Beautiful timepiece, but with some slight problems

I'm mainly writing this review for people who, like me, couldn't find enough information about this watch online. For some reason the same two reviewers before me are featured on websites everywhere, and though these reviews are very good, more reviews give more substance. So here goes.

My criteria for a watch was something that looked unique, elegant, not too expensive, and preferably with features such as dual time, day/date, and alarm.

First impressions always count. I first saw this watch on a website, and I was hooked straight away with its unique face. It had all the features I needed, its got dual time, and gives the day and date. It uses the perpetual calendar mechanism to keep tabs on months and leap years, so you need never have to adjust the date on the 1st of a new month. I thought the 24hr clock was overkill, and somehow didn't seem to contribute to what I'd say was the 'theme' of the watch. However, it did give the face a complicated look, which I sort of liked.

On viewing the real thing, I found that the face has a lot of metal. The labelling on the dials are a dark polished metal. The hour and minute hands are outlined with a shiny metal as well. The polished metallic components in the face makes it glitter in soft light, and in not in a gaudy way. It looks very elegant.

The black leather band looks rich and is lined with suede on the inside. The suede provides comfort but is also a bit warm. It can also pick up dust very easily from your arm. Leather bands deteriorate after a while, so some maintenance is required to extend its life. I try my best to keep the band dry at all times. The band appears to be very tough and stiff, so I believe it ought to last me several years before I'll need to replace it.

This particular watch is also available with a steel bracelet. I chose to go with the leather band, as I found that the steel bracelet looked cumbersome with too many links, and gave me the impression that it simply had too much steel in it. The leather band gives focus to its elegant face, and I recommend leather over steel for that reason.

The watch also uses the Eco drive movement that runs on solar power. So far, in two months, I have had no problems with the watch movement, and I don't make any special effort to make sure the watch gets sunlight. Also, the concept of a solar powered watch is very cool and a great conversation topic.

All right, some cons. After wearing this watch for about two months I've found that sometimes the Hour and Minute hand don't stand out enough from the rest of the face, which makes it difficult to read the time in poor light. This might be an issue if reading the time easily is very important to you. Another problem is that the outer bezel of highly polished metal tends to pick up scratches very easily. But, as I understand it, Citizen does servicing which can rebuff all those scratches to the original brand new look. Aside from these minor issues, this is a fantastic time piece that I would highly recommend for casual and office wear.