CITIZEN ECO-DRIVE, thoughts?
- Last Updated:
- May 23rd, 2011 11:17 pm
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- SCORE
- Barayolayosa
- Deal Addict
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- Jan 4, 2006
- 1327 posts
- 68 upvotes
- St. John's
- hdom
- Deal Fanatic
- Aug 29, 2006
- 7738 posts
- 1628 upvotes
May be not in a "few" years but down the road since they are not designed to last forever yet.
http://www.geocities.com/watch_crazy/ec ... odrive.htmBattery Life
The replacement life of these batteries is hard to determine because of the many factors involved. Most of our computations suggest that, in an ideal operating environment, a battery should need replacement somewhere between 15 and 28 years.
Barayolayosa wrote: ↑No it won't.
The Devil made me buy it - RFD.

- Barayolayosa
- Deal Addict
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- Jan 4, 2006
- 1327 posts
- 68 upvotes
- St. John's
According to the citizen website, my watch will never need a battery.
http://www.citizenwatch.com/COC/English ... JY0040-59L
"Never needs a battery"
http://www.citizenwatch.com/COC/English ... JY0040-59L
"Never needs a battery"
- bythehour
- Sr. Member
- Dec 27, 2007
- 644 posts
- 4 upvotes
Hate to break it to you kids, but the eco-drive is not a "never replace the battery" deal. Depending on use, the rechargeable battery will have to be replaced each 5 to 14 years.
And, it ain't cheap (~$125 to do my Promaster Tough)
If you read the Citizen literature carefully, you'll notice that they couch their claims. When they talk about never needing a battery, they mean a "conventional" silver oxide disposable battery.
And, it ain't cheap (~$125 to do my Promaster Tough)
If you read the Citizen literature carefully, you'll notice that they couch their claims. When they talk about never needing a battery, they mean a "conventional" silver oxide disposable battery.
- williamsauga
- Deal Addict
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- Jan 22, 2009
- 2217 posts
- 1266 upvotes
- Montreal
have around 5 ecodrives, all gifts....luckily
i'm not planning using my own money buying ecodrive, after all i prefer my automatic
i'm not planning using my own money buying ecodrive, after all i prefer my automatic
- Jucius Maximus
- Deal Expert
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- Aug 18, 2005
- 21125 posts
- 5804 upvotes
- Burlington-Hamilton
I have the Skyhawk, or at least the "Costco version" of that model. Mine does not actually say "Skyhawk" on it, so I am guessing this is another situation where Costco is selling a slightly different model for a much reduced price.
- casual gastronomist -
- ipfree
- Jr. Member
- Aug 17, 2005
- 152 posts
- 2 upvotes
I have a 6 year old titanium eco-drive. It does not last forever - I stopped wearing it about a year ago and let the battery run down. I can't get it started anymore
But who needs a watch when you carry a cell phone.

But who needs a watch when you carry a cell phone.
- turbo_slug
- Deal Addict
- Jan 13, 2004
- 1346 posts
- 849 upvotes
- Vancouver
self windup watches are not greener...they're not much more than flashy novelty items that cost a lot of money because they still have batteries that will wear out...
i have a seiko kinetic and it uses a rechargeable li-ion battery...the battery lasted about 3 yrs before it took a dump...i'm currently on the second battery and it's starting to go again!
i have a seiko kinetic and it uses a rechargeable li-ion battery...the battery lasted about 3 yrs before it took a dump...i'm currently on the second battery and it's starting to go again!
- bythehour
- Sr. Member
- Dec 27, 2007
- 644 posts
- 4 upvotes
Depends what you mean by "self-winding". Automatic watches, such as mechanical self-winders, don't have batteries. Period. Then again, automatics tend to be high-end (Rolex, Cartier, Patek, VC, etc), so you could argue that they are less "Green" if you measure the total eco-footprint of the manufacturing process (precious metals, surgical grade steel, shipping, etc)turbo_slug wrote: ↑self windup watches are not greener...they're not much more than flashy novelty items that cost a lot of money because they still have batteries that will wear out...
Also, automatics require servicing every so often. A Rolex maintenance service costs about $500. That ain't so green....
- Xiggy
- Deal Addict
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- Mar 11, 2003
- 1099 posts
- 33 upvotes
- Vancouver
http://www.citizenwatches.com.au/intera ... geZone.swfJucius Maximus wrote: ↑Compared to digital watches it is somewhat annoying to set, especially when the daylight savings time switches over.
- bythehour
- Sr. Member
- Dec 27, 2007
- 644 posts
- 4 upvotes
Perpetual calendars only deal with days of the month and leap years; not daylight savings time adjustments.
- Xiggy
- Deal Addict
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- Mar 11, 2003
- 1099 posts
- 33 upvotes
- Vancouver
Yes, I know that. I'm a proud owner of a Citizen Eco-Drive with a perpetual calendar. My link was in response to Jucius Maximus' complaint that daylight savings time adjustments are annoying when they are actually very easy to do.
- iblank
- Newbie
- Mar 30, 2011
- 1 posts
I had to admit I used to be big fan of citizen echo-drive watches. Had my first watches of this kind for 12 years. No problem, lovely. 18 months ago decided to get new one –of the same kind. This time it was bad experience. Suddenly it became to stop, showing wrong time. It continued for couple of weeks. It has 5 years of warranty, so I went to citizen for service. Here it starts. They say the watch is damaged and point me to some dent I can’t see. I don’t see any dent. I absolutely sure that the watch was under normal use. I didn’t throw it. Just normal day to day usage. Long story short – you have to pay them even if it is under warranty.
So if you think about purchasing it, be aware – this is not the watch for every day usage. Looks like they are very secretive, very easy to damage. Citizen is very picky in accepting the watch to repair. As for me it’s last time I approach this relatively expensive, unreliable watches.
So if you think about purchasing it, be aware – this is not the watch for every day usage. Looks like they are very secretive, very easy to damage. Citizen is very picky in accepting the watch to repair. As for me it’s last time I approach this relatively expensive, unreliable watches.
- lithiumli
- Deal Fanatic
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- Jan 28, 2005
- 6413 posts
- 436 upvotes
- Scarborough
i've had my eco drive watch for over 5 years and its still running strong. really amazing watch.