Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #735 in Watches
• Brand: Citizen
• Model: BM8290-05E
• Dimensions: 3.90" h x 4.40" w x 4.90" l, .55 pounds
• Band material: Rubber
• Bezel material: Titanium
• Case material: Titanium
• Clasp type: Buckle
• Dial color: black
• Dial window material: Mineral
• Movement type: japanese-quartz
• Water-resistant to 330 feet

Features

• Ecologically friendly, light powered Eco-Drive Japanese-quartz movement; Charges in natural sunlight or indoor light
• Durable, hardened mineral crystal
• Case diameter: 42 mm
• Titanium case; Black dial; Day-and-date functions
• Water-resistant to 330 feet (100 M)

Amazon.com Product Description
This men's Eco-Drive timepiece is fueled by light, so it never needs a battery. The sporty timepiece is complemented with a titanium case and black rubber strap. Additional features include a day/date indicator, luminous hands and hour markers and water resistant to 100 meters.

The Citizen Watch Brand

The company was established in 1924. The founding fathers selected the name Citizen so it would be "Close to the Hearts of People Everywhere" and soon after adopted the company’s formal name, Citizen Watch Company.

During the last seventy-five years Citizen has expanded its business throughout the world and has achieved recognition as the global brand. The past twenty-five year period has coincided with the company’s dramatic rise to its current position as the world’s largest watchmaker, a distinction Citizen has held every year since 1986.

Beyond sheer size, Citizen is also recognized as a worldwide leader in advanced technology. From the world’s slimmest LCD watch to the first voice recognition watch and the world’s first professional dive watch with an electronic depth sensor, Citizen’s record of "world’s firsts" is unmatched.

More recently, Citizen has staked out a new position as the leader in Ecologically Friendly timekeeping with its Eco-Drives watches that are light powered. With models ranging from dress models to sports models to professional dive watches, Citizen Eco-Drive runs continuously in any kind of natural or artificial light for a lifetime of use. Fueled by light, it never needs a battery.

Eco-Drive Frequently Asked Questions (See the full Citizen Eco-Drive FAQ here)

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.

Customer Reviews

Good Watch, Bad Watch Band
I bought this watch about 2.5 years ago. The watch keeps excellent time and has been solid. However, I am on my second band for this watch. The rubber band just does not hold up. I use it alot in and around water maybe this has something to do with it. For a tight budget this is a good watch, however I would spend a little more for another Citizen watch with a Stainless watch band. The way this watch is designed you need the Citizen Band. It does not look right with an off the shelf band. By the way the bands only cost around 32.00. However if you do the math and get a watch with a good band up front you will come out ahead.

Working well after 3 months, Affordable - Light Weight
I was looking for a sports watch that was affordable yet reliable. I read reviews and became very interested in the Citizen Dive Watches. I thought they looked cool, had easily readable faces, could probably take a bit of a beating and the Citizen name is reputable. But, from what I read on the web, it seemed as though the older Citizen's were somewhat more reliable than the eco-drive watches. Eco-drive reviews circa 2000-2001 were poor, the wathces were known to fail in a short period of time or to have not worked at all (out of the box). Again, these are web reviews I read.
I found a great price on the 180 WR100 ($125 shipped) and decided to take a chance. I'm not a diver but I do like water sports and the 100M limit seemed sufficient for my needs.
Out of the box, the watch was running, I had a bit of a time setting the weekday and date functions, they are in french and in english. Yes, you could have the days of the week come up in french if you like.
The watch has been running for about 3 months now and has been problem free and accurate in and out of the water. I like the fact that it's very light weight. I own a stainless steel watch and the weight difference is very noticable. Something I didn't consider initially but am glad about. There aren't a lot of bells and whistles to this watch, no rotating bezel, no indiglow... I say all the better. Keep it simple, less things to break.
I have high hopes for the durability of the eco-drive. My last watch failed after a battery change. Supposidly there's no reason to open the back of this watch. No reason to break the waterproof seal. So, after having owned the 180 WR100 a short while, I have to say, "so far so great".

My Eco-Drive experience..
I have four Citizen Eco-Drive watches: two titanium, a Skyhawk and a Perpetual Calendar, a 300M Professional Diver, and a Calibre 6000 dress watch; listed from oldest (4 years) to newest (3 days). I have never had a single moment's problem from any of the older watches (the Perpetual Calendar is a year old). I've recommended them to friends and coworkers, and have had several buy them (and thank me afterward).

The advantage of not having to replace batteries every year or two is just a bonus to these watches. They are very accurate and very attractive.

I like to joke that if the sun were to die tomorrow, and all life on Earth with it, my Skyhawk would still be keeping time for 9 months.. :-)

I highly recommend these watches.