Customer Reviews

Citizen Men's AT0870-37A Eco-Drive Exclusive Chronograph Canvas Strap Watch

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I recently purchased this watch from Amazon. The case diameter is 46mm and 14mm thick, so it is a relatively large watch , but I think the good part about this is that it is really easy to see what time it is. At night, the numbers and dials glow bright blue.

It is replacing an automatic and a quartz as the everyday watch. I have to say that the eco-drive concept is a very good one. I like the idea of not having to replace another battery on my Skagen and DO NOT want to buy an auto-winder for my Hamilton. As long as it gets bright light through out the day, then the battery recharges and is good for days if not months, or more. Notice I said bright light and not just sunlight.

It does not have a locking crown, so it is water resistant and NOT waterproof... The band is canvas and looks (and feels) sturdy. For $130, how can you possibly go wrong?! I'd recommend it.

Nice quality watch, well built and has a nice, sturdy feel to it !

I like this watch, however, there are a few things to note if you are considering it !

The dimensions shown in the picture with the "measurement scale" are WRONG !

This watch is *much bigger* than indicated !

Side to Side measurement is more like - 48mm (Amazon's diagram shows 43mm).
Top to Btm measurement is more like 51mm (Amazon's diagram shows 40mm).

** See the 2 "customer pic's" that I've posted, they show the actual size **

The Strap is Canvas/Nylon with a rubber backing, it is quite stiff and doesn't bend/curve to your wrist, makes it feel very uncomfortable to wear ! I would recommend replacing the strap with another type of Nylon/Canvas strap, perhaps a Zulu or Nato military style ? (Strap should be a 22mm lug size).

Others have reviewed this watch and describe the luminous hands and markers as "Blue", again not true, Blue/Green would be more accurate, same as any other luminous hands and dial etc... Nothing special here.

Watch runs almost silent, you can hardly hear a tick, even with the Chrono running !

Note: The "seconds" hand on the sub-dial is not luminous, the other sub-dial hands for the chrono are luminous. Also the main Chrono seconds sweep hand is again NOT luminous !

Others have commented about the "White Hands" against the "White Dial" and I can confirm this does NOT make it easy to read the dial in normal daytime conditions ! This could be a problem if you just want to glance at the watch while driving etc... I found myself looking at the watch for a few seconds and moving my wrist about to focus and read the time, not good !

The presentation box was a little disappointing too, there was a lack of packaging (a foam insert would have been nice to stop the watch bumping about inside the box during transit). The box was a little cheap and nasty looking, it somehow lacked the Wow ! you would maybe like if giving (receiving) it as a gift ?

This model would appear to be an "Amazon only" model, it doesn't seem to be available anywhere else ? This would explain the word "Exclusive" in the Amazon title/description ??

Citizens website proved to be pretty useless prior to the purchase too ! The model does not appear anywhere on the site and you cannot even search for the model number !!

The movement or Calibre No is H500 for anyone wishing to search the site or download the "User Instructions", although this will tell you precious little about the watch itself, Citizen need to have some kind of "Sales Brochure" information on the website ! I had questions about the watch and resorted to actually phoning Citizen USA and asking them !!

I received this watch earlier today and am writing this review the same day (June 2010).

I'm a little disappointed and I'm considering returning the watch, mainly because it is far bigger than was indicated in the diagrams and the readability of the dial !

I hope my comments / Review will be of use to someone ?

This is a well made, quality watch, worth the price. It is solid and large, but not too large (even for my smallish wrist). My only minor complaint would be that the watch hands are difficult to read in daylight as they blend in with the face background.

I've had the watch for over a month now, and bought it primarily as a watch I could take to the caribbean and wear in the water and not worry if it got lost or stolen, due its relatively inexpensive price. I think it is a handsome watch, works well and for the price, simply cannot be beat. A few relatively minor criticisms are -- at first I found the watch band a bit uncomfortable due to the metal grommets in the canvas band, but by flexing the band (to make it less stiff) I was able to achieve a comfortable fit, and it has since been fine. Also, I'm not crazy about the start/stop/return functions on the chronograph buttons. They don't have the "feel" and "touch" of my more expensive swiss chronograph. And, as another poster commented, it is difficult to read the face of the watch (due to a lack of a strong contrast) in bright sunlight (though easy to read underwater in strong sunlight) . Overall, though, I am very pleased with the watch and feel I have gotten my money's worth, and then some.

I decided to buy the AT0870-37A as my wife purchased me another Citizen Eco-Drive for our wedding. It was an upper-tier model made of gold with a black face. I loved it the second I laid eyes on it (and I'm not one for jewelry at all), but it's too delicate and sentimental to use daily.

My major complaint with other battery-driven watches is that I'd buy a cheap one, use it for a few years until the battery burnt out and never get it replaced. Some battery installs would have cost more than the watch. As the 37a is solar driven, it never runs out of batteries and will never become 'e-waste'.

My major concerns were readability and size. Both are wonderful! It's not too big, but it's large enough to tell the time at a glance. The white hands on the white face are surprisingly easy to read. The face has a blue hue to it while the hashes, numbers, and hands have a greener hue (due to the fact they glow in the dark). They don't contrast, but it's not as difficult to read as I assumed originally.

Even the strap is pleasant. I can type at a computer and not even notice it's there (something I can't do with any of my other non-citizen watches).

My only qualm is the watch is relatively heavy so it sneaks around on my arm a little. However, there's few watches for this price that won't do that, and certainly not powered by something sustainable. As it's heavier, it also feels more rugged.

All in all, this is the best casual watch I've ever owned. It's discrete, attractive, well made, well thought out, and easy to read.

Those who are unsure about the white-on-white, check out the AT0200-05E. Same watch with a black face.

Do not buy this watch. Do not buy any Citizen products. Pathetic and dishonest warranty services and hostile customer services Claim denied on a less than 6 month old watch with no clear explanation.

I was ordering the woman's Eco-Drive watch and received this free I thought it was a typo at first but was never charge and now my finance got a free watch that he can use on weekends.

This is my 2nd Eco-Drive Watch. Eco-Drive is by far my favorite watch brand. My other Eco-Drive is Skyhawk $350 that I wear to work everyday. I wanted another watch that was less dressy, and was happy when I found this watch at a low price. However, this watch looks very nice, despite its price. Some reviewers don't like the watchband. I agree that a leather band would make it look more expensive, but this is a military watch and the band is quite appropriate. Although the description calls this a canvas strap, the inside is coated so that it does not absorb sweat. One thing couldnt figure out that secound hand stops but the watch is still working,,,well as long as it shows the right time i have no problem with it It's VERY easy to set. It is more like a traditional watch; you only need to adjust the main crown. The other two buttons north and south of the crown control the chronograph. Seconds tick by on this watch on the small dial located just above the "6" on the watch face. The large second hand that you normally associate with the sweep second hand is part of the chronograph. By the way, the chronograph is EXTREMELY easy to operate. One of my favorite features of this watch are the extremely large, easy-to-read numbers on the dialand GLOWS in dark kool Only downside is that the three small dials on the face are smaller and more difficult to read, but I think that is an unavoidable consequence of the design. Overall, this is a great watch!!

It is bit bulky on the wrist and that can trap moisture under it in hot climates which is a little annoying but to be expected. Works fine, came charged but I left it in direct sunlight on my window sill for 3 days just to make sure its maxed out. I usually will line all my Eco Drive watches on my window sill when not wearing them to keep em max