Features:

• Citizen Eco-Drive movement
• Mineral crystal
• Case diameter: 40 mm
• Stainless-steel case; White dial; Perpetual-calendar, month/day/date functions
• Water-resistant to 100 M (330 feet)

Editor Reviews:

Amazon.com Product Description:
More than just pretty face, the Citizen Eco-Drive Calibre 8700 stainless steel men's watch also has a perpetual calendar that automatically adjusts for odd and even months and leap years through 2100. It features a perfectly round silver-tone stainless steel watch case and bezel that's complemented by a supple black leather strap with crocodile-like texturing.

The silvery white dial background is accented by day-of-the-week and 24-hour subdials, as well as a mode subdial that displays the selected function (local time, calendar, alarm). It also offers luminous, black-outlined hands (with seconds hand), a date function at 4 o'clock, and Roman numeral dial markers. Other features includes a dual-time function for tracking a second time zone, scratch resistant mineral crystal with anti-reflective coating, and water resistance to 100 meters (330 feet).

This watch is powered by Citizen's unique Eco-Drive, which absorbs sunlight and any artificial light through the crystal and dial to recharge the watch continuously. With regular exposure to light, the Eco-Drive continuously recharges itself for a lifetime of use. This watch's Eco-Drive provides a 180-day power reserve, and it can be recharged with just 4 hours of exposure to light.

Eco-Drive Frequently Asked Questions
How can you tell if the Eco-Drive watch is getting enough light? In normal use, the watch displays the time and the sweep-second hand moves in one second intervals. A very important feature of Eco-Drive is the Low Charge Warning Mode which as a result of low battery voltage, causes the second hand to jump two seconds at a time (while still keeping correct time).

How long will an Eco-Drive watch run after it is fully charged?
If your watch is put away where no light is available to it while in a fully charged state, depending on the model, it will run for from 45 days to 5 years.

How can the Eco-Drive watch be recharged?
Besides sunlight, it can be safely charged by exposing it to a fluorescent desk lamp, with the dial (face) up and within about 8 inches or an incandescent lamp (regular light bulb) no closer than 20 inches. Never use a halogen lamp since the heat generated by it can cause damage to your watch. The most efficient and the quickest is in direct bright sunlight (not windowsill) and never on the dashboard of a car.

Warranty
It's backed by Citizen's 5-year warranty (from original date of purchase).

About Citizen
One of the world's largest watch makers, the Citizen Watch Company was founded in 1924 in Japan from its beginnings as the Shokosha Watch Research Institute. The first watch released by the company was named "CITIZEN" and its name was selected so that it would be "close to the hearts of people everywhere." Today, Citizen is recognized as a worldwide leader in advanced timepiece technology, from the world's slimmest LCD watch to the first voice recognition watch to the world's first professional dive watch with an electronic depth sensor. Citizen was also the first to sell watches made with titanium in the world, which is not only light and durable but also non-allergenic (as stainless steel can be to some wearers). Most recently, Citizen has released watches powered by its Eco-Drive, which runs continuously in any kind of natural light or artificial light for a lifetime of use without changing a battery.

Rating : - A beautiful, functional time piece
I received this as a Christmas gift and agree with previous reviews that it is a visually stunning watch. I think the "complications" of this watch make it even more interesting and compelling as a timepiece. I also think the clasp wristband for leather is innovative; I think it will prolong the life of the wristband as the band itself is not getting tugged each time I put it or take it off.

I will say that the mini-dvd that comes with the watch is very helpful and it covers most features of the watch and watch settings in a very user friendly way (although there are a few minor features that are only covered in the user manual). Some may find the size of the manual imtimidating and I have seen some reviews indicate the watch is too complicated. Fear not! Once you understand that the watch is either in a "mode" (1 pull of the stem) or setting (2 pull outs of the stem), the meaning and operations are straightforward. Just use care to do only 1 pull out (not 2) when attempting to set the mode; if you do two pull outs by mistake and are in time mode, the watch's time will be stopped.

The leap year indicator is interesting and important for the perpetual calandar. I also think the day of week pointer and scale is pretty cool. I think the high contrast black-on-white makes it easy to read and makes the watch dressy enough for the office, but also casual enough for anytime use.

I have purchased my share of low end watches only to have them fail for one reason or another. My Timex didn't even take a licking and it still failed (the stem no longer works, in order to set the time I have pull it out and stop the watch until the time of day catches up with its setting). I am hopeful that this watch will serve me for many years; i'll update this review each year let y'all know.