Customer Reviews

Citizen Women's EP6010-03E Eco-Drive Strap Diver Watch

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I purchased this watch for my wife and she loves it. We go kayaking weekly and she wanted a waterproof watch. She finds it easy to read/operate and we both love the eco-drive no battery features of the Citizen Watches. Buy this watch if you want the best womens sport watch available for your wife. You will not be disappointed.

I bought this watch for my wife as she was looking for something that was casual in styling, durable enough for the rigors of gardening, and waterproof for those trips to the beach. Without a doubt, this watch met all three criteria.

Since giving the watch to my wife, it has become her "everyday" watch. So, in addition to wearing it for the purposes described above, she feels that it has the looks to also wear in more formal settings.

If there's a complaint - and this is very minor - it would be that the case of the watch is a bit thick. Although this is not a problem with respect to wearability, those with skinny wrists may find the watch to look a tad awkward on the arm. Again, this is a very minor detail and after wearing the watch a couple of days, my wife never mentioned it again.

Citizen has long been my first choice in watches as they have always been reliable and stylish. The Eco-Drive is a fantastic innovation as you do not need to worry about replacing a battery at an inopportune moment (as when you are in the middle of nowhere for a month). I bought the EP6010-03E Eco-Drive Dive Watch more for expedition use than scuba, so wanted a watch that was not too bulky for everyday wear. I have slender wrists (5.75 inches around) and also wear the face of the watch on the underside of my wrist to better facilitate watching the time while working with both hands in front of me, so small is better. This watch is almost perfect, but not quite. The diameter is perfect and the face easy to read (even without reading glasses if you are in the 50+ crowd). However the watch is unusually thick, about 0.5 inches, and that bothered me a bit at first. Now after wearing it for a month, it bothers me less, particularity since I can't find a comparable thinner watch that has all its other good features. One final small irritation is the strap that comes with the watch; it is really too long for my wrist (I have it on the second to last notch) but Citizen does not seem to offer any smaller options.

I am a daily swimmer and this watch is great! Light weight, not too bulky , slim lined, and keeps great time. If you are in any type of water sports this is the watch for you. I highly recommend it. This is a qualtity item.

Readable face, keeps good time, but the rubber strap broke after 3 months and the Citizen people said I had to send the entire watch to California at my expense. BB'ware!!

Strap # 2 just Broke!!! I feel like I have been mugged!!!!

Is there a law? Do I have to buy another strap from Citizen again?

05/24/2011 UPDATE (Three stars): While the information below still holds true, my band broke yesterday while I was sitting on the couch! I called Citizen, only to be told that the band isn't covered under the 5 year warranty, but they could send me a new one for $37. That seemed extremely unfair to me. I don't want to shell out more money for an already expensive watch for what was clearly a manufacturing defect (IMO a watchband should last more than 6 months!). I was very careful with the watch (as I am with all my dive equipment), rinsing it well in fresh water after salt-water immersion, to prevent the rubber from degrading. I realize that watch bands do wear out more quickly than the rest of the watch, and I didn't expect it to last 5 years, but I was expecting higher quality from Citizen! The band on my other Citizen watch, that I wear more often than the dive watch, is still going strong after about 6 years. I particularly don't want to have to buy yet another band in 6 months when the new one breaks.

Bad form, Citizen... you should at least give a 1 year warranty on the band.

Original Review 12/29/2010 (Five Stars):

For the past few months I've really been struggling over my watch dilemma... I've had a metal band woman's Citizen Eco-Drive watch for about 6 years now that is still going strong, but looking a little worse for wear (I am murder on watches). I sail and dive every weekend, and while I have a dive computer, I really wanted a back-up dive watch. For sailing, I'd been using my metal-band citizen, but the second hand (the critical thing for getting across the start line in the best position) isn't very visible- particularly with how scratched the face is - and I was never very comfortable wearing my day-to-day watch in the flurry of activity of a race, I worried that I'd accidentally release the catch and it would fall off.

So what to do? I didn't really like the look of most dive watches I saw, they were just so bulky, and I balked at the price... If I'm spending that much, I want to be able to wear it more than just the mornings I dive, but with my small wrists it simply isn't practical. Same things with watches that were specifically for sailing. I also didn't want to spend a lot of money on a smaller digital, as I don't particularly like to wear sport watches to work, I'd prefer to stick with my metal band fashion watch. I was also loathe to toss my old Eco-drive as it still works so well, and apart from the face (and some wear on the bezel) it still looks good. So I had just about resigned myself to buying a real cheap digital water resistant watch for sailing, sticking with just my dive computer for diving (without backup), and to keep squinting through the scratched face of my old watch, when I found the Citizen Eco Drive Women's Pro Diver!

This is an extremely attractive watch, so much so that I think I'll actually be happy to wear it to work. While bigger than my old watch, it is much smaller and certainly more streamlined than regular dive watches, and the black and silver is classy and very easy to read. The second hand is very visible- bright yellow - as are the minute and hour hands (they glow in the dark), which will be a great help when sailing. The bezel is higher than the crystal face (highest around the rim, sloping down to the crystal), which I hope will help protect it from most scratches. the strap is relatively narrow and comfortable, and the buckle feels very secure. The band is long so i can wear it over a wetsuit, but on my bare, petite, wrist it fits well in one of the top holes and I don't feel overwhelmed by all the extra band because the keepers do their job well. I haven't had it long enough to speak to its longevity, but if it works half as well as my old Citizen I expect several years of hard use out of it.

One thing to note is that I heard I must be very careful to screw down the stem tightly or it will be like a "hatch open on a submarine" when diving.

On a side note, I discovered that I can send my old watch back to Citizen to get the face replaced for $30 to $50- about what I was going to spend on a "cheap" digital, so I feel like I'm getting "the best of both worlds."

Bought for a trip. Need waterproof and see in the dark. Strap broke right before I left. Searching for replacement. The watch itself is great but the strap is stiff and awkward. The tail never stays tucked in. I can see fromt he other reviews that a replacement wont last very long. NOt sure if I will bother.

This is a great dive watch but it looks nice enough to wear every day. It's a perfect size for a woman..not too bulky. The Eco-Drive system was recommeneded to me by a watch maker. Because it is solar powered it never needs to be opened to change a battery. This keeps the waterproof compartment intact.

Very reliable and good service by the seller. This watch is very well made & has a substantial feel to it. The luminous dot hour markers are really bright in the dark! The photo of this watch listed on Amazon.com info page is (almost)exactly the same size as the real thing. As mentioned in a previous review, the watch casing width may be a little thicker than some watches. (12mm thick) This is a cool watch. It looks very professional, functions great as a divers/water sports watch, & best of all, will never need a traditional watch battery! Haven't scratched the watch's crystal yet & I wear it all the time. If something should happen to this watch, I would wimper a little & buy another one again to replace it. Eco-drive watches made by Citizen are quality made & are an excellent value. So go ahead, take the plunge and get one.

Been looking for a replacement for my Timex watch that has retired. Found this and love it for I can wear this literally everyday even at the office. As I love swimming every weekend and intend to learn scuba diving this summer..this is just a perfect gift for myself.

Citizen is a trusted watch as I still have my old automatic watch given by my aunt 15 or so years ago...still working until now but i barely use it for the past 10 years. When my Timex watch was gone, i used it again while waiting for my diver's watch. If diamond's last forever, Citizen watches do too :-)