Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Citizen Eco-Drive Men's Perpetual Calendar Watch #BL5334-04E
Customer Review: Good Overall Quality For Casual Men's Watch
My first experience with a Citizen's watch was with one I recently purchased: a Citizen Eco-Drive Men's Professional Diver Watch #BJ8050-08E through Amazon. I'm a slender guy, so i don't have huge wrists, but I do prefer larger men's watches. The Diver watch was WAY TOO THICK; stuck off my wrist like a satellite dish. I am pleased to say that my replacement, the #BL5334-04E is a perfect match for me. I've had it for a few months now and safely say that it is a keeper. It's width is a perfectly masculine 47mm, while the thickness of the watch case is not too much. Pros & cons: Pros: + Ultra stylish: the design, color contrast, and the band are sharp. The details on the watch face give it just a little bit of bling. Definitely looks like a high-end men's watch. + Seems durable, watch has a nice heft to it. And the 'rubbery' band keeps it in place on my wrist w/o sliding all around like most leather/steel bands do. + The perpetual calendar is spot on (my first experience with it, I love that I'm not having to adjust the date every month!) and the Eco-Drive means I'll never have to replace a battery...nice. It sometimes sits in my dresser for a couple of days, and it has never lost its 'charge'. Cons: - I wish the band was a bit wider, as it is it kinda bows out on the bottem of my wrist. - There have been two instances where the watch seemingly stopped, only to find out it looked as if the alarm had gone off (if the watch stops when the alarm goes off, I don't think that's a good feature). To my knowledge I have never set the alarm. So the alarm setting is either off to a novice user who doesn't use that feature, or it is some sort of glitch (I was suspicious that the airport x-ray somehow messed with it, although I cannot confirm that theory). Great watch, I've received numerous compliments on it. I am now officially a Citizen customer...I'll be purchasing others from their extensive line.
Customer Review: Very Nice, A Couple Flaws...
Overall, a nice watch. Pros: 1. Very cool looks. 2. Nice feature set for an analog watch - Chronograph, alarm, perpetual calendar, second time zone... 3. Solid quality construction, water resistant to 200m, etc. 4. Very readable at night, hands remain luminescent all night without dimming, provided that your eyes are accustomed to the darkness (if you've just come from a brightly lit area, you may have a hard time reading the time until your eyes adjust). 5. Fairly light weight with the rubberized band. Cons: 1. Setting the alarm - the big one for me. You have to wait for the hands to swing around to the previously set alarm time, which can take a couple of minutes if that time is 10 or 12 hours away... And then, if you want to change the alarm time, you have to move the hands again. And the hands don't move that fast! In all, it can literally take three minutes or more to set the alarm. Rather tedious. 2. Minor quibble - the chronograph only goes to 59:59 then stops. 3. Would be nice to have the day of the week displayed on there somewhere. I work the night shift, so half the time I don't even know what day it is. 4. Another quibble - I like the rubberized band, but even dirt cheap Timex's from Wal-Mart have better devices to hold the tail of the band in place. I ended up having to cut about 1/2 inch off of my band so the tail didn't stick out so far. Additional Comments: 1. Many EcoDrive reviewers have noted the volume of the alarm is too low. I personally found it to be just adequate, provided you are not wearing the watch in bed with it stuck under a bunch of covers or pillows. I do wish the tone sounded for more than 15 seconds... 2. Many EcoDrive reviewers have also mentioned the crown accidentally getting turned while wearing, which switches the mode. I have had zero problems with this model. 3. Citizen classifies this watch as a diver on its website, but the manual says you're not supposed to wear it diving (?). And why is there a tachymeter on the bezel? Why not a rotating diver's bezel? Tell me honestly, does anyone EVER really use the tachymeter on their watch bezel???
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Citizen Eco-Drive Men's Aqualand Metric Anniversary Watch #JV0020-12F
Customer Review: Good aquisition
Good negotiation, good price and fast delivery. The product is very good, but very sensitive to the wather contact. If you don't have a problem with this, is recommended.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Smith & Wesson Watch Black Dial Chrono SS Case & Band Watch
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Citizen Men's Eco-Drive Sport Watch #BM8434-58A
Customer Review: Nice analog solution
I looked for several weeks to replace my Pulsar because of the difficulty in setting the date - very clunky. It also did not have luminous hands or numbers, which the Eco-Drive Sport offers. The day/date are fairly easy to read and I like the look of the rectangular hands.
Citizen JQ9000-54L
Friday, December 26, 2008
Citizen watch AP8120-54P Solar Tech Stainless Men's Watch
Citizen Men's Eco-Drive Sport Watch #BM8424-51L
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Citizen Men's Eco-Drive Sport Watch #BM8434-58A
Customer Review: Nice analog solution
I looked for several weeks to replace my Pulsar because of the difficulty in setting the date - very clunky. It also did not have luminous hands or numbers, which the Eco-Drive Sport offers. The day/date are fairly easy to read and I like the look of the rectangular hands.
Citizen Men's Eco-Drive Stiletto Bracelet Watch #AR1050-53E
This watch is powered by Citizen's unique Eco-Drive, which absorbs sunlight and any artificial light through the crystal and dial to recharge the watch continuously. With regular exposure to light, the Eco-Drive continuously recharges itself for a lifetime of use. This watch's Eco-Drive provides a 180-day power reserve.
Eco-Drive Frequently Asked Questions
How can you tell if the Eco-Drive watch is getting enough light? In normal use, the watch displays the time and the sweep-second hand moves in one second intervals. A very important feature of Eco-Drive is the Low Charge Warning Mode which as a result of low battery voltage, causes the second hand to jump two seconds at a time (while still keeping correct time).
How long will an Eco-Drive watch run after it is fully charged?
If your watch is put away where no light is available to it while in a fully charged state, depending on the model, it will run for from 45 days to 5 years.
How can the Eco-Drive watch be recharged?
Besides sunlight, it can be safely charged by exposing it to a fluorescent desk lamp, with the dial (face) up and within about 8 inches or an incandescent lamp (regular light bulb) no closer than 20 inches. Never use a halogen lamp since the heat generated by it can cause damage to your watch. The most efficient and the quickest is in direct bright sunlight (not windowsill) and never on the dashboard of a car.
About Citizen
One of the world's largest watch makers, the Citizen Watch Company was founded in 1924 in Japan from its beginnings as the Shokosha Watch Research Institute. The first watch released by the company was named "CITIZEN" and its name was selected so that it would be "close to the hearts of people everywhere." Today, Citizen is recognized as a worldwide leader in advanced timepiece technology, from the world's slimmest LCD watch to the first voice recognition watch to the world's first professional dive watch with an electronic depth sensor. Citizen was also the first to sell watches made with titanium in the world, which is not only light and durable but also non-allergenic (as stainless steel can be to some wearers). Most recently, Citizen has released watches powered by its Eco-Drive, which runs continuously in any kind of natural light or artificial light for a lifetime of use without changing a battery.
Customer Review: Very nice watch
This is a high quality piece of equipment. Everything is very solid and has a nice texture to it. The bracelet is quite adjustable, and very easily so. The pins for the extra links are actually screws, with threads at one end and a slotted end for a small screwdriver at the other. There are two sizes of the links as well, so you can get the length extremely close to exactly as long as you want. I don't know the specification, but would guess that it's adjustable in about 1/8" increments. I love how thin and light it is too. I charged it in direct sunlight for maybe four hours and then started wearing it. It's run great since. The only "complaint"s I have are nothing to do with the watch, as they were my choice when I made the purchase - lack of a second hand and date function. I'm not sad I made the compromise.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Citizen Men's Eco-Drive Professional Diver Watch #BM8230-58A
The stainless steel watch case includes a unidirectional rotating bezel with a combination of marks and numerals. It has a silver dial background with large, luminous baton hands, red second hand and dial markers, and a day/date function at 3 o'clock. The silver stainless steel bracelet band is composed of bulbuous brushed and polished pieces and is joined by a push-button, fold-over clasp. Other features include Japanese quartz movement and Citizen's 5-year warranty.
Eco-Drive Frequently Asked Questions
How can you tell if the Eco-Drive watch is getting enough light?
In normal use, the watch displays the time and the sweep-second hand moves in one second intervals. A very important feature of Eco-Drive is the Low Charge Warning Mode which as a result of low battery voltage, causes the second hand to jump two seconds at a time (while still keeping correct time).
How long will an Eco-Drive watch run after it is fully charged?
If your watch is put away where no light is available to it while in a fully charged state, depending on the model, it will run for from 45 days to 5 years.
How can the Eco-Drive watch be recharged?
Besides sunlight, it can be safely charged by exposing it to a fluorescent desk lamp, with the dial (face) up and within about 8 inches or an incandescent lamp (regular light bulb) no closer than 20 inches. Never use a halogen lamp since the heat generated by it can cause damage to your watch. The most efficient and the quickest is in direct bright sunlight (not windowsill) and never on the dashboard of a car.