The Citizen 'EcoDrive' is a Japanese manufactured Quartz timed GMT type watch. It is Solar powered
and energy produced by the behind dial photocell is stored in a Lithium Ion storage
cell built into the watch. A few hours of sunlight will produce months of
running of the mechanism. The watch, and supplied bracelet, are in Stainless Steel and the complete weight is 130 grams. The case diameter is 37mm and 12mm thick. This example was obtained from Higuchi in Japan |
The complete Case is finished in a fine satin etch with virtually no grain detectable. The bezel has
a slightly brushed look. The Bracelet is completely brushed. The screw down Crown is cross knurled and is easy to grip for the numerous adjustments of the GMT. Across the lugs is 43mm and the bracelet width is 20mm. The back of the case is not removable and carries an impressive medallion. |
The Mechanism is Quartz timed and is better than +1 second per week. The Second hand aligns perfectly with the indices as it steps around the dial. The Crown has several pull out positions for setting all the functions in such a watch. |
The side buttons on the clasp are not used to open the bracelet. Instead they
allow a ratchet extension to slide in or out thus allowing on-wrist adjustment
of the lenght. This is a very useful feature. |
The Bracelet supplied uses the deployment principle and has solid links and pressed steel for
the wings and clasp. Adjustment is by pushing out split pins to remove or add links. |
The Dial is a reflective black and along with the curved mineral glass crystal can present
so many reflections that the watch can be difficult to read (and photograph !). The white Hands are matched by the white numerals all of which have a pale greenish tinge where the non tritium luminous material is loaded. The night performance of the luminous is very good and last easily 6 hours. The hour numerals in my opinion are too large and I feel it would be enough to have luminous indice marks at them rather than the whole numeral being treated. The Date window is quite small and un magnified. The mineral glass sits below the rim of the bezel |
This is not my favourite watch. It looks and feels more bulky than it should
and the shiny dial and curved glass do not aid clarity. I wear it occasionally just to keep it alive. My main use for it is as a time standard for setting other watches due to its excellent timekeeping. Eventually I may pass it down the family |
Version 1.0 |