Citizen

Citizen Men's BJ8050-59E Eco-Drive Professional Diver Stainless Steel Bracelet Watch

• Light powered Eco-Drive Caliber B873 Japanese-quartz movement; charges in natural sunlight or indoor light
• Max power reserve: 180 days; low charge warning: 3 day; Quick start ability; charge time from stop state to max charge
• Durable, curved extra-thick (6mm) non-reflective mineral crystal; case diameter: 48 mm; for mixed-gas diving; unidirectional rotating time-elapsed bezel

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Explore new, exciting depths with this men's Eco-Drive 300 Meter Dive timepiece. Equipped with large stainless 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 date indicator, reinforced urethane band and extender, 6 mm non-reflective curved crystal, ratcheted elapsed-time bezel and screw-back case and screw-down crown.

Summary of Features:

• Fox mixed gas diving
• Reinforced urethane rubber band and diving extender
• 6 mm non-reflective curved mineral crystal
• Unidirectional, racheted elapsed-time bezel
• Screw-back case and screw-down crown

The Citizen Story

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 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.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000EQVZQI
• Item model number: BJ8050-59E
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,400 in Watches (See Top 100 in Watches)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Introducing "Eco-zilla ", September 1, 2005

By 

Michael Horn "mikie" (US Army Combat Support Training Center, Dublin, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Current rage of the internet watch forums - coined a nickname - the Citizen "Eco-zilla" - now taking the watch collector world by storm. A solar powered dive watch with its own zip code!

Ok - ok - when it comes to dive watches - size does matter. Don't wanna' be caught with a puny 40mm Rolex diver? Shamed by a 44mm Breitling or TAG? Want to look like a DIVER? Make no mistake - this watch is a MONSTER - 5/8" thick - 46mm case - 51mm if one includes the crown - puts other collectable diver watches to shame. BIG and bold with a massive stainess steel bracelet- enough blue lume in the hands and off the attractive black dial to light a city block. What more could a diver ask for? Well, how about 1000 ft water resistance? Oh brother!

Let's take a tour of this big chunk of real estate: this brute is THICK - sits on some wrists like a wall clock - the weight is bearable - one can get used to it. Petite ladies and men with thin wrist diameters may have problems keeping the watch from shifting around the wrist with the stainless bracelet that is too loosely sized. Recommend an adjustable neoprene strap model with a deployment clasp for these folks. Screw down crown - massive stainless steel bezel - solid bracelet links around the brushed stainless steel case. A mixed gas (valve) diver (for serious depth)- double clasp on the bracelet- wetsuit deployment clasp - solar powered - 5 to 6 month power reserve on a full charge. OHMY GOSH will be your response when you open the box.

Things to consider:

NOT a dress watch - Wearing a long sleeve dress shirt. Not with this watch. Need to be a pirate to fit it under your cuff! Better with short sleeves - no sleeves - wetsuit, bathing suit, birthday suit (j/k) or golf shirt for land lubbers!

The solar powered quartz movement may dampen the enthusiam of watch collectors who treasure automatic mechanical movements. As a solar powered timepiece - you can do your bit to save the environment. Read about the power system and impress your eco-friends! Should never need a replacement battery - as the "capacitor/battery" holds the solar generated charge.

Eco-zillas' crystal of 6mm (thick!!!) mineral glass will be more prone to scratching than a more expensive (and desirable) sapphire cyrstal - unidirectional bezel will offer the mineral glass watch face some protection however.

For left handers - the watch has a crown on the left side - right handers may wish to ponder a watch crown digging into the flesh of your left wrist. Lefties who wear it on right wrist will be in heaven.

Do you want one? Do you like to have people staring at your watch? "Are you a diver"? Really? Right! Say anything you want - no shame in just liking a massive piece of stainless steel on the wrist. Mostly damage proof - an indestructable timepiece for the diver, adventurer, sportsman or hunter. You cannot hurt this watch! Needs no "break in" period as does a auto mechanical diver - give it a full charge - clomp it on the wetsuit - and off we go!

Short of buying a "Russian Diver" you cannot buy a larger, and more attractive dive watch.

Citizen dealers offer a 5 year warranty. Great value for a HUGE Stainless Steel Diving Watch. Can't go wrong - no way - no how - if you love this watch - BUY IT!!!

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This watch does not have a Helium valve, July 18, 2006

By 

T. Connelly (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Citizen Men's BJ8050-59E Eco-Drive Professional Diver Stainless Steel Bracelet Watch (Watch)

For some reason most of the descriptions of this watch talk about Helium gas release. This watch, unlike the discontinued automatic one which did have an He valve, does not. It may be helium safe (I am not sure), but it DOES NOT have a valve. The watch states "for mixed gas diving", which is merely the mixed gas the diver breathes. Duh. Helium safe is needed for about .00001% of divers who are professional divers who must live in a helium dome under the ocean for long periods to avoid constantly decompressing. They live in pressurized Helium rich environment and that is how the Helium enters the watch. the He gas molecules can enter the watch through the seals. During decomp in this dry environment if the crown isn't unscrewed the Helium gas expands and can make the crystal explode. That is why these divers need to unscrew their crown or have a Helium valve on the watch. Regular recreation divers would never encounter this. The people who wrote the marketing hype review were ignorant. Mixed gas diving is just a fancy way of saying that this watch is good for SCUBA diving. You can engineer a watch to not need a valve, if the watch is constructed specifically so that Helium molecules cannot enter the watch. Is this one like that? I do not know. Again, only a professional saturation diver would ever need this feature anyway. Its more a bragging right, kind of like "my watch can go deeper than yours". (even if we only enter a 3 foot kiddy pool) I had a guy say that to me once. My watch at the time was rated for 200m and his 300m. I told him the ill fated Russian submarine Kursk sank in about 100m of water and they couldn't rescue the crew, so what's your point? Food for thought.

Well, the bracelet model can't go over a wetsuit without an extension which almost every bracelet bound dive watch should have, but if you don't wear a wetsuit or just want a big thick tough watertight watch then that is fine. I don't dive but wear dive watches all the time. It's like driving an SUV to the grocery store. Many of us do it. ;-)

The crystal is thick mineral and the watch is steel, and HEAVY. While mineral crystal scratches easily, the bezel protects it on this watch, unless you contact it with something long and sharp.

Only one of the rubber strap models comes in Titanium. The description is WRONG. This is a heavy Steel watch. On the bracelet model there also is no wetsuit extension. The bracelet does not have this crucial feature, but the rubber strap models come with strap extensions. The bracelet model cannot take the rubber strap and the rubber strap model cannot take the bracelet. The attachments are differnet. I know I have seen how they differ when apart. Too bad they made them different in this regard as the bracelet model is not suited for wear over the sleeve of a diver wetsuit. They could have remedied this with a <.50 piece of folded sheet metal. (bracelet extender)

Other than that a great watch. Solid, Heavy, ecodrive, quartz accurate yet no battery changes needed. The night time lume glow is great and a nice blue color. This is a great watch for the price asked. Basically Citizen does this by putting their Japanese technology into a Chinese manufactured good. The manufacture is very good. Citizen must oversee the manufacture in China or Hong Kong. (which also is China)

The only issue for some is that the seconds hand doesn't always line up perfectly with the dial second markers. Mine did for about half the dial and not for the other half. Hey, its a sub $300 watch. If you want perfection go buy a $1000.+ Swiss diver. ;-) That is a joke as well because even the most expensive Swiss watches are not perfect, but they usually come with sapphire crystals. ;-)

Citizen's US customer service is top rated bar none. I have dealt with them and their 5 year warranty is the best in the business. Buy a Citizen with CONFIDENCE. The Swiss and even Seiko can take a lesson from Citizen USA.

I have a cousin who owns my old one and he likes it better than his Rolex Submariner because it is more accurate, is tougher, and gives him less trouble overall, and all for little money. (and no, he doesn't dive and he drives his SUV to the grocery store as well)

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Serious Sized, beautiful watch!, December 6, 2006

By 

Ryan Can "R_can OTR" (Stowe Vermont) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Citizen Men's BJ8050-59E Eco-Drive Professional Diver Stainless Steel Bracelet Watch (Watch)

This is a large watch- the actual viewing area is around 42mm but with the bezel and outer edge it is around 48mm- but this is paired with the thickness which is seriously sized mates! this watch is beautiful but large and heavy as well- the nice thing is the left placed turner so it doesnt dig into your wrist- but still it is not a watch that is comfortable in the way of a thinner sleeker watch- you will never forget you are wearing it! it performs amazingly with the eco drive you can charge it with the sun or other light and go- the quality is that of a 450-500usd watch for certain and the band is nice- it does not interchange however witht he rubber one- a shame in my mind-
it does appear to be antimagnetic which is nice and a feature usually foiund in pricier BALL watch etc- all told check out the aqualand as well as the calibre 2100 as other options but this one is a keeper for me!
enjoy