Citizen Eco-Drive Men's Perpetual Chrono A.TCB5899-05X

I bought this watch recently and I’m very happy with it. The design looks premium, and it feels comfortable on the wrist. The timekeeping is accurate and the build quality is solid. While the strap could be improved, overall it offers great value for the price. I would definitely recommend it for daily use.

Stunning looking watch. I'm really surprised by some of the reviews that say it's difficult to set up. It's actually incredibly easy. It either sets itself automatically overnight or with one simple button push (alternatively you can set it manually like any other watch). Which one of those three options is difficult?

Review of Citizen Eco-Drive Watch When I first received this watch, I was very impressed by its looks and the quality of the build—it’s a truly beautiful timepiece. However, there were a few issues that ultimately led me to return it. The watch arrived with the battery completely flat, likely due to long storage. That wasn’t a problem, as after a few hours in sunlight it came to life. The time and date were out of sync, so I manually synchronized it with the atomic radio clock in Germany. This worked, but not perfectly. I then carried out a full reset of the reference position (page 60 of the technical manual), carefully resetting all the hands and functions. Despite doing this correctly, the date window still displayed halfway between two days. At that point, I decided to return the watch. It’s possible I missed something in the process, but the manual is lengthy and complex—it took me about 45 minutes to read through and understand everything. Not the most straightforward setup, though certainly doable if you’re patient. Another point: the strap is very small. I was on the very last notch, and many other reviewers have mentioned the same. Citizen confirmed they don’t make a larger strap for this model, so I would have had to buy a replacement waterproof band myself. A standard strap should fit, and at around £20–30, that would be a reasonable fix. Interestingly, I compared this model to another Citizen watch on their website (CB5896-03X, retailing at £499). The two are almost identical, differing only in colour, which makes the Amazon price look like a bargain. However, I now think the small strap may explain the discount. The design itself is stunning—easily one of the nicest-looking watches I’ve owned. But in the end, I chose instead to replace the capacitor in my older Citizen Ecodrive watch at Timson’s for about £95. For me, this was a more practical choice than investing in a new model. One concern I have in general is servicing. A full service on my old watch was quoted at over £300—more than the original purchase price. Even the capacitor replacement at £95 felt steep, and many places won’t touch it because the case back says “Citizen Service Personnel Only.” Timson’s did manage it, but most others refused. So, while I love Citizen watches for their style and quality, I do have reservations about ease of servicing, costs, and replacement parts. That said, I wouldn’t discourage anyone from buying one—this experience might just be unlucky on my part. I hope this review helps others.

After buying a used version I can understand the negative reviews as the one I was sent had a lot of faults, but after sending it back and buying a brand new one the only thing that could be a problem is the size of the strap, which for me isn’t an issue, At less than £275 this watch is an absolute bargain.

Not happy because it came with power reserve at all. Can’t set it

Great watch,great style and fantastic timekeeping

Hellish to set date and time, thank heaven for YouTube. Watch itself is excellent but the strap not so good for larger wrist

Absolutely a nightmare to try to change the time, gave up, so I'll put it on ebay just to get shot of it

Excellent quality Citizen watch. Smart, stylish, I’m particularly fond of their eco-drive watches, this being the 4th in my collection. Highly recommended. Excellent delivery service from Amazon (came from Amazon UK) - clear tracking, no issues with customs clearance. Note for anyone buying an eco-drive watch for the first time: when the watch arrived the solar battery was completely discharged. Thankfully I’ve owned several so knew what the issue was, 2 days on the windowsill restored it to full working order and it is functioning perfectly. Note on guarantee: as another reviewer noted you cannot register the guarantee on the UK website if you don’t live in the UK. Having checked with Citizen the UK registration only applies to the extended 5-year guarantee (only available in the UK). However the watch is covered by their 3-year standard international warranty without the need for any registration.

Todo ok