone. Status till next leap year is interesting and useful. Set it and forget it! This accurate watch exudes style & class. On: 2006-12-23What can I say, I love this watch. My history with watches has not been good. I seem to destroy them after a year with no apparent fault of my own. My luck changed about 8 years ago when I invested in my first Citizen watch. It ran for 7 years before it started flaking out on me, and I couldnt be happier considering my luck with previous watches. Lets face it, after 7 years with the same watch, I was ready for a change anyway. I considered some with automatic movements, I considered some with exotic names and faces, but in the end, I couldnt pass up on getting another Citizen with a 5 year warranty. My only pet peeve with my last watch was having to set the date every other month. This was not a fault of the watch, just the way MOST watches with manual dates are. So when I learned that Citizen had watches with perpetual dates that stay correct even through leap years, I couldnt pass it up! I was skeptical at first that the function would not work as advertised, but it does! Its flawless. I can now DEPEND on the date feature on my watch rather than have to look at a calendar to verify the correct date. The watch movement is very accurate. Because the second hand comes to a stop when youre setting it, its very easy to set the watch to the exact second of an atomic clock. After doing this, and tracking the time, Im pleased to report that this watch only gains about 1 second per month. It doesnt get much better than that folks! I also like that this watch shows the day of the week. Very helpful while on vacation when all the days seem to blend together. If you put the watch in "Calendar" mode, the second hand freezes on the proper month. I prefer the second hand to move since I never loose track of which month it is. This watch has an alarm. I dont use it myself, but I did test it out. The beeping is not overly loud and I doubt it would wake a heavy sleeper such as myself. It would work fine for daytime reminders though. The alarm, since the second hand has to sweep around to arrive at its set time, is really slow to set. I say slow, I mean it might take 30 seconds to a minute to set, but I think thats pretty slow compared to a digital watch. I guess all things are relative right? One important feature Ive only seen mentioned once in the other reviews is that this watch features a second time on it. - Like a travel time if youre in a different time zone. Its super easy to set, and it doesnt throw off the second hand at all. So lets say you get off a plane and you gained 2 hours, you simple put the watch in this alternate time mode, spin the bezel once in the proper direction you want the second hand to move, and it will automatically stop exactly one hour difference. Spin the bezel again and the minute hand takes off a second time and stops another hour advanced. Pop the bezel back in and you watch is perfectly set for this new time zone. This takes all of 5 or 10 seconds. On the trip back, simply take the watch out of this mode, and put it back on "time" mode and it automatically sets itself to your local time! This is an essential feature for frequent travelers. I chose the watch with the white face mainly because my last watch of 7 years had a blue face, and I wanted a change. Everyone else on this site seemed to go for the blue one, and wanted something a bit more unique. I get lots of complements on this watch, especially from people in the jewelry business who have a keen eye. The white face version does not have as good of contrast as the blue face, but its not hard to read. The movement in this watch is also available in other, more heavy duty cases. I almost opted for a more rugged version, but didnt like the bands on the watches. This watch measures 39mm across the face, and 10mm high, with no rotating face bezel on it. The band is a pleasure to use. Its super easy to take the watch off by simply squeezing the side band buttons. I nice improvement over my last watch that had to have a clasp pried off with a fingernail. (How 1990s) The only down side of the band is that its complex design aids to harboring dirt. Expect to wash the watch with jewelry cleaner every 6 weeks or so, which will really make the band shine like new again. Lastly, this watch is solar powered and never needs a battery! I put 2 or 3 batteries in my last watch and it really seemed like a chore to get them replaced. Another feature this watch has is a battery saving feature. The minute hand usually moves a quarter notch every 15 seconds. I noticed if you have a sleeve coving the watch, and its in complete darkness, the movement slows down, and the instant you expose your watch to light, it catches up to current time. I didnt realize this was happening over the first few months, and though I was seeing things occasionally when I would look at my watch. Citizen claims the internal solar battery has enough juice to last 6 months in total darkness. I have no reason to doubt that claim after viewing the way the watch conserves its battery. The watch is also 100 meter water resistant. I wouldnt go scuba diving with this watch, but its nice to know I dont have to remove it to wash a car, dog, swim etc. So in short, if you want a pretty snazzy watch that is highly accurate, doesnt need a battery, and never needs the date set, this should be on your short list of watches to consider. Im very pleased with my watch and Im sure you will be too. Set it and forget it! This accurate watch exudes style & class. On: 2006-12-22What can I say, I love this watch. My history with watches has not been good. I seem to destroy them after a year with no apparent fault of my own. My luck changed about 8 years ago when I invested in my first Citizen watch. It ran for 7 years before it started flaking out on me, and I couldnt be happier considering my luck with previous watches. Lets face it, after 7 years with the same watch, I was ready for a change anyway. I considered some with automatic movements, I considered some with exotic names and faces, but in the end, I couldnt pass up on getting another Citizen with a 5 year warranty. My only pet peeve with my last watch was having to set the date every other month. This was not a fault of the watch, just the way MOST watches with manual dates are. So when I learned that Citizen had watches with perpetual dates that stay correct even through leap years, I couldnt pass it up! I was skeptical at first that the function would not work as advertised, but it does! Its flawless. I can now DEPEND on the date feature on my watch rather than have to look at a calendar to verify the correct date. The watch movement is very accurate. Because the second hand comes to a stop when youre setting it, its very easy to set the watch to the exact second of an atomic clock. After doing this, and tracking the time, Im pleased to report that this watch only gains about 1 second per month. It doesnt get much better than that folks! I also like that this watch shows the day of the week. Very helpful while on vacation when all the days seem to blend together. If you put the watch in "Calendar" mode, the second hand freezes on the proper month. I prefer the second hand to move since I never loose track of which month it is. This watch has an alarm. I dont use it myself, but I did test it out. The beeping is not overly loud and I doubt it would wake a heavy sleeper such as myself. It would work fine for daytime reminders though. The alarm, since the second hand has to sweep around to arrive at its set time, is really slow to set. I say slow, I mean it might take 30 seconds to a minute to set, but I think thats pretty slow compared to a digital watch. I guess all things are relative right? One important feature Ive only seen mentioned once in the other reviews is that this watch features a second time on it. - Like a travel time if youre in a different time zone. Its super easy to set, and it doesnt throw off the second hand at all. So lets say you get off a plane and you gained 2 hours, you simple put the watch in this alternate time mode, spin the bezel once in the proper direction you want the second hand to move, and it will automatically stop exactly one hour difference. Spin the bezel again and the minute hand takes off a second time and stops another hour advanced. Pop the bezel back in and you watch is perfectly set for this new time zone. This takes all of 5 or 10 seconds. On the trip back, simply take the watch out of this mode, and put it back on "time" mode and it automatically sets itself to your local time! This is an essential feature for frequent travelers. I chose the watch with the white face mainly because my last watch of 7 years had a blue face, and I wanted a change. Everyone else on this site seemed to go for the blue one, and wanted something a bit more unique. I get lots of complements on this watch, especially from people in the jewelry business who have a keen eye. The white face version does not have as good of contrast as the blue face, but its not hard to read. The movement in this watch is also available in other, more heavy duty cases. I almost opted for a more rugged version, but didnt like the bands on the watches. This watch measures 39mm across the face, and 10mm high, with no rotating face bezel on it. The band is a pleasure to use. Its super easy to take the watch off by simply squeezing the side band buttons. I nice improvement over my last watch that had to have a clasp pried off with a fingernail. (How 1990s) The only down side of the band is that its complex design aids to harboring dirt. Expect to wash the watch with jewelry cleaner every 6 weeks or so, which will really make the band shine like new again. Lastly, this watch is solar powered and never needs a battery! I put 2 or 3 batteries in my last watch and it really seemed like a chore to get them replaced. Another feature this watch has is a battery saving feature. The minute hand usually moves a quarter notch every 15 seconds. I noticed if you have a sleeve coving the watch, and its in complete darkness, the movement slows down, and the instant you expose your watch to light, it catches up to current time. I didnt realize this was happening over the first few months, and though I was seeing things occasionally when I would look at my watch. Citizen claims the internal solar battery has enough juice to last 6 months in total darkness. I have no reason to doubt that claim after viewing the way the watch conserves its battery. The watch is also 100 meter water resistant. I wouldnt go scuba diving with this watch, but its nice to know I dont have to remove it to wash a car, dog, swim etc. So in short, if you want a pretty snazzy watch that is highly accurate, doesnt need a battery, and never needs the date set, this should be on your short list of watches to consider. Im very pleased with my watch and Im sure you will be too. My impression a year after purchasing... On: 2006-12-03...is that this watch has far surpassed my expectations. I originally purchased this time-piece because of the amazing design and the fact that it uses the Eco-Drive technology to recharge itself. After having used the 8700 for 13 months, Ive never had to go out of my way to ensure the watch is getting enough light to charge the battery. Ive never seen the second-hand moving at 2-second intervals (indication that the battery is getting low). The technology has proven itself. The very first thing I noticed is that the watch is very sturdy and heavier than I expected, which gives it a high-quality feel. I was unaccustomed to the extra weight, but a couple weeks later I forgot to put on my watch and felt naked without it. I also think its important to note that this is the first watch Ive purchased that cost me more than $10 or $20. That being the case, I wasnt sure Id feel comfortable wearing the watch since I dont usually even wear jewelry-type accessories. That concern didnt last long and I quickly found that the watch fits with anything. Its rugged enough to fit with jeans and a dirty t-shirt, but the style also looks great with slacks and a button-up. Ive been so impressed with this model that Ive also been considering buying another Eco-drive (the white-faced 8700). I recommend this to anyone who wants a functional, stylish time-piece. Awesome Watch On: 2006-11-10Its an awesome watch. I had it now for almost 2 months. You need to read the manual before you plan on making adjustments. The only disappointing thing was that it does not adjust for Day light savings time. It would have been nice if it self adjusted. Other than this, all other features are nice. It can be used as a dress or a casual watch also. Love it!!!!! Amazon shipping was also awesome. Customer Service On: 2006-11-04I havent got the watch, probably it got stolen. However, I had very positive experience with Kenmar customer service: quick and professional responses and no problem with getting money back. Customer Service On: 2006-11-03I havent got the watch, probably it got stolen. However, I had very positive experience with Kenmar customer service: quick and professional responses and no problem with getting money back. Great watch On: 2006-09-06This is the first watch Ive owned that has cost more than 30 dollars, and I am quite impressed with it. As numerous other reviewers have noted, the watch face is a very dark navy blue, and not the bright blue seen in the picture on Amazon. That being said, the color is very nice looking, and I think Citizen did a good job designing the face. A couple of issues that I think the other reviewers didnt touch on: - The perpetual calendar is rule-based. From reading the descriptions online, I was under the impression that the reason the watch was only accurate until the year 2100 was because the calendar was interally stored up to that date. In actuality, the watch does not know the current year, it only knows how many years away it is from the last leap year. The reason the watch ceases to be accurate after Feb 28, 2100 is because the watch does not include the rule that years divisible by 100 but not by 400 are not leap years. In summary, I was expecting to be able to display the current year, but this function is absent. - The month and second markers are only visible for a limited range of angles. Minutes and hours are easy to read, even at night (although phosphorescent pips at each hour marking would have been nice). - I did not find the watch difficult to set at all, like some reviewers did. I only needed to read one page from the manual to figure out how to use all features. The interface is quite intuitive. - Changing between TME/CAL, ALM, and LCL modes can be a bit slow, the arms have to rotate clockwise to display the new time (so, if its 10am, and your alarm is at 9am, switching from TME -> ALM can take over a minute, as it has to cycle through 23 hours (each hour takes 3-4 seconds). Overall, I am very satisfied with this watch, and I think it packs quite a bit of features into a convenient package that other watches in this price range dont really match. I love the idea that I will never have to replace the battery in this thing, and the perpetual calendar means the correct date is always just a glance away. This is a great watch for anyone new to watches. Great watch! On: 2006-08-23The citizen calibre 8700 is the most functional watch i own! I bought it as a casual everyday watch but this watch is Gorgeous the ad photo doesnt do it justice. This watch retails at $450.00 i got on amazon for $225 and i have had it confirmed as being authentic and brand new. What a GREAT Deal! excellent watch On: 2006-08-16I was really pleased when this watch arrived. its a large watch, face and band and as others have said quite weighty, which is what i like. There are cool little tracks inside the face that adds texture to the face, that i suppose is related to the charging circuits, but it looks good too. Ive never had an issue with running out of charge. I too was a little dissapointed with the lack of glowing dots at each hour mark which at night would have been handy especially since there is no light on the watch either. The other thing i would like to say is that when in calender mode, the time displayed is the normal time. This confused me a little because when i brought the watch i was in a different time zone and was switching from local time to calender, and the time didnt match up, took me a couple of days to work that out. Easy read calendar watch On: 2006-08-06This is one of the best calendar watches on the market. It has proven durable and accurate. Most important for me, with aging eyes, it is easy to read. All functions are useful and logical to set and use. One disappointment is the alarm. It is weak and if the battery is low, as in winter, it may not sound. The alarm most be considered a backup only. Nice watch but not perfect. On: 2006-07-21Ive had this watch for about a month now. Id tried it on locally and then saved $100 by buying it here instead. In general, I agree with most of the positive comments listed here so Ill just list some of the negatives: 1) Only the hour and minute hands have any glow-in-the-dark indicators. I wonder why Citizen didnt see fit to add some sort of indicators for the hour markers (even if only a dot at 12, 3, 6 and 9)? Not a biggie but seems like an oversight. 2) A more serious objection is how long the hands glow in the dark. In short, not very long. The hands glow brightly for about 10 minutes but quickly dim. After 2-3 hours, the hands are basically invisible even to my dark-adjusted eyes. Since there is no backlight, this makes the watch basically useless for use at night (ie. when stargazing with a telescope). I would much rather Citizen have picked a better glow-in-the-dark material or included a backlight with its own dedicated capacitor hooked to the eco-drive solar cell (that way when that capacitor is drained, the backlight wont work but the watch continues to work otherwise). 3) The watch brands links are kind of large so its a difficult to get a good fit. For my wrist, I had 2 links removed at a local jewelry repair shop. This resulted in a fit thats looser than I would have preferred. Removing any more links would have been too tight. For the price, though, its a pretty nice watch. I think it's a great watch. On: 2006-07-13Id been looking for a watch for some time. Based upon the reviews I decided to give it a shot. Previously, Id gone to Macys and thought it might be too large. However, after a couple of days I got used to the size, and now after a month I hardly consider the size to be much of a factor. The previous comments are spot on. The alarm function is worthless. And, while Ive had this for only a month, comments about the crown being pulled out unexpectedly hasnt been a problem for me. Nor, has the bracelet become unexpectedly deployed. Im very satisfied. Leonard Bass On: 2006-07-12Citizen gets it right, and Amazon gets it right. Paid less tha half the retail price at Amazon. Great watch to wear and own. With no special handling the watch was at my home within 72 hours of placing the order. The face is darker than pictured on line which makes it all the more stunning.If you are looking for a solar powered watch with great features and a great valuelook no further. It was in my wish list for 6 months :)...and now it's on my wrist On: 2006-06-02I had an eye on this watch for over six months and was reading the reviews posted by all customers. Finally I got it for myself as an Early "Fathers Day" Gift ;o) Pros: Excellent Watch. All Pros have been mentioned by previous reveiwers. Cons: The only major shock I got was the color of the face plate which is totally different from what amazon has put on thier website. But after some days I got used to this color. It is very very very dark blue If the color is a major factor in your buying this wathc, then please see the watch in person before making your decision. Even I had to adjust the strap for 10 bucks as even I;ve got thin wrists. Overall Im very happy with my purchase and already got a ton of compliments from all my friends who have seen it Spectacular On: 2006-04-20This is an amazing watch. I was kinda going back and forth, before buying this watch. Did some research about the price, and came up with Amazon. But after buying it, you feel it is a good investment. The biggest chanlenge you will encounter is to set the time, alarm and calendar. Went to JC Penny to fix the watchs size. Overall, this is a nice watch, and I cant think anything that is less than spectacular. Looks very nice, feels sturdy and it's pretty functional On: 2006-04-12I agree with all other positive reviews so I will make my review short. This watch looks very nice, feels sturdy and its pretty functional. I highly recommend it. Very high quality watch! On: 2006-04-11This is a finely-crafted watch that will impress. No need to repeat whats been said by other reviews. Just one note: the face on thie watch is a darker blue than the picture shows; its a deep navy blue/steel blue, which is very classy. Very high quality watch! On: 2006-04-10This is a finely-crafted watch that will impress. No need to repeat whats been said by other reviews. Just one note: the face on thie watch is a darker blue than the picture shows; its a deep navy blue/steel blue, which is very classy. Beautiful timepiece loaded with extras On: 2006-03-28The other reviewers pretty much have all the bases covered, so for the most part all I can do is confirm what everyone else has said. One correction: a reviewer said you cant identify the month unless youre adjusting the watch. Not so. Pull the pin out to first click, adjust dial to calendar, and the second hand winds over to the current month and will stay there. Unless you have to see the seconds all the time, this is a great feature and conserves energy. Not that you really need to with as much energy reserve as this watch has. I only regret I didnt pick this watch to begin with. After several tries with junk designer label watches, Citizen gets it right. Goes for around $330 at many jewelers and department stores right now if you feel better about buying something in person instead of online. There is a black/gold tone version as well but doesnt seem to very available at many places. Update: 1 month later and Im still satisfied I made the best choice for a watch. The main problem I have now is that this watch is almost too nice to wear everyday. I feel like I need to buy a "day at the office watch". One tip, you can do yourself a favor and use a jewlery polish cloth (such as Connoisseurs) to keep the band and case in mint condition. Stunningly GORGEOUS timepiece! Eco-drive is GREAT! On: 2006-03-16This is a standard-sized (40mm; it will not overwhelm your wrist like larger designs, although I did think the watch would be a bit bigger), visually awesome watch that you can wear daily, and the Eco Drive technology means you never have to wind it, move or shake it (like an automatic), or change batteries. What a concept! The typical wearer will wear it enough (several times a week) such that it keeps a good charge by being exposed to everyday indoor light and outdoor sunlight. It looks and feels expensive as well, with a good amount of weight to it. The only drawback (if you want to call this one) is that you will hear the phrase nice watch! on a frequent basis! Incidentally, this exact model watch was featured in an excellent article on Citizen Watches in the April 2006 issue of Watch Time Magazine! EXCELLENT WATCH On: 2006-03-16My husbands friends had an eco-drive watches that he adored, so I went to the store to purchase one for my husband. The price tag was around 400.00 with the 10% off sale. I purchased it brand-new on Amazon for nearly half that and he loves the watch. Thanks Amazon!!! Nice decent watch On: 2006-03-14Impressive watch. This watch has better looking than it appears in the website. I ordered from http://www.bacario.com at $225 with free shipping, customer rating is good for this store. Cons: You can only see "month" when you adjust it. You can not identify month from the watch which not bothers me. You will love it! Citizen Men's Eco-Drive Watch #BL8000-54L On: 2006-02-25The watch is great and the price at Amazon was incredible compared to all other places check. I did have one issue with the first purchased watch. The first watch was broken and I returned it to Amazon for a replacement. I found that Amazon would only use e-mail for issues, since I was not able to locate a phone number to call their customer service. That was frustrating. The e-mail seemed to work out so far the watch is great! Only down side:The watch is a challenge to set! Joe Cacace Nice Watch On: 2006-02-08I only buy a new watch, oh, once a decade (Im not a watch geek) so when I bought this, I understood Id be wearing it for awhile. It has to get me from 35 to 45, look good in kahki shorts and a teeshirt on the weekends and in a suit during the week. The band is bright-that is the silver quite polished (as opposed to brushed metal). Looks classy. The face is beautiful. I was worried about the names of the months looking silly, but the typeface is small and unobtrusive. Some other models of this watch had the names of the months more pronounced. The blue face is very classy. The alarm could be louder. It wont wake you up, but it would remind you to do something if you are already awake. When switching modes (alarm, time, cal.), the hands take forever to move around, which is a drawback. However, I dont see that Ill be switching modes that often, so it is a minor annoyance, nothing major. Adjusting the band sucks. In fact, Citizen does not include instructions on how to do it. Their web site says they do not include instruction on purpose because you should take it to a pro to do this. I did (cost me $10 at JCPenney). Pros: Perpetual calendar. Eco-drive (no new batteries!!!) Classy, elegant look (looks good in a suit or for casual wear). Great price here on Amazon. Cons: No timer. Alarms too soft. Hands take too long to move switching modes. Adjusting band a pain. Overall? For the price and the features, I think the watch is a great deal. It looks great-very sharp. I really like it. Nice Watch On: 2006-02-07I only buy a new watch, oh, once a decade (Im not a watch geek) so when I bought this, I understood Id be wearing it for awhile. It has to get me from 35 to 45, look good in kahki shorts and a teeshirt on the weekends and in a suit during the week. The band is bright-that is the silver quite polished (as opposed to brushed metal). Looks classy. The face is beautiful. I was worried about the names of the months looking silly, but the typeface is small and unobtrusive. Some other models of this watch had the names of the months more pronounced. The blue face is very classy. The alarm could be louder. It wont wake you up, but it would remind you to do something if you are already awake. When switching modes (alarm, time, cal.), the hands take forever to move around, which is a drawback. However, I dont see that Ill be switching modes that often, so it is a minor annoyance, nothing major. Adjusting the band sucks. In fact, Citizen does not include instructions on how to do it. Their web site says they do not include instruction on purpose because you should take it to a pro to do this. I did (cost me $10 at JCPenney). Pros: Perpetual calendar. Eco-drive (no new batteries!!!) Classy, elegant look (looks good in a suit or for casual wear). Great price here on Amazon. Cons: No timer. Alarms too soft. Hands take too long to move switching modes. Adjusting band a pain. Overall? For the price and the features, I think the watch is a great deal. It looks great-very sharp. I really like it. Beautiful but quarky On: 2005-12-24This watch is stylish and has useful features. While the accuracy of within 15 seconds per month is nothing to rave about, anything more accurate would be prohibitively expensive for me. When I change modes, the hands run around to perform different functions. Its fun for a couple days. But it becomes annoying as the hands take quite a while to rotate to their new positions and back. Luckily with the perpetual calendar, I can set it once and forget about it. I will not have to reset calendar for another 105 years. Monthly or even weekly synchronization with [...] should be painless. The one quarky behavior of this watch is the non-linearity of the 24-hour hand. This hand does not move at constant angular velocity. For example, at 21:25, the hand stays very close to 21:00. But at 21:35, the hand quickly moves to around 21:30. Sometimes this hand reaches 24:00 at 00:07 (7 minutes late). Sometimes it gets there at 00:02 (only 2 minutes late). This is very perplexing. At the recommendation of Citizen US Service person, I performed an "all reset" and recalibrated the reference hand positions. No luck. The 24-hour hand remains non-linear and statistically accurate. In comparison, I looked at the Seiko SNP007 also. It is automatic instead of solar-powered. I chose the Citizen because of the deep discount ($215 from Watch Zone, lowest price and overnight shipping for $12. No such discount can be found for Seiko). The Seiko USA website also mis-specified the accuracy of the SNP007 by a factor of 9; the website itself was in general very uninformative compared to Citizens. After four months, I am struggling with another quark: the crown pulls out too easily. Every once in a while, I reach into my jeans front pocket for my wallet. The pockets opening catches the crown, the watch stops and goes into adjustment mode. Very very annoying. This has never happened with any other watch that I have owned. best value out there On: 2005-11-22amazing price for this watch. solid watch. never change the battery. if you dont have a fetish for "complications" and that stuff, this watch is hard to beat Looks like an expensive watch On: 2005-09-22I consider myself to be somewhat of a watch maven and recently bought this watch on a Caribbean cruise. I was attracted to it because of the eco-drive and its appearance and features. Not having to ever set the date is certainly a big advantage, and the alarm clock is another plus. Brilliant technology + elegant design = near perfection On: 2005-08-25Ive had Citizen watches for a long time. My first Citizen was an Aqualand Eco-Drive with built-in depth gauge. Been on many scuba diving excursions much traveling and still works like a champ. Citizen watches in general are rugged, reliable, accurate, and with the Eco-Drive and Perpetual calendar, completely self-sufficient. The Calibre 8700 is the ultimate blend of form and function in a watch. This thing is packed full of technology with an Eco-Drive system and Citizens Perpetual Calendar which is guaranteed accurate until Feb. of 2100. The face is absolutely gorgeous and comes in a variety of colors (white, steel blue, and black). Youd never know it was a solar cell except for the tiny words "Eco-Drive" at the 12 position. The steel blue and black versions have a subtle two-tone face with a more highly polished look around the edge where the numbers are located. On my black and sliver model, the numbers are elegant silver Roman numerals that give the watch a much more classic appearance. The outside edge also has tick marks for the seconds, and numbering ever 5 seconds. Further out on the ring are each of the 12 months of the year, with January at the 1 oclock position and sweeping clockwise to December at 12. The font used for the months is very legible, but small enough that they arent obtrusive or distracting. The inner face has three smaller dials in a triangular configuration. The top left dial is the 24-hour clock that stays in sync with the normal 12-hour hand. The outer edge of the 24-hour dial is done in a similar polished steel that contrasts wonderfully with the background and main outer numbers. There are tick marks for each hour, and standard numbering every 4 hours, with the 12 and 24 being slightly larger. The top right dial is a multi-function display and is divided into three sections. The largest is in the semi-circle that depicts the day of the week, starting with Sunday at the top and sweeping clockwise to Saturday at the bottom. A small silver hand points to the current day. The days are labeled with the standard 3-letter abbreviations. On the bottom left side of the dial, which is black with sliver lettering, are the words ON and OFF, which will tell you the status of the alarm when the lower button is pressed. The upper part of the dial (also black and silver), tells you how many years past the last leap-year the watch is set to (currently +1 because 2004 was the last leap-year). The final dial at the bottom tells you what mode you are in: Time, Calendar, Alarm, and Local Time. This dial is done in the same style as the 24-hour dial, but is only semi-circular. An interesting feature is the hand that points to the current mode is double-ended, meaning you can change the mode (using the knob on the side) by rotating it either clockwise or counter-clock wise to point the correct mode, in only 2 turns to any mode, even modes that are on the opposite end of the dial. Great feature and makes changing modes much faster. The last feature of the face is the standard date display, which will automatically adjust to the correct date depending on the month and leap year. Time mode is the standard watch mode showing you the current time in hours, min. and seconds, the day of the week and the date. Day of the week dial will also tell you the status of the alarm if the lower button is held. Setting the time automatically sweeps the second hand to 12-oclock, so you can sync your watch with the atomic clock very easily and quickly. Switch to Calendar mode, and the second hand now points to the current month, while the watch maintains the time uninterrupted. Change it back and the second hand sweeps around to the current time and begins ticking as if nothing happened. Holding the upper button in this mode will tell you the year past the last leap year (L.Y, +1, +2, +3). Switch to alarm mode and the hands will move to the time you have the alarm set for. Note that the watch is still maintaining the correct time, just not moving the hands. Finally, move the watch to Local Time, and you now have a completely separate time display. So if you are traveling and you normally are on Eastern Time, you can set the Local Time mode to the local time and it will keep track of both automatically. Setting it is so easy! Each turn of the knob advances or backs up the time by exactly one hour, so youll always be synced. And heres the best part: Your alarm will always go off at the correct time, regardless if you are in Local Time or normal Time mode. If your normal alarm goes off at 7 am Eastern and now you are 3 hours behind in California, setting your local time will make your alarm go off at 7 am California time! Sweet. The watch band is a tasteful steel-link design that blends perfectly with the watch body. The clasp is very secure and easy to detach; just squeeze the sides and it pops right off. The band is also very smooth and rounded, so the steel never irritates your arm. The joints are so precisely engineered that they never catch your arm hair and cause that painful hair-tugging that so many cheap metal bands do. There is only one real negative to this watch and one minor feature Id like, though neither are anything that most other, more expensive watch dont suffer from. First, only the minute and hour hands glow in the dark (not the 24-hour hand). And it is only the normal glow-in-the-dark paint variety. I would have liked to see tritium gas illumination for the hands and maybe for the 12, 3, 6, and 9 positions, as well as for the 24-hour hand and some of the numbers on that dial. But the paint is very high quality, glows very brightly for several hours, and maintains a low level of luminescence throughout the night. The second is that there is no mode to indicate the current charge level of the reserve battery. It does have a low power warning mode that causes the second hand to only move every 2 seconds (yes it moves two ticks :P ) to indicate the charge is low. But the face is so perfectly laid out I dont know where they would place such an indicator and the Citizen engineers probably decided it was unnecessary, and they are quite right: If your watch is ticking normally, it has sufficient charge and thats all you need to worry about. This watch is absolutely the best watch I have ever owned. Its beautiful, functional, accurate, self-sustaining, comfortable and rugged. Once set, youll most likely never have to set it again for as long as you own the watch. The battery never needs to be replaced and the date always rolls over to the correct day. And should you take it off and leave it somewhere dark, it will keep the correct time for up to 6 months on a full charge. It is also water resistant to 100 meters, though this really means that normal activities such as washing your hands, showering or swimming will not pose a problem, just dont use the controls under water. Dont scuba dive with this watch! ;) This has everything you need unless youre a gadget freak. And even at the MSRP of this watch, its an absolutely terrific deal! Brilliant technology + elegant design = near perfection On: 2005-08-24Ive had Citizen watches for a long time. My first Citizen was an Aqualand Eco-Drive with built-in depth gauge. Been on many scuba diving excursions much traveling and still works like a champ. Citizen watches in general are rugged, reliable, accurate, and with the Eco-Drive and Perpetual calendar, completely self-sufficient. The Calibre 8700 is the ultimate blend of form and function in a watch. This thing is packed full of technology with an Eco-Drive system and Citizens Perpetual Calendar which is guaranteed accurate until Feb. of 2100. The face is absolutely gorgeous and comes in a variety of colors (white, steel blue, and black). Youd never know it was a solar cell except for the tiny words "Eco-Drive" at the 12 position. The steel blue and black versions have a subtle two-tone face with a more highly polished look around the edge where the numbers are located. On my black and sliver model, the numbers are elegant silver Roman numerals that give the watch a much more classic appearance. The outside edge also has tick marks for the seconds, and numbering ever 5 seconds. Further out on the ring are each of the 12 months of the year, with January at the 1 oclock position and sweeping clockwise to December at 12. The font used for the months is very legible, but small enough that they arent obtrusive or distracting. The inner face has three smaller dials in a triangular configuration. The top left dial is the 24-hour clock that stays in sync with the normal 12-hour hand. The outer edge of the 24-hour dial is done in a similar polished steel that contrasts wonderfully with the background and main outer numbers. There are tick marks for each hour, and standard numbering every 4 hours, with the 12 and 24 being slightly larger. The top right dial is a multi-function display and is divided into three sections. The largest is in the semi-circle that depicts the day of the week, starting with Sunday at the top and sweeping clockwise to Saturday at the bottom. A small silver hand points to the current day. The days are labeled with the standard 3-letter abbreviations. On the bottom left side of the dial, which is black with sliver lettering, are the words ON and OFF, which will tell you the status of the alarm when the lower button is pressed. The upper part of the dial (also black and silver), tells you how many years past the last leap-year the watch is set to (currently +1 because 2004 was the last leap-year). The final dial at the bottom tells you what mode you are in: Time, Calendar, Alarm, and Local Time. This dial is done in the same style as the 24-hour dial, but is only semi-circular. An interesting feature is the hand that points to the current mode is double-ended, meaning you can change the mode (using the knob on the side) by rotating it either clockwise or counter-clock wise to point the correct mode, in only 2 turns to any mode, even modes that are on the opposite end of the dial. Great feature and makes changing modes much faster. The last feature of the face is the standard date display, which will automatically adjust to the correct date depending on the month and leap year. Time mode is the standard watch mode showing you the current time in hours, min. and seconds, the day of the week and the date. Day of the week dial will also tell you the status of the alarm if the lower button is held. Setting the time automatically sweeps the second hand to 12-oclock, so you can sync your watch with the atomic clock very easily and quickly. Switch to Calendar mode, and the second hand now points to the current month, while the watch maintains the time uninterrupted. Change it back and the second hand sweeps around to the current time and begins ticking as if nothing happened. Holding the upper button in this mode will tell you the year past the last leap year (L.Y, +1, +2, +3). Switch to alarm mode and the hands will move to the time you have the alarm set for. Note that the watch is still maintaining the correct time, just not moving the hands. Finally, move the watch to Local Time, and you now have a completely separate time display. So if you are traveling and you normally are on Eastern Time, you can set the Local Time mode to the local time and it will keep track of both automatically. Setting it is so easy! Each turn of the knob advances or backs up the time by exactly one hour, so youll always be synced. And heres the best part: Your alarm will always go off at the correct time, regardless if you are in Local Time or normal Time mode. If your normal alarm goes off at 7 am Eastern and now you are 3 hours behind in California, setting your local time will make your alarm go off at 7 am California time! Sweet. The watch band is a tasteful steel-link design that blends perfectly with the watch body. The clasp is very secure and easy to detach; just squeeze the sides and it pops right off. The band is also very smooth and rounded, so the steel never irritates your arm. The joints are so precisely engineered that they never catch your arm hair and cause that painful hair-tugging that so many cheap metal bands do. There is only one real negative to this watch and one minor feature Id like, though neither are anything that most other, more expensive watch dont suffer from. First, only the minute and hour hands glow in the dark (not the 24-hour hand). And it is only the normal glow-in-the-dark paint variety. I would have liked to see tritium gas illumination for the hands and maybe for the 12, 3, 6, and 9 positions, as well as for the 24-hour hand and some of the numbers on that dial. But the paint is very high quality, glows very brightly for several hours, and maintains a low level of luminescence throughout the night. The second is that there is no mode to indicate the current charge level of the reserve battery. It does have a low power warning mode that causes the second hand to only move every 2 seconds (yes it moves two ticks :P ) to indicate the charge is low. But the face is so perfectly laid out I dont know where they would place such an indicator and the Citizen engineers probably decided it was unnecessary, and they are quite right: If your watch is ticking normally, it has sufficient charge and thats all you need to worry about. This watch is absolutely the best watch I have ever owned. Its beautiful, functional, accurate, self-sustaining, comfortable and rugged. Once set, youll most likely never have to set it again for as long as you own the watch. The battery never needs to be replaced and the date always rolls over to the correct day. And should you take it off and leave it somewhere dark, it will keep the correct time for up to 6 months on a full charge. It is also water resistant to 100 meters, though this really means that normal activities such as washing your hands, showering or swimming will not pose a problem, just dont use the controls under water. Dont scuba dive with this watch! ;) This has everything you need unless youre a gadget freak. And even at the MSRP of this watch, its an absolutely terrific deal! Best Watch I've ever owned! On: 2005-08-16This is the best watch that Ive ever owned. Not a day goes by that someone doesnt complement me on my new watch. Recieved quickly from Amazon.com like all of my orders through them. I recommend this watch to all! REFUND IMPOSSABLE On: 2005-08-03I ordered this watch in May05 and recevied it end of May beginning of June2005. It was not the color I wanted so I sent it back with a letter asking for an exchange or refund. I sent it back following the instructions given by the site. I still dont know what company sent it to me. I didnt hear anything through July05. So I ordered the watch in the color I wanted from another Company. Now I am informed that Amazon wants to pay the initial company for the watch I sent back. Im looking for the copy of the paperwork,UPS Shipping Label, now in order to prove I sent it back to Carolina. Looks like Im going to get stuck with a $226.00 bill for something I dont have. Never order an expensive item from Amazon unless you talk to a person when ordering it. Ed Ragnone.. e-mail: ED.RAGNONE@USMA.ARMY.MIL Great Value, Great Watch On: 2005-07-25I work in the jewelery business and I have been looking to get a new watch for a couple of weeks. After looking at Wittnauer, Movado, Tissot, and Bulova I couldnt get over the looks and style of this particular watch. The other review goes into great detail about the watch which are all strong buying points, but the bottom line is that the watch is beautiful. It retails for $450 and to get it for $230 bucks its a absolute steal. Great movement, great stainless steel bracelet, great price = Perfect watch. Thanks Amazon. Doh! Should have come to Amazon 1st -- would've saved $ 100 On: 2005-06-09Bought this watch at retail and paid $ 350. Should have come to Amazon first and saved $100. Watch keeps time, never needs a battery change, is easy to read, has a calendar, an alarm, and looks cool...what more could one want? This watch also has a "perpetual" calendar that is preset at the factory. Watch knows month length and leap year so you wont have to reset date for short months. It is a little complicated to set the date -- so it is a good thing it is preset at the factory. Best thing: I will never have to reset the date until February 28 2100 when there is no leap year! I should live so long! The Amazon description fails to mention that this watch also has two time zones. "Time" and "Local Time". Unfortunately, you can only display one time-zone at a time. To switch time zones, you need to pull the crown out, turn it slightly...and then wait. The hands will spin around to the new time, the day hand will spin around to the new day, and then the calendar will flip. This is really cool to look at and handy when you are flying from one time-zone to another. To go 15 hours from PDT to China time This whole process takes more than a minute. So it is not useful for quick lookups. This is perhaps the watchs greatest drawback. If you need a watch to simultaneously display multiple time zones, Seiko alarm chronographs or else the Bulova Millenia with 4 time zones are good alternatives. The alarm is easy to set and works for local time as well. If you set it for 7am while in the main time zone and then switch to Local time, the alarm rings at 7am in the local time. Citizens "Eco-Drive" solar powered system is pre-charged at the factory. Power reserve is 180 days!!! It only takes about a Norwegian summer day of sunlight to bring the watch from empty to fully charged. The watch will also charge from normal indoor light. Citizen ships the watches fully charged from their factory. If the watch is on display at your local jeweler, it should be fully charged when you buy it. I guess that full charge is what I paid $ 100 extra for by buing at retail. ----- Update after about one-year of ownership: There are a few things that bug me a little about this watch. 1) The knob does not lock in place and can pop out easily. This happens to me about once a month. Usually, I discover it when I look at my watch and discover the hands spinning around wildy resetting the time. One time the calendar got set. Resetting the perpetual calendar is really complicated. Fortunately, Citizen has a fantastic on-line audio-video tutorial that walks you through the process. Takes about 20 minutes to reset. 2) The clasp on the band can pop open. This usually happens when my hands are full of hot coffee cups. 3) The watch is pretty heavy. I think I would rate this watch 4 stars after one year. But Amazon doesnt let you change the stars when you edit. Doh! Should have come to Amazon 1st -- would've saved $ 100 On: 2005-06-08Bought this watch at retail and paid $ 350. Should have come to Amazon first and saved $100. Watch keeps time, never needs a battery change, is easy to read, has a calendar, an alarm, and looks cool...what more could one want? This watch also has a "perpetual" calendar that is preset at the factory. Watch knows month length and leap year so you wont have to reset date for short months. It is a little complicated to set the date -- so it is a good thing it is preset at the factory. Best thing: I will never have to reset the date until February 28 2100 when there is no leap year! I should live so long! The Amazon description fails to mention that this watch also has two time zones. "Time" and "Local Time". Unfortunately, you can only display one time-zone at a time. To switch time zones, you need to pull the crown out, turn it slightly...and then wait. The hands will spin around to the new time, the day hand will spin around to the new day, and then the calendar will flip. This is really cool to look at and handy when you are flying from one time-zone to another. To go 15 hours from PDT to China time This whole process takes more than a minute. So it is not useful for quick lookups. This is perhaps the watchs greatest drawback. If you need a watch to simultaneously display multiple time zones, Seiko alarm chronographs or else the Bulova Millenia with 4 time zones are good alternatives. The alarm is easy to set and works for local time as well. If you set it for 7am while in the main time zone and then switch to Local time, the alarm rings at 7am in the local time. Citizens "Eco-Drive" solar powered system is pre-charged at the factory. Power reserve is 180 days!!! It only takes about a Norwegian summer day of sunlight to bring the watch from empty to fully charged. The watch will also charge from normal indoor light. Citizen ships the watches fully charged from their factory. If the watch is on display at your local jeweler, it should be fully charged when you buy it. I guess that full charge is what I paid $ 100 extra for by buing at retail. ----- Update after about one-year of ownership: There are a few things that bug me a little about this watch. 1) The knob does not lock in place and can pop out easily. This happens to me about once a month. Usually, I discover it when I look at my watch and discover the hands spinning around wildy resetting the time. One time the calendar got set. Resetting the perpetual calendar is really complicated. Fortunately, Citizen has a fantastic on-line audio-video tutorial that walks you through the process. Takes about 20 minutes to reset. 2) The clasp on the band can pop open. This usually happens when my hands are full of hot coffee cups. 3) The watch is pretty heavy. I think I would rate this watch 4 stars after one year. But Amazon doesnt let you change the stars when you edit. My first Eco-Drive, by: axxlp On: 2004-12-18 This review cant be completely comprehensive since Ive 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 Rolexs, and 2 TAGs 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. Im 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 youre 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 its own quality-wise with any of the high dollar competition from Switzerland. Most people when they see it think its 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 $2000 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. My first Eco-Drive, On: 2004-12-17This review cant be completely comprehensive since Ive 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 Rolexs, and 2 TAGs 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. Im 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 youre 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 its own quality-wise with any of the high dollar competition from Switzerland. Most people when they see it think its 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 $2000 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. |