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 Citizen Eco-Drive Men's Two-Tone Stainless Steel Watch #BM1134-50L By: Citizen Average Rating: 5.0 Total Reviews: 3 More Information Solar rocks!  On: 2008-05-01First, this watch looks better than the official pictures throughout the web and at Amazon. The bracelet silver tone in these pictures make the watch look much whiter and pale, and certainly the silver color is much more attractive and darker (watch my posted pictures). You wont regret getting this watch if this is your first Eco-Drive ever. This is a Second-Level Watch family for me. The idea of not having to worry about batteries anymore or having your watch intact (not opening the back lid for replacements) once you have the taste of it, believe me, youre not going back. A similar concept can be found on Seiko Kinetic watches. You choose whether to go light-powered or motion-powered. I personally love more solar concept, its a more green attitude! A third-level watch family for me would be not having to adjust day or date anymore, and that is when it comes to life Citizen Eco-Drive Perpetual Calendar Watches, but that is going to be another story... Size and weight of this watch are comfortable, and I particularly like the dark blue color contrast with the golden bezel, also the clasp type which makes a continuous very elegant looking bracelet. I give this watch five-star rating for looks and because of the very affordable good price for such a magnificent technology. If your need for technology goes further, go for a perpetual Eco-Drive. Youll love that concept too. Great watch...very pleased. On: 2008-03-22I have been very pleased with this watch. It looks great, with nice fit and finish, and is of a reasonable size and weight. It is not unusually large, like some of the massive dive watches (e.g., Casio "Orange Monster"), nor is it too small to be masculine. Its large enough and sufficiently well-styled such that it gets compliments -- without being gaudy. Its not lightweight such that it feels "cheap" in any way but its not so heavy to be annoying. The watch required little effort out of the box. I put it in the sun for a few minutes to give it a little charge, set the time and date, and removed a couple of links in the band (I use the smallest size eyeglass screwdriver, but a tool for removing these pins sells for about $15). Within ten minutes, all done...and it has kept perfect time ever since. Within the first day or two, I also set left it in a bright location on a dressor for a few hours. Fully charged, this watch retains enough power to run in darkness for six months, so you never have to worry about it stopping (as you do with an Automatic). Ive owned a Casio and a Pulsar solar watch previously and Im sold on light-powered watches. As an aside: This watch doesnt have synchonization with the atomic clock, a feature of the Casio Waveceptor series, but the overall quality and "feel" of the Citizen Eco-Drive is MUCH better than the solar Casio, in my opinion. And since it keeps excellent time, atomic clock "synching" is more of a marketing gimmick than anything else. (After all, how much precision do you really need)? In any case, if you want to combine solar power, atomic clock synchronization, AND very high quality workmanship, you need to look at Oceanus watches -- but those will run you $400-$600 at this point. Back to the Citizen, I find this to be an excellent watch at its pricepoint. If you want to move into the $200+ range, Citizen also offers Eco-Drive watches in titanium and various other styles that are larger or otherwise fancier than this model. However, in the $100-$125 range, this is a fantastic, reliable watch that can be worn with casual or business attire. This particular model features prominent, gold numbers at the 12, 6, and 9 positions. Some people prefer "hash marks" and no numbers, but I find that the numbers make it very easy to glance down and immediately read the time. The band latch is of good quality. About the only feature it lacks is a perpetual calendar. But because this model only displays the date -- not the month -- such a feature probably isnt practical. But because the watch has a specific crown position for setting the date separate from the time, this is a very minor issue. Great Watch On: 2007-06-22This is probably the best watch I have owned. The eco-drive is a great concept - no thought of replacing batteries or even ever resetting the watch. The style of it - to me - is dressy yet practical. My wife got me the "stiletto" model which I wear to special "dress" events. Great stuff!! |