Jordan Kim
The "Ecozilla" (as this model of Citizen watch is informally called) is a big burly beast. The steel case has a 48mm diameter and 19mm height, with a 29mm band width: truly monstrous dimensions. But it's not too heavy given the size and thickness of the case/crystal, so your arm won't drag or leave you complaining too much about the mass (at least in my opinion -- this is subjective of course). The mineral crystal is clear with no significant distortion, but with a thickness of 6mm it's more bulletproof than probably any other watch you own. The unidirectional 60-click bezel is situated entirely within the diameter of the case, so to turn it you must press down from the top rather than grab it by the edge -- a bonus because you're much less likely to move the bezel by accident. The markers, chapter ring and bezel are perfectly aligned, unlike most of the new Seiko divers which have notorious alignment problems (just google "Seiko misalignment" and you'll see what I mean). Citizen's high torque Japanese-made B873 quartz movement oscillates at 32,768Hz and is solar powered with a six-month power reserve when fully charged, and two warning functions, the first indicating low power that doesn't affect timekeeping, and the second indicating low power that does affect time-keeping. Second hand alignment is about 95% perfect around the dial, but literally every Ecozilla I've seen has a few dial positions where the second hand slightly retrogrades off alignment before advancing to the next pip on the chapter ring. This appears to be a consequence of the high torque and very robust movement design, and is not due to loose hands, damage or poor quality control. After all, this watch is rated for saturation diving in a helium-rich environment up to 300m, or almost 1/6 of a mile below the surface of the ocean. Accuracy is rated at +/- 15 seconds/month at 41°-95°F, with an operational temperature range of 14°-140°F, but mine runs only about 3 seconds fast per month. The lume on all three hands, plus the hour markers and bezel 0 index is good -- not as bright as a Seiko but sufficient for diving. The florescent-outlined minute hand is especially highly visible. My only complaint is the common one with many watches these days that don't have a "cyclops" magnifier bubble over the date window: "the date display is too small," which is fairly trivial as it just takes an extra second or two to focus your eyes and read it. With this baby on your wrist you won't have to worry about your watch failing for just about any reason -- it really is the Ecozilla, a solar-powered marine monster dominating all comers! Best of all is when it's on sale for under $200 new. Highly recommended!
