Eco Drive
Author
Discussion

lostandfound

Original Poster:

29 posts

187 months

Monday 17th March 2014
quotequote all
I'm looking at Citizen Eco-Drives, I'd like a 2nd daily watch, something that's low maintenance and will not need resetting after a week in a drawer. The Eco drives with the atomic clock feature looks good, I've been on their website, the E650 movement seems to stand out to me.

I've narrowed it down to 4, 2 nighthawks and 2 chronos:
http://www.citizenwatch.com/en-uk/watches/watch-de...
and
http://www.citizenwatch.com/en-uk/watches/watch-de...

http://www.citizenwatch.com/en-uk/watches/watch-de...
and
http://www.citizenwatch.com/en-uk/watches/watch-de...

I think the black nighthawk looks the best, what are your thoughts? Also, any alternatives For a watch under £500 that I'll wear about once a week?

Thanks.

Edited by lostandfound on Monday 17th March 15:20

V8KSN

4,713 posts

215 months

Monday 17th March 2014
quotequote all
lostandfound said:
I'm looking at Citizen Eco-Drives, I'd like a 2nd daily watch, something that's low maintenance and will not need resetting after a week in a drawer. The Eco drives with the atomic clock feature looks good, I've been on there website, the E650 movement seems to stand out to me.

I've narrowed it down to 4, 2 nighthawks and 2 chronos:
http://www.citizenwatch.com/en-uk/watches/watch-de...
and
http://www.citizenwatch.com/en-uk/watches/watch-de...

http://www.citizenwatch.com/en-uk/watches/watch-de...
and
http://www.citizenwatch.com/en-uk/watches/watch-de...

I think the black nighthaw looks the best, what are your thoughts? Also, any alturnatives For a watch under £500 that I'll ware about once a week?

Thanks.
  • their
  • nighthawk
  • alternatives
  • wear
As you were thumbup

Hoofy

80,160 posts

313 months

Monday 17th March 2014
quotequote all
You'll have to keep it on your windowsill but out of those, I'd choose the one you like the best. The only reason you might not go with one you like the best is for resale purposes but I suspect you'll take a 50% hit on whichever you buy if you sell it in a year.

IN51GHT

9,073 posts

241 months

Monday 17th March 2014
quotequote all
I have an eco Drive & I'm really pleased with it. You do not have to keep it on the window sill, I wear mine as any other watch & it's never suffered from depleted battery. Keeps great time too, we have a radio controlled Rolex clock on the workshop wall & it's never lost more than a couple of seconds every 3-4 months. I'd say that's pretty good.

lostandfound

Original Poster:

29 posts

187 months

Monday 17th March 2014
quotequote all
@V8KSN, thanks, post updated.

@Hoofy, I'll probably not resell, thanks.

@IN51GHT, I was looking at this, they claim they don't need direct sunlight so this is good news!

IN51GHT

9,073 posts

241 months

busby

263 posts

245 months

Monday 17th March 2014
quotequote all
I keep my Eco drive in the draw and wear it probably once every couple of weeks for a day or two . In the 5 years or so that I have had it , the battery meter very rarely moves from full - if it does then a day on the windowsill sorts it out .
You are right though , they do not need direct sunlight - they will charge off any light source .
I dont know if I read this or imagined it but I'm sure I read somewhere that with a full charge , you could put it in a dark room for 6 months before it would stop working ?

lostandfound

Original Poster:

29 posts

187 months

Monday 17th March 2014
quotequote all
I've ordered the nighthawk... does anyone know how well the atomic time feature will work when you cross timezones?

marcosgt

11,506 posts

207 months

Monday 17th March 2014
quotequote all
lostandfound said:
I've ordered the nighthawk... does anyone know how well the atomic time feature will work when you cross timezones?
If I remember rightly it only works once a day by default, so you won't see an instant adjustment automatically if that's your expectation. Also, there are only 3 clocks, so you need to tell the watch which timezone to use even if you're closer to a different clock.

That said, it's easy to switch the active timezone so you can switch from one to another almost instantly when you take off/land.

M.

JAGS

1,087 posts

239 months

Tuesday 18th March 2014
quotequote all
V8KSN said:
lostandfound said:
I'm looking at Citizen Eco-Drives, I'd like a 2nd daily watch, something that's low maintenance and will not need resetting after a week in a drawer. The Eco drives with the atomic clock feature looks good, I've been on there website, the E650 movement seems to stand out to me.

I've narrowed it down to 4, 2 nighthawks and 2 chronos:
http://www.citizenwatch.com/en-uk/watches/watch-de...
and
http://www.citizenwatch.com/en-uk/watches/watch-de...

http://www.citizenwatch.com/en-uk/watches/watch-de...
and
http://www.citizenwatch.com/en-uk/watches/watch-de...

I think the black nighthaw looks the best, what are your thoughts? Also, any alturnatives For a watch under £500 that I'll ware about once a week?

Thanks.
  • their
  • nighthawk
  • alternatives
  • wear
As you were thumbup
hehe

shortar53

548 posts

304 months

Wednesday 19th March 2014
quotequote all
busby said:
I keep my Eco drive in the draw and wear it probably once every couple of weeks for a day or two . In the 5 years or so that I have had it , the battery meter very rarely moves from full - if it does then a day on the windowsill sorts it out .
You are right though , they do not need direct sunlight - they will charge off any light source .
I dont know if I read this or imagined it but I'm sure I read somewhere that with a full charge , you could put it in a dark room for 6 months before it would stop working ?
My eco-drive has _never_ stopped working in the 5 years i've had it. If i'm not wearing it, it's on the bedside table, and the ambient light is enough to keep it running. I've never seen the low power warning.

According to the manual, 3 hours of "office light" will give 24 hours worth of running and 3 minutes of sunshine will do the same. It will run for 5 hours in darkness.


busby

263 posts

245 months

Wednesday 19th March 2014
quotequote all
shortar53 said:
It will run for 5 hours in darkness.
That cant be right as mine has been chucked in a drawer for weeks at a time and works no problem when I wear it . If it makes any difference this is the same as mine :


lostandfound

Original Poster:

29 posts

187 months

Wednesday 19th March 2014
quotequote all
Yes looking around, it looks like months on a full charge in the dark.

busby, nice watch! I looked at them but I don't think I have the wrist to support the skyhawks. The red arrows one looks good:
http://www.citizenwatch.com/en-uk/watches/watch-de...

The shop down the road has a navihawk in stock:
http://www.citizenwatch.com/en-uk/watches/watch-de...

Comes with a massive display box with an aircraft altimeter!

hyper jay

716 posts

186 months

Wednesday 19th March 2014
quotequote all
ive had a skyhawk in titainium since 2008 never had any troubles with it ,never had to leave it on a window sill ..found it exerlent bit of kit but a tad complecated )

shortar53

548 posts

304 months

Thursday 20th March 2014
quotequote all
Sorry, my bad... 5 months in the dark.
5 days would be a bit pants for a quartz

lostandfound

Original Poster:

29 posts

187 months

Thursday 20th March 2014
quotequote all
shortar53 said:
Sorry, my bad... 5 months in the dark.
5 days would be a bit pants for a quartz
Handy for the next time I'm stuck in Alaska over winter...

shortar53

548 posts

304 months

Friday 21st March 2014
quotequote all
lostandfound said:
Handy for the next time I'm stuck in Alaska over winter...
Heh, even then there would be some ambient light. It's not total darkness in Alaska - for that, you need the bottom of my Missus' handbag

Hoofy

80,160 posts

313 months

Friday 21st March 2014
quotequote all
I love the fact your reply wordwraps after "missus'" to leave a bit of smutty intrigue for a split second.

SSBB

698 posts

187 months

Friday 21st March 2014
quotequote all
My eco drive lasts months in a drawer. The second hand stops ticking if left in the dark for 30 mins or so, and jumps back to the correct second once exposed to light again. Never seen it stopped completely. It even came out of the box from amazon perfectly set (perpetual calendar). I assume set by Citizen, charged, and never stopped since.

gbbird

5,197 posts

275 months

Sunday 23rd March 2014
quotequote all
They all look quite nice IMHO. I was looking at these in Ernest Jones the other week, and almost bought one.

As other posters have said, go with what you prefer.