Citizen Eco-Drive AT0100-51A Wrist Watch for Men

When my wife gave me permission to find my own Christmas present this year, I had all the time in the world to find the perfect watch (within a reasonable budget) and this is it.

First, the stats: This watch, the EcoDrive AT0100-51A Titanium Diver has a full titanium body and bracelet, making it extremely lightweight. It's rated to 2.0 bar, although the manual doesn't recommend immersion-- the Diver name is mostly for show. The watch features date, three sub dials and a chronograph feature that will count up to a full hour. The top-left dial is used for the chronograph minutes feature-- counting the minutes since the chronograph feature was started, stopping after an hour. The top-right dial is a 24-hour clock, and the bottom dial is the second hand. That's right-- the visible red second hand on the main watch face is only used for the chronograph feature. That means that it can be hard to read seconds when it's around any half hour.

The Eco-Drive feature is the main selling point of this watch line-- it consists of a solar cell underneath the watch face constantly charging the watch's backup battery. There's no visible indication of this feature other than the logo-- the watch looks stylish and not gimmicky. The watch should run for 6 months with no light on the backup battery and if it does run down, it can be recharged simply by exposing it to light. The backup battery is never supposed to be changed, except in the case of a malfunction.

I love this watch-- It's very lightweight and comfortable to wear. I was afraid that it would be too small, but it's the perfect size-- about 45mm across the bezel. The crown screws down, and it's almost impossible to engage the chronograph buttons accidentally. The glowing marks glow a bright blue, but fade quickly.

This watch makes a statement and is also quite versatile-- you can wear it with almost everything. Combine that with a reasonable price, and you're all set.