Kollektion: Men's Eco-Drive Watches

Choosing a men’s Eco-Drive watch

Every watch on this page is a Citizen Eco-Drive: an analog quartz watch charged by any light, from the sun to a desk lamp, with no battery to replace. What changes from one model to the next is the movement built around that power, from a slim two-hand dress calibre to chronographs and watches that set themselves by radio signal.

Three hands and a date

The everyday Eco-Drives show hours, minutes, seconds and the date. Calibre J810, found in the Brycen and the Citizen Force models, and calibre E111, in the Corso and the Addysen, both work this way, and most of these watches are water resistant to 100 metres, which covers swimming and snorkelling. The Axiom leans toward dress: its calibre J165 drives just two hands and a date in a 40 mm case about 7.8 mm thick. It’s rated 30 metres, so keep it out of the pool.

Chronographs

Most Eco-Drive chronographs here, including the Nighthawk, the Navihawk and the Endeavor Chrono, use calibre B612 or B620. The stopwatch times to a fifth of a second for up to 60 minutes, and the watch shows 12/24-hour time. Two Brycen models, the AT2585 and AT2586, use calibre H500, which times to the full second, in a 44.8 mm case with a rotating 60-minute bezel. Our guide on how to read a chronograph explains the pushers and subdials.

Watches that set themselves

Models marked A-T, for atomic timekeeping, receive radio time signals and correct their own time. The Promaster Skyhawk A-T, on calibre U680, sets itself in 43 cities and adds a second time zone, two alarms, a countdown timer, a chronograph to a hundredth of a second and a perpetual calendar. The Perpetual Chrono A-T keeps it simpler, with a chronograph and a perpetual calendar that allows for short months and leap years. You’ll find them together on our atomic timekeeping watches page.

On a leather strap

Plenty of men come looking for a Citizen Eco-Drive on leather. A leather strap suits the slimmer models, such as the Axiom, the Classic and the Avion, and Citizen also puts chronographs like the Brycen CA0648 and the Perpetual Chrono A-T CB5919 on leather. Leather makes a watch look a little more compact; keep it dry and away from perfume. Our men’s leather strap watches page sets them beside Bulova’s.

Questions

Will I ever need to change the battery? No. Eco-Drive stores light in a rechargeable power cell. If the seconds hand starts jumping every two seconds, the charge is low: leave the watch in daylight for a while. Our guide to how Eco-Drive works has the details.

How much water resistance do I need? Going by Citizen’s chart: 30 metres for splashes, 50 metres for swimming, 100 or 200 metres for swimming and snorkelling, and only a watch marked Diver’s 200m for scuba diving.