I recently purchased this watch and thought that others might like to share my impressions of it.
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Watch Data Manufacturer Citizen Watch Company Model Number BL0000-58E Model Name Eco-Drive perpetual Calendar Movement Quartz Analog/Digital Power Source Solar Cell and Secondary battery Power Reserve Up to 10 months on a full charge. Accuracy +- 15 Seconds per month. At normal temperature of 5°C to 35°C (41°F to 95°F) Hands Hour, Minute and Second. Luminous paint coating Bezel Plain decorative bezel Size 40mm (Bezel O.D.) - 45.5mm (lug to lug) Thickness 12.5mm Weight 137.7 Grams (with band) Construction Case Solid Stainless steel one piece, Satin finish Crystal Flat Glass Crystal Face Black with luminous markers Crowns 1 - Stainless Steel with diamond knurl - 6mm dia. Back Signed closed back. Water Resistance 200 meters (660 feet). Bracelet/Strap Solid link stainless steel with 7 removable links dual closing clasp with hinged clasp and dual pushbuttons. Suggested Retail $395.00 Initial Impressions.
The watch was received in Citizen's Eco-Drive packaging with an attractive dark green leatherette covered cylinder enclosing the watch all packed in a matching cardboard box. Contained in the box were an instruction manual written in 3 languages and a warranty card. The packaging is excellent and often used in jewelry stores to display these watches. In the box was the watch with 2 tags attached and scratch protection plastic on the front of the watch.As soon as I removed the watch from the box I noticed that the second hand made a quick trip about three quarters of the way around the dial to catch up with the correct time. Apparently it had been 'sleeping" in power saver mode during shipment. I checked the watch for scratches and defects. As is usual for this manufacturer none were found.
As delivered the watch was totally incorrectly set including zeroing of the hands. I proceeded to set the time and date.....whew! what a complex procedure!
I went through the procedure doing everything including an "All Reset" and 'Zero positioning" before setting time and date. The reward is, three weeks after I initially set it the watch is right on the the second with the atomic time reference. Setting the "Zero" position also made this the first Citizen watch I have owned where the hands line up with the markers all around the dial.Comfort
Molded one piece case is slightly curved in the back out to the lugs and thus sits nicely on the wrist with no tendency to move from side to side.
Two links were removed from the bracelet and the spring bar in the clasp was moved to the center position to give it a perfect fit. The clasp is excellent with a hinged fliplock which must be opened then two spring loaded pushbuttons must be squeezed before the clasp will open. No accidental openings with this watch !Legibility
When looked at straight on the face is very legible with easy to read Arabic numerals at the even numbered hours and bold markers at the odd hours. The hands and markers all glow very well at night and remain readable (although dim) in he early morning. Nighttime glow is much better than other Citizen watches I have, although not as good as the Seiko Diver's watch.
If the watch face is observed at certain angles the combination of shiny transparent face material and highly polished crystal combine to produce a glare which renders the watch unreadable at that angle. At other angles a purple tint like the Citizen 'Tough" can be seen. Overall the readability is pretty good.The date window continues Citizen's policy of making the date too small on their watches. I can only read the date with my reading glasses. In addition the date is black type on a white background with a small with rectangle outlining the window. On a watch with a black face I would prefer if these items were black.
Movement
The movement in the Perpetual Calendar is very accurate (if somewhat complex to set). The minute hand only moves every 20 seconds as part of the power saving software. The second hand can be referred to if you need to know which portion of the minute you are actually in. This watch also has the ability to change the hour (as when flying to other time zones) without disturbing the main timekeeping.During setting I feel that the movement does not have a precision "feel" to it. I felt at times that it was moving to the beat of a different drummer. Perhaps this has to do with the need to "click" the crown rapidly to make the hands advance rapidly and if you "click" a bit too much it goes back to slow hand advance. Nevertheless, with some patience I was able to get it set perfectly.
Overall the movement is very good and quite frugal on power consumption.
Accuracy
The movement is quartz and is very accurate, exceeding the manufacturers specs. My observed accuracy for this particular sample is that it is right on to the second after 3 weeks of use. I expect it to accuracy similar to the Seiko Perpetual Calendar (+- 20 sec. per year).Closing Thoughts
Another excellent value from Citizen. They appear to be replacing most of their quartz watches with the Eco-Drive system, a smart move, in my opinion since it outdoes the Seiko Kinetic system in capacity and frees you from having to replace batteries for a very long time.
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Right Side
Left Side
Front
Back
