Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8210 in Watches
• Brand: Citizen
• Model: AT0550-03E
• Dimensions: .15 pounds
• Band material: Leather
• Bezel material: stainless-steel
• Case material: stainless-steel
• 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
• Stainless-steel case; Black dial; Chronograph, date function; Chronograph functions
• Water-resistant to 330 feet (100 M)

Amazon.com Product Description
Sporty yet refined, Citizen's Eco-Drive chronograph watch #AT0550-03E is powered by light, so you'll never have to worry about changing the battery. This polished stainless steel timepiece features a 47-millimeter circular case and striking black dial with silver-tone hands and hour markers, as well as a day, date, and month calendar display to help keep you organized. Water resistant to 99 feet, this smooth and sophisticated style also has a comfortable textured leather strap that buckles for secure wear.

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

Down to Earth, Conservative yet Flashy enough.
Right from the start this watch is rocking the Eco-Drive technology underneath. That means no more batteries are needed and everything is powered by light. Score one for Citizen. I was looking for a watch that was a bit toned down from a dual tone gold watch I purchased earlier on amazon. I wanted something more casual that I can wear out on a night out on the town yet had enough flash and class to be paired with a Shirt and Tie or a suit for work. This watch fit the bill.

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Pros
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The Highly polished silver bezel with it's dark black face, and striking mirror shine Hour Markers and Yellow Chronograph Hands makes a nice classy statement. It is easy to read the actual time since the hour and minute hands are made thicker and will also illuminate in the dark. The spacing of the watch band holes is fairly granular meaning they are many holes separated only slightly so you should be able to find the hole that fits you perfectly (that's what she said). It's not a very heavy watch, but then again it has a leather strap instead of metal, however the watch has enough heft to it so you know it's stainless steel and not made of plastic. It is also water resistant up to 100 meters so you don't have to worry about getting rained on or getting pushed into a pool by your less than mature drinking buddies. The Crowns are not a screw in type so you can press it immediately. What's also nice is 24 hour dial on it so you can not only tell night from day but it also helps you set the calendar date correctly so it rolls over at midnight

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Cons
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I'm not sure how I feel about the black watch band with the white stitching. The Band itself is what prevented this watch from getting the full five stars. It's a bit stiff and feels a bit like pleather (plasticky leather). The insides of the watch band feels more like genuine leather but the outside is a cheap plastic feeling material. Perhaps it will age better. Also the white stitching they could've done without but it does give the watch a unique style to it. The white stitching is not a distraction that you would feel uncomfortable pairing it up with a shirt and tie. Also the watch band doesn't rotate flat. Based on how it's attached to the watch it's in a permanent curved setting so you will not be able to place this watch flat on it's back. This is going to cause the scratches that normally appear on the back on the watch to know appear on the side of the bezel or crown if you are not careful when placing the watch on surfaces that can scratch it.

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Summary
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Overall great watch, I have found quite the keeper watch that I can use as my daily watch and not have to worry if it will pair right with what I'm wearing. I'm also uploading a ton of photos unto amazon since it seems actual photos of this watch doesn't seem to exist on the internet, only the professional ones.

3/11/2009 Update: it seems my Watch runs fast about 3 minutes/month or about 6 seconds a day. Not too bad

5/8/2009 update: The watch seems to run better now. After 2 months from my last update my watch is only off 2 seconds now after 2 months.

Citizen's eco-drive is sure to please
Its a great looking watch. I now own about ten watches, this is the least expensive. For a person who rotates through a collection, its hard to get the watch fully charged when buying in winter. None-the-less, Eco drives are great. I also have a Mickey.

The band on the watch may be too short of you have a larger wrist. I'm at 7.25" and very little is left of the band.

Nice watch
Very comfortable. I got this watch last week while on a cruise ship for about $175. It compares favorably to the Seiko Kinetic.