Be a good citizen, that is! Today’s watch comes to us courtesy of some fieldwork that was done by my wife. She was out and about, and this particular watch caught her eye, and she brought it to my attention. And now, of course, it goes on to you.
The watch in question is a Citizen Calibre 8700 (specific model: BL8000-11x), which is one of their EcoDrive models. While at first the dial seems a bit cluttered, I have a feeling it might be easier to deal with in practice. You of course have the hours/minutes/seconds indicated on the main dial. Past that, you have the following indicators:
- 24 hour dial at the 10 o’clock position
- Day of the week at 3 o’clock
- Date at 4 o’clock
- Function indicator (time, calendar, alarm, or second time zone)
So, you’ve got the basics, and then a whole lot more. While the full user manual runs to 55 pages, Citizen thankfully provides a condensed, 1-page, document on their website to key you in to the various functions and how to use them.
Of course, underlying it all, you have Citizen’s EcoDrive technology, which means you just need to expose the watch to light and it will recharge itself. They list various times for a full charge in various lighting conditions (sunlight, cloudy day, indoors), but they maintain that your normal daily office lighting is more than enough to keep things running nicely.
All in all, you get a lot of tech packed into this particular watch. Citizen lists the MSRP at $375, but I was able to find it on Amazon for $281. With a 39mm case, it should fit nicely on the wrist; the deployant clasp is a nice upgrade. Overall, the styling of the watch is, I’d say, conservative but cluttered, and will blend in to just about any setting.
