Question about Citizen Watches

I have been wearing an eco drive off and on for since 2002. For the first few years I wore it every day. It is the watch I wear to this day when I think I might be doing something damaging to a watch. So far It runs like the day I got it, and doesn't look much worse for wear. I don't wear it as much as I used to, but it was my first nicer watch, and I will continue to wear it until it dies. When it dies I will definitely get another eco drive.
 
I have had my eco drive for about 2.5 years. Keeps time very well and wears very well too. I own 3 watches and often switch my wear through the week. I have no doubt that it would be fantastic as my sole watch if it ever came to it
 
Buy one I have 2 eco-drives and they have been holding up well for the short time I've own them. 1 I owned since black friday, the other for close to a year. The older one has probably been through enough that it make some g-shock owners cringe. I wear that one while working out, during agility tests (same place swat is known to train at occasionally, so jumping over walls and obstacles, crawling under obstacles, jump through window, etc), and the list goes on. Only damage that has been done to the watch is from lifting a 100lb 24ft extension ladder by myself, during the process the watch face came in contact with the ladder quite forcefully and I heard it. So now I have a couple small scratches on it from that, but it's not noticeable unless you look closely at it.

I usually end up breaking a watch or having a battery die within a year from just casual wear, and I take it off before I do any physical activity. That eco-drive is my first exception and it's holding up very well. I think the only thing that really kills these watches are when people store them and let the battery die and recharge them and rinse and repeat, it just wrecks havoc on the battery and diminishes it's max charge when you do that. So my advice find a nice spot on top of the dresser for these or bring them out and wear them and let it soak up some sun light once a month or at least artificial light for a few days.

For me I alternate watches based on the activity I am doing or what I feel like wearing. And when I am not wearing them they sit on top of my dresser so I don't ever have to worry about draining them. If I were to be forced to have one watch for the rest of my life it be my Citizen BM8180-03E, only way you can make it better is to give it a more resistant watch face, remove the date function, and make it out of titanium for no other reason because you can as it's already a very light watch.
 
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Bob6794 said:
I think the only thing that really kills these watches are when people store them and let the battery die and recharge them and rinse and repeat, it just wrecks havoc on the battery and diminishes it's max charge when you do that. So my advice find a nice spot on top of the dresser for these or bring them out and wear them and let it soak up some sun light once a month or at least artificial light for a few days.
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Seiko's "kinetic" watches have a self-winder that cranks an alternator that recharges the battery. To me that is the worst possible solution: you have to wear the watch or put it on a winder, or you kill the battery. They must have gone for this just to not follow Citizen's lead. What a wacky idea.

The ultimate in long life could be a lead-acid watch battery, but it would have to be a sealed battery (unless you live in a full body cast) so whaddya gonna do?

Ricoh Pentax makes a family of watches with an electromagnetic induction charging system. This is one on its charging station:

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Before you start looking, it's a home market limited edition.

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￥25,725 (US $251.90) list price at Ricoh's web store.
 
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That's why Seiko started making solar watches too. I have one of their solar dive watches and it's been great. Super accurate too.
 
I had a pre Eco Drive Citizen for about 10 yrs and it was a good watch other than needing a new battery every 18 months. I've had a Eco Drive watch for around 3 years and its been a good watch too so far. In my experience Citizen watches are great mid market watches. They obviously don't have the fit and finish of an Omega or other high end watch, but they look nice, work well and are great value for money.

My Eco Drive does run down occasionally, especially in the winter, but I just leave it on a windowsill for a day and it charges itself back up again.
 
I've had a Citizen Eco-drive Calibre 8700 for maybe ten years. It crapped out on me after one year, but I sent it to Citizen, which fixed it under warranty very quickly and it has been flawless ever since.

I wear this watch most days. It keeps accurate time, stays charged, looks nice, and is rugged enough for most activities. I find its face a little busy with excessive features, but the watch was a gift from my wife, so I am fond of it.
 
I've had Citizen Eco-Drive watches for years, and I couldn't be more impressed. They never need a battery, of course, and the quality of the watches overall is outstanding. My favorites are on the smaller end of their lineup - the Stiletto series.
 
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