CitizenEco-Drive Men's Perpetual Chrono A.TAT4008-51E

A couple of years or so ago I decided that I could use a robust every-day watch; I always have had an interest in watches and time pieces, with mechanical movements in particular. Been lucky enough to indulge that interest with some good watches over many years. An Invicta from Amazon seemed to offer rugged service use at a good price. Well sometimes, you get just what you pay for, and no more. My first Invicta kept good time for about a year; that is, until the winder stem came adrift. However, I liked the design of the Invicta, much like a R***x, so decided to splash out on a more expensive Swiss movement equipped model of similar design, again a disappointment, time keeping became slower and slower and then it stopped for no apparent reason after three months. Invicta service was non-existent, no reply to service enquiry, so Amazon took the latest Invicta back and made a full refund, so Invicta nil, Amazon 10!I then saw the Citizen AT4008-51E at an attractive price on Amazon. I can only agree and endorse the many favourable reviews of this Citizen watch, build quality appears impeccable. It is difficult to find anything new to add to so many articulate positive reviews. Of the few less than enthusiastic reviewers, thought is, among those may be some from buyers who would be more comfortable with a simpler instrument.I personally like its appearance, the face is clear, not too blingy, and time legible in all light levels, good eyesight not to be taken for granted as so many years pass. Reassurance is available at a touch of a button, that the time, day and date displayed are precisely correct to within 1 second, and the power reserve is adequate. It keeps itself totally accurate wherever in the USA or Europe you may find yourself. You may need to reset the hour reference position for useful radio update, “LON”mode selected, for coverage across mainland Europe, the manual explains how to do that. During a recent 12 day trip in a part of the world where no radio signal can be received by this watch, and temperatures were challenging, its quartz movement kept time to within 2 seconds of absolute accuracy for the duration. Good reliability may be anticipated; the Eco-Drive energy acquisition system appears to utilise no moving parts; most energy capture in watches seems to involve large moving parts and associated gear trains. The elimination of those mechanical moving parts must surely contribute to reliability with a reduced need for periodic cost and inconvenience of lubrication and servicing. This philosophy may also explain the fact that the minute hand advances at 15 second intervals, a potential saving of perhaps 30 million mechanical movements a year. There is a generous manufacturer's 5 year guarantee. Furthermore, once charged, if the watch is not exposed to light, it will go into “hibernation” mode and still retain sufficient energy to keep functioning accurately for several months. You will be lucky to get a few days of power reserve from even the best mechanical movements. I am delighted with my purchase, I find that it is an excellent instrument.For purpose, it is a superior time-piece to those costing many times the price of this Citizen, this watch lacks only the doubtful kudos and ostentation associated with the wrist ornaments from the much advertised and “exclusive prestige” brands. If you feel you can bear to forego those benefits, then enjoy an AT4008-51E, it will be for sure as accurate, versatile and robust, probably more so, than the other guy's ostentation. He shelled out perhaps 70 times as much, or more, for his “certified chronometer” status symbol, how smart is that? This watch is to watches what an SMS is to a GPO telegram; give yourself a pat on the back for the intelligent purchase of a truly 21st century time-piece! It truly is superb value, you won't be disappointed!

Been looking for a nice watch for sometime now. Was considering one of the Armani's but then thought against it as even though they look nice, the price is for the brand rather than a quality build watch.So, thats when I started looking at Citizen as they are such a high reputable brand without having to break the bank!I absolutley love this watch! It is well worth the money, although I was lucky enough to get it when Amazon had it selling for £284 for 24hrs only!Like many have said already, out of the box it looks hugely more impressive than the photos. Before buying I looked quite a bit online for the weight of the watch itself (not boxed weight) to no avail. I can tell you that it is a nice weight that makes it feel high quality but by no means too heavy. It is very comfortable to wear. I compared it to the weight of a friends Omega Seamaster and its of similar weight. I think the Omega weighed appox 220g.The eco-drive is great in knowing that I never need to replace the battery. At any time you can check the charge level by pushing a button on the watch. I cant ever see it getting low unless you live in a cave!Had a little teething problem at the start syncing with the radio signal as it only picked up very low reception (there are indictors on the watch to show how strong the signal is marked as H(high) M(medium) L(low).I live in Northern Ireland and initially thought I had lucked out as I was maybe out of good range. I could still sync it manually though even on low. At 2am every night the watch automatically syncs up the time/date/etc so that it is always accurate to the second! The first night it didnt sync and consquently was off by 5 seconds. No big deal but for a watch adveristed as the most accurate in the world you want it to be exactly that. However since then it has synced flawlessly with high radio signal.Never need to set the time, date, or adjust for daylight savings or even leap years. The watch does it all for you!!This is the most I have spent on a watch but it is by far the best watch I have ever had and know it will last me a very very long time. So if your still on the fence, I say go for it! You will not regret it!

Best watch I've ever owned,and I've had a few including a rubbish Tissot. Quite complicated to set up initially but once done you never need to touch it again. Time is synced with the atomic clock at 2AM every morning,no need to worry about Summer/Winter setting it does it all for you. I haven't had to change time zones since I've owned it but I think I would need the manual to do it!I'm pretty hard on my watches and all of the have scratches an dings on them. Not this beauty I've worn it every day for a year and it still looks as good as it did when I opened the box.Heartily recommended.Edited 20th April 2019I’ve had my Citizen Eco-Drive Chrono for getting on for three years now and worn it pretty much everyday, I think it still looks pretty good.It still keeps impeccable time.Like another reviewer the white lettering on the bezel has flaked off in places and I agree it’s from contact with cuffs of shirts and jackets.I’ve had to replace the bracelet as it broke, replacement bracelets are available but pricey so I’ve bought a generic leather strap. Both these faults are insignificant in my opinion and are just wear and tear.Still think it’s the best watch I’ve ever owned and if it did finally fail I would buy another one. How about that for a recommendation!!!