Customer Reviews

Citizen Men's BM8242-08E Eco-Drive Gold-Tone Leather Watch

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I'm a little embarrassed that I'm singing about a watch, for crying out loud. Maybe it's because we all are just craving a little honesty this election year. Anyway, as an old(er) coot, I needed a watch for business (my waning days) and pleasure (hopefully) and being a curmudgeon. This watch is perfect.

The circumference and thickness kind of make you remember older days in watches. The numbers are easy to see against the background (large 4, 8, and 12), and the gold double bars to indicate the other hours are sized perfectly compared to the actual numbers. You can see the watch without reading glasses - at least, I can this year - and I can even make out the day and date without glasses. Whoever designed the face probably has been studying those Golden Ratios, or whatever: there is a pleasing relationship between the circumferences on the face (outer and inner) and the diameters of the outer ring (hours section) and inner circle (most of the day-date, the Citizen logo, and the main whatchamacallit that the hands attach to). The color of the gold is not bright yellow; it kind of grades to the ochre red-gold - certainly a watch for the Beowulf wannabe's out there (like me). The band is, or was, an alligator-steer genetic fluke, I suppose; reasonably soft. And the color of the band picks up the reddish quality of the metal. It is a very light-weight watch.

Plus, it runs on light, man! Light! (Must have said that during the 60's sometime....) Pretty cool to think that nobody REALLY knows what's powering this thing. Never needs a battery - gedoutaheah! Really! If you buy this watch (your own), they could bury you on Mt Everest with your arm sticking up, perhaps with a baggie around it - I don't know why, and in a thousand generations, your heirs can come by, take the watch, leave the baggie, and use it until the universe...well, whatever it will do.

Do some Amazon reviewers have too much time on their hands? (Clever, no?)

Buy this watch. I prefer the gold/brown: more mythic. You'll like it.

When husband needed a watch and his birthday was approaching, I laid my eyes on this one after some research. I love the idea of never needing a battery for a watch. Husband told me that he loves this watch several times since.

For one, it keeps perfect time. He travels all over different time zones and it operates easily. He does have to change the time manually though. For two, no worries about batteries getting weak EVER. It is powered by light, outdoor and indoor as long as there is adequate light. It saves us money for not needing to buy battery for this ever. And it is environmentally friendly since discarded batteries contain toxic chemicals.

One easy recommendation though: Leave it face up when not wearing it to prevent discharge. Hubby only got it discharged once during the first week and it has never happened since we ordered this from Amazon 8 months ago. This could present a minor challenge to some neat freaks who have to put all clutter (keys, watches, wallets, cellphones...) in a drawer or dresser chest. This watch doesn't like total darkness. It can only move in light, even if just a bit of twilight.

The day&date setting process could be confusing so you have to follow the instruction closely and do it at the right time of the day. It doesn't glow in the dark - a feature I wish it had.

Couldn't be more pleased with the purchase. My next watch will also be an eco-drive.

I bought 4 of these for groomsman's gifts for my wedding. Three out of four will barely take it off. The other will only wear it sparingly because he is afraid to scratch it. The age ranges are from 16 to 33. Maybe this helps if you are considering this as a gift. One thing to consider for bigger guys, go ahead and buy a longer strap the same time you buy the watch. I bought my 4 from a brick and mortar jewelry store so I can't speak about Amazon's service in this instance. One thing to note about eco-drives, if you leave them in the dark for extended periods of time (say in a safe deposit box whilst on a year long deployment) it may take up to a week for the capacitor to charge sufficiently.

I have owned many watches in my 73 years but this is one of the best. No winding and no batteries to replace. I am a very satisfied customer.

After the watch I'd worn for years finally died I purchased a multi-function Seiko watch. Although it had a lot of features (world time, digital and analog displays, chronograph . . .), it weighed a ton and felt like I was carrying a brick around my wrist. Although it probably helped develop and tone the muscles in my watch arm, I decided to look for a replacement. So, I browsed the Citizen watch website for an Eco-Drive "Dress Strap" watch and was drawn to this gold-toned watch for its stylish design. After reading the positive reviews on Amazon, I purchased the watch and have been extremely pleased with my decision.

The watch had a sufficient charge to run right out of the box, and I immediately strapped it on my wrist. The first thing I noticed was how light it was and how comfortable it felt. Just as the watch had caught my attention, my wife commented how nice it looked when I showed it to her. Although I purchased it as a dress watch, I am just as happy wearing it with jeans and a t-shirt.

Although some reviewers commented that the day/date was a bit hard to set, as with any 12-hour dial you have to determine whether the time displayed in morning or afternoon before setting the day/date. So, before setting the day/date, run the hands around the dial until the day/date changes to ensure that the displayed time is the morning. Set the correct time (passing 12 o'clock again if it is afternoon), then set the correct day/date and you're done until the next change in daylight savings.

The only feature I wish the watch had is a luminescent dial, otherwise, it is a great watch which you will surely enjoy.

I bought one today from JC Penney, and it looks and feels great. If I had my druthers, I would have preferred a watch that looked like this, but also had the "Atomic Watch" feature which automatically sets the time via a radio signal from some observatory somewhere. But all the ones I saw looked very big and clunky, and none had a leather strap.

But having said that, this seems to be a very nice watch. I have not bought a new one in 15 years, when my wife gave my my last one as a gift (a Seiko quartz watch, which looked very similar to this one). And I don't plan to buy another one until this one gives out -- who knows, I'm 45, it may out-last me!

The month/day is a little difficult to nail down, as I would be halfway through a Wednesday and it would tell be it's Tuesday - but once you get used to it and the band loosens up a little from use, you're enjoyment will increase.

For the money, it's comfortable, recharges itself, and fits nicely with many different color combinations worn during the course of a normal business day.

I enjoy watches and in addition to this Citizen, own five others by Seiko,Swatch,Android, Lucien Piccard,Swiss Army Knife, all in working order. I bought this Citizen Eco-Drive for three of its features: it recharges from exposure to light, it's relatively inexpensive at about $100, and it's not too big or too small at 38mm wide. I don't like the current trend in men's watches (as seen on TV on the ShopNBC program) that advertises men's watches as large as 48 to 52mm wide! What's the point? They're just heavy and uncomfortable, and don't fit well under a long-sleeve shirt. I appreciate that this Citizen watch is light on the wrist and slim at 8mm thick. I have had it about a month and so far it keeps accurate time.I like the feature whereby the second hand will switch to moving two seconds at a time when the watch needs recharging.
I don't particularly like wearing leather bands, so I removed the original band and put on a gold color Speidel flex band I had lying around the house, which works well. I don't even know I'm wearing a watch. I also like that it's fairly simple: just the time, the day and date. So many of the new watches are so busy, with so many dials, push buttons, and different things going on. Simple is good.
My complaints are: The day/date are a bit hard to see because the background color is off white, almost grey, and too dark against the black letters and numbers, and it's set a bit deeper into the watch than my other watches, which also causes shadows on the day and date. You also have to be careful when changing the day or date not to pull out the crown too far, which changes the hands instead. I also wish the watch had luminous hands. On the whole, though, I'm satisfied and feel this watch is well worth its price.

I have had the watch a year and a half, and I really like it.
It keeps perfect time.
It handles getting wet.
It is classy looking.
That being said, this is what I don't like about the watch.
The leather band is showing wear and developing that smell from getting wet and absorbing sweat. All leather bands do it.
Very difficult to see the second hand. It is so thin it can hardly be seen on the black face of the watch.
The day and date are difficult to see unless the watch is in direct light. No big deal, if I want to time something I use the digital stop watch on my phone, and I'm usually aware of what day it is and the date.
I would buy the watch again.
I love not having to get batteries changed, just make sure it gets exposed to light. Have gone through 2 dreary, overcast winters without having any problems with the charge.
Overall, a good buy.

Excellent Watch very happy, light & looks great - better than picture.
Eco drive runs off light.
Amazon has a small typo as it's only water resistant, but thats ok as it is a dress / casual watch.

Watch arrived in perfect new condition. Thankyou Amazon !