Citizen Watches Men's BM8475-26E Eco-Drive Strap Watch

This is my first Citizen Eco-Drive and I am very pleased with the watch. . The watch face is a replica from a famous Bell&Ross watches. The watch has no fancy bells, whistles or alarms but the elegance of a simple easy to read face and not having to worry about battery dying, replacements, etc is a wonderful thing. The watch hands and numbers have a gentle luminosity that is easy to read but is not overly bright as many others do. Contrary to the description, my watch has genuine leather (at least on the back side). This is the perfect weekend watch! Adding some pictures with different straps / bands. Update 5-17-15 For those Spanish speaking; the watch also features the day of the week in Spanish and English. Sunday is red with DOM. =) Update 7-02-16 Uploading some new pictures and conducted LUM Test. Many claim that this piece does not have a LUM. Well, the hands, the numbers and the hours markers do have a LUM. However, within less than 2 hours you could barely see them on a dark room; so they don't hold the charge for a long time. However if you are coming from the outside to a dark room, you can easily see all 3; the hands being the brightest. Added a picture with a different leather strap. The watch comes alive with a better strap. I am enjoying the watch a lot more with a lighter distressed brown leather strap. I've had this time piece for over a year now with frequent domestic wear and I cannot find anything wrong with what this piece from Citizen offers. Looks really good as a casual watch, I've change the leather band once just to give it a bit different look; it also looks really handsome with a Nato/Zulu Strap. (sorry for the pictures sideways it is an Amazon thing, pictures display correctly on my PC). 2nd year update: 08/17/2017 After 2 years from original purchase, this watch continues to look as good as it did when I bought it new. The Black Ionized finish is intact and scratch free. The dial is also scratch free. The watch keeps great time with the only minor hiccup that if I charge it directly on sunlight, it usually speeds up a bit before settling down to a gain of about .02 secs per day. This piece is part of my regular rotation specially for weekend wear. I replaced the leather strap with a strap from Clockwork Synergy. The OEM strap was not bad but totally recommend upgrading the leather; it raises the feel and comfort of the watch 100%. The price of this watch is a bargain, no batteries to be replaced.

This watch reminds me of a Bell & Ross Vintage Heritage BR 123 watch I rrreaalllyy want but can't afford at this moment. http://www.amazon.com/Bell-Ross-BR123-HERITAGE-Vintage-Black/dp/B005N8AGLC/ref=sr_1_1?s=watches&ie=UTF8&qid=1348893781&sr=1-1&keywords=Bell+%26+Ross+Vintage+123 But when I saw this Citizen watch, I realized its similar aesthetics to the BR 123 (but without the hefty price). -Essentially, the Swiss mechanical automatic movement is replaced with a eco-drive Japanese quartz movement, -the anti reflective ultra curved super hard sapphire crystal is replaced by an off the shelf mineral crystal, -the sand colored beige leather strap and markers/hands are replaced by a general orange, -the thin case of the BR 123 is replaced by Citizen's bulkier case, -the second hand is not subsidiary (like the BR 123), but part of the hour and minute hands (like most watches). -However, the citizen adds a day indicator whilst the BR 123 does not. Now subtract about $3,069 (original price $3,200) and you get the Citizen BM8475-26E ($131). What really sold me to the Citizen was the eco-drive technology. Although it does not compare to the Swiss mechanical automatic movement of the BR 123, knowing that if you keep good care of this watch, you shouldn't ever have to replace the battery. Which makes me wonder if this watch lasts as long as light exists (forever?... I question that. I guess time will tell)... The colors are also great and unique. The orange markers and hands against the black dial make it desirable since orange and black are one of my favorite color combinations. You can't really find a classic looking watch like this in orange. The only things that concern me after I purchased it was the date adjust... You really have to be gentle and gingerly with it or I feel like it may damage the movement. Pulling the crown should also be done gingerly. It's tricky to get it to the right spot and takes practice to master. The band squeaks a bit, but goes away after a week or more of daily wear. All in all the price and design of this watch makes it very enticing to purchase and own, which I have no regrets doing. This watch doesn't make you wonder, "does this watch come with insurance?" like you do with high end time pieces. With this price, and this eco-drive technology, I feel like it's a worthy and economic (and ecological?) investment. Oh, and I just realized the luminescence of the hands and dials are not as strong as some of my other watches... but it doesn't bother me as much, because I don't find myself in a situation where I'm in super pitch darkness and then wonder... "that time is it?".

Just got it yesterday so not a lot of time has past but initial thoughts are as follows. Looks better in person than on computer. As others have said feels hefty but not weighty, well made I guess is a better description. Some have commented strap/band feels cheap, maybe not genuine leather but mine seems to be genuine and fairly well made. Sleek Italian leather you would find in an expensive Lambo? Of course not but certainly a "better" feel to the leather than most ball gloves I've had. The one thing about the band, and others have mentioned it, is that it is a little short. Perhaps a 1/4 inch or so. I have a 7.25-7.5 inch wrist and I can only get to the third hole when fastening. That may sound reasonable however that only allows for the end of the band to barely get to the second loop to secure it. That is with the 2nd loop pushed next to the first loop. Could really use a slightly longer band. When I laid it side by side to another unworking watch it was around a quarter inch or so shorter than the mens band I have on the other one. So, my only complaint, if you will, is that the band could be longer. I remind that I have had it for less than 24 hours so if thing things change I will update. So far so good, glad I bought it. 5 stars for now.

Prodotto in linea con le attese. Unica pecca i giorni della settimana son in inglese e spagnolo , inoltre il cambio dura veramente tanto e parte in ritardo (dall'una di notte in poi).

Reloj de buena calidad (no se podía esperar menos de Citizen), aunque ya teniéndolo en vivo se ve un poco más pequeño que en las fotos.

Great watch for this price. Classic aviation style. The hands, especially, numbers and 5 min markers are luminous in the dark. Lighter in weight and slimmer than I thought. But that is a plus point for me. It has a black hard anodised case and mineral glass face, so it should be very robust and pretty scratch resistant. Some people have reviewed and mentioned the strap is of poor quality? All I can say is it looks to be pretty robust, quite thick, well made and very good quality. I don't know if these people are showering or swimming with their watch on! But leather straps are not designed for that. That is why they don't make leather wellys. Leather will quickly loose natural oils and degrade if subject to too much water. As an every day watch, it is ideal, easy to read and looks superb. If you register the 5 year warranty on-line with Citizen you get another 1 year bonus. 6 year warranty. All good. David.

Just received the watch today. The quality is as good as described. So far, I am satisfied.

Livre parfaitement le jour donne. Tres belle realisation. Un tout petit bemol, la fluorescence des aiguilles n'est pas tres forte et dure peu.