Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1667 in Watches
• Brand: Citizen
• Model: AT0100-51A
• Dimensions: .45 pounds
• Band material: Titanium
• Bezel material: Titanium
• Case material: Titanium
• Clasp type: fold-over-push-button-clasp-with-safety
• Dial color: gray
• Dial window material: Mineral
• Movement type: Japanese-Quartz
• Water-resistant to 660 feet

Features

• Ecologically friendly, light powered Eco-Drive Japanese-quartz movement; Charges in natural sunlight or indoor light
• Date calendar feature
• Titanium carbide plated titanium case
• Unidirectional rotating bezel; Chronograph functions
• Water-resistant to 660 feet (200 M)

Amazon.com Product Description
Explore new, exciting depths with this men's Eco-Drive 200 Meter dive timepiece. Equipped with large titanium case and bracelet, and boldly luminous hands and markers, you'll be able to easily read the time whether you're diving deep into the sea or relaxing next to the pool. Additional features include a 1 second chronograph and 12/24 hour time indicator.

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

nice solar powered watch for the price
I just bought this watch last week from a different store after having reveiewed many different watch styles and brands. The key things I was looking for were: stainless steel or titanium, self winding or solar, water resistance to beyond 50m, durability, reliability and a strap that can adjust to fit my boney wrists.

I've checked out the Seiko kinetic watches, which I really liked the idea of. My father has also had one of these kinetic (aka self winding) watches for over 30 years without problems. But the only problem was that I could not find a Kinetic watch that, first of all, could be adjusted to my wrist, and secondly one that was also aesthetically pleasing for both the face and band.

I also looked at the Swiss Army brand, which look nice, are thin and handmade to "ensure" precision. But the kinetic one costs over $1k and the battery powered ones are already in the $400-500 range.

As a last resort, I also considered the Casio G-shock watch with the stainless steel band. The one thing that turned me away was that the sheer thickness of a G-Shock watch prevents it from being worn under a sleeve.

More about the Citizen:

The pictures don't do the watch any justice. First off, the titanium color portrayed in the picture is inaccurate. The actual color is a little darker and has a slightly dulled finish than stainless steel and is two-tone, but not in a bad way, such as a two-tone silver and gold watch. The narrow pieces of titanium that run parallel to each other on the band are of an unbrushed stainless steel color. The face is also noticibly lighter than the band, but matches well.

PROS:
* movement is made in Japan
* titanium is stronger and lighter than steel so the watch doesn't weigh nearly as much as a similar stainless steel watch
* titanium is hypoallergenic so people with allergic reactions to the nickel in stainless steel should be able to wear this without problems.
* the unit uses a lithium ion battery that is stated by the manufaturer to last a "lifetime"
* band is pretty easy to adjust, you can do it yourself if you have a small screwdriver or even a fine finishing nail if nothing else.
* the watch comes with a 3-year warranty if you buy it from an authorized retailer (some retailers through amazon are not authorized also known as grey market, and do not come with a manufacturer's warranty).
* the hands and the hour positions glow bright in the dark and also glow visibly in the light, though they are of a luminescent material and need to be charged (exposed to light) before glowing
* titanium does not corrode and does well in salt water
* release buttons for band make it very difficult for the watch to accidentally unhook and slide
* titanium supposedly does not retain heat well, so if you leave your arm out in the sun then accidentally roll over on it, you won't get scorched like with a stainless steel watch.


CONS:

* titanium scratches easily. I remember my stainless steel watch would also inccur scratches, but because it was brushed steel, it would hide them better. I already have a few very small scratches where different parts of the band have rubbed against each other creating a shinier spot amongs the dullness of the band.
* band is made in China
* glass is made of Mineral Crystal, not Sapphire Crystal, which is much stronger and more resilient to scratches.

WISHLIST:
* I wish the watch used Tritium which would illiminate the hands and the hours permanently (day or night) instead of the light charged luminescent material. Tritium is a radioactive material, however, it is naturally prevalent in the air and water and is not harmful to humans.

Looks much nicer in person
The picture really doesn't do the watch justice. The band has thick links of titanium, which are stiff at first, but eventually loosen to an extremely comfortable fit. The chrono buttons do not stick out too far which is nice, it prevents accidental pressing. All together, its a durable, lightweight, classy looking watch.

Eco-Drive Review
I love everything about this watch except for the band. It's not a bad band by any means. However, I have an older Citizen titanium watch (probably about 12 or 13 years old) and the titanium band on that watch is much softer and much more flexible. I was a little disappointed with the band on this one. Other than that it's a fantastic watch. If you like Citizen and you like titanium, I'd definitely recommend this watch.