# New Arrival - Citizen 300M Eco-Drive



## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

Hi all - I received this today & thought I'd give some initial impressions. It arrived completely uncharged so it's been sitting under an angle-poise lamp for ages (it's been an extremely dull day today so there didn't seem much point in plonking it on the window sill to charge).

I have to say that I think this is a great looking watch - the highly polished stainless steel sides contrast nicely with the black bezel & black areas around, & opposite, the crown. The crown itself is a two tone affair with the majority of it being black with the "Promaster" arrow highlighted in matt silver. Another point of note is that the crystal (mineral I think) is domed & the bezel edge sits above it (so should provide some protection) & the bezel insert is angled which, again, should give the insert some protection from scratches.

The dial is incredible with raised "stripes" radiating out from the centre - I'm not sure how to describe it to be honest but it looks amazing in the metal & the fact that it's also a solar cell makes it doubly amazing! The minute hand is possibly a bit short, but I can live with it, while the hour/GMT hands are fine. The blue second hand & blue highlights on the chapter ring (at 1, 4, 7 & 10) are a touch of class & subtly break up all the black. The lume is blue on the hour markers & green on the hands - bit of a shame that as it'd look better if they were the same as each other. The "60" on the bezel is also blue lumed which is a nice touch & makes a change from the usual triangle & luminous pip. The lume seems very bright - not surprising as it's been under an anglepoise for the last few hours - but I've no idea how long lasting it is yet.

There's a normal divers version (exactly the same less the extra hand &, presumably, the movement is different) or this the GMT version. The GMT hand travels round the dial once every 24 hours & can't be adjusted - if you want to keep track of a second time zone then you have to adjust the hour hand.

As is the trend these days this is a big watch - the case measures 50mm across (outer edge to outer edge across the 9 - 3 position), while the crystal measures 33mm across, lug width is a rather inconvenient 23mm but the fitted rubber strap is superb & tapers to 20mm at the nicest buckle I've seen for ages. Forget pre-v buckles this one's nothing like as bulky & looks much nicer in my opinion - it's a bit of a work of art really & I'll try & get a decent picture of it later on. Needless to say I've already tried to fit a 24mm Rhino but there isn't enough space between the case & springbars for one of those. They are quite thick straps though & I think a 24mm Nato would fit but I don't have one to try - Minkle's fitted a 22mm Nato to his & it looks good overall though I think it looks better on the original strap.

So there you have it - not sure what else to say about it other than it's a beautiful, well made watch. The divers versions are available online for Â£140ish (something of a bargain methinks) while I paid slightly over Â£200 for this GMT version. I dare say with a bit of searching this price could probably be beaten, it seems to be a bit cheaper in the States but then you've got to factor in shipping costs & possible customs duties so I went to a UK site. I actually found (& ordered) the GMT version for Â£143 (an absolute steal) only to be told by the company that they didn't have any in stock (why is it on the site then?) & that it's been discontinued by Citizen.

Opinions welcome as always & apologies for the photos - more when I've got better light (& a better camera) to play with


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## vinbo (Mar 9, 2011)

I love it.

Been eyeing one up for months now but never seemed to pull the trigger!?

I used to have the none GMT version and loved it. Wore well for the size with a cool lume


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## taffyman (Apr 26, 2011)

very nice , to be honest i havnt seen one before ...njoy

taffyman


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## tall_tim (Jul 29, 2009)

That's the one I'm after, and have been having some discussions about with another member. A local dive shop up here has the standard and gmt versions for Â£185 and Â£230. I know where to get the standard cheaper but not found the gmt any better than that yet?

Enjoy it!


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## minkle (Mar 17, 2008)

Nice one Paul!

Superb service considering you ordered it late yesterday!

This watch is full of nice details which i think Paul has covered, the buckle is great isnt it..

I've since seen a PVD version of the chronograph with an orange strap and orange rather than blue details.. :drool:

Sorry guys, i did forget to mention i suspected it had 23mm lugs..


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## antonbhoy (Jun 24, 2010)

That is alot of watch for the money. I might reconsider saving up for a Deep Blue, if these are still going about. Is the glass flat or slightly domed ?


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

antonbhoy said:


> That is alot of watch for the money. I might reconsider saving up for a Deep Blue, if these are still going about. Is the glass flat or slightly domed ?


The glass is domed - I'll try & get a photo of it at some point.

Interestingly I've checked with pictures of the watch online, & with Minkle's photos, & the blue markers (on the chapter ring) on those watches are at 12, 3, 6 & 9 ...... unlike mine where they are at 1, 4, 7 & 10 ..... which must mean either a manufacturing fault or that the watch has been opened at some point (for repair work??). Not sure what I think about this - it's not a big thing I know but it is annoying all the same. The watch is immaculate with no signs indicating that it's been opened so I'm inclined to think that it's a fault that's happened at the manufacturing stage. Obviously it doesn't affect the operation of the watch in any way, it just looks a bit odd :blink:

Another thing to note is that while it's obviously a big watch at around 50mm across it doesn't weigh much (130g according to the scales at work) & is extremely comfortable to wear. I have a 6 3/4 inch wrist & it doesn't overpower it, or look too big, at all


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## bowie (Mar 12, 2005)

Great looking watch.

bowie


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

Taken some more photos of the watch - including a couple of the buckle


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## kes (Jan 10, 2011)

first citizen i really like - great looking watch


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## vek (Oct 27, 2011)

Ive got the same watch ,its stunning to look at.mine is deffo a keeper


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## shoestring (Jan 14, 2012)

Nice looking watch at a good price


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## minkle (Mar 17, 2008)

Paul, good spot on the chapter ring, i didnt see it. That would drive me mental and i'd be sending it to Citizen UK under warranty, they seem pretty good too.


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

Just thought I'd give an update on the watch:

I finally decided that after paying over Â£200 on a brand new watch - I know it's not that much money these days but it's still quite a lot of money for me - that it should be in perfect condition & the incorrectly positioned chapter ring was really starting to bug me  So I contacted the retailer & they said to send it back (at their expense) so they could inspect it.They've received it & have agreed that it's faulty but they don't, unfortunately, have a replacement in stock (it's been discontinued by Citizen apparently) - the other option was to get it repaired at Citizen but I've asked for a refund instead. This was probably the entirely wrong option but it's the one I've gone for anyway 

I should make it clear that I have absolutely no reason to be anything other than extremely pleased with the retailer. They've answered my email enquiries quickly & courteously & even sent me a pre-paid envelope so that I could send the watch back (next day delivery) at their expense. In fact they've been fantastic really & I'd happily shop with them again :thumbsup:

On the bright side it looks like I'll have the money to spend on something else - I may well buy a cheaper watch & put the rest towards a swanky meal for me & the missus on St. Valentines day (or possibly towards some parts for my SS1)


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## minkle (Mar 17, 2008)

Sorry to hear this.. should have sent it to Citizen under warranty.

Go for the meal and enjoy!


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## MerlinShepherd (Sep 18, 2011)

You did the right thing sending it back. Hopefully you'll find a second hand one for a really good deal!


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

As you may have read from the above thread I had to send the watch back due to an incorrectly positioned chapter ring  However I thought it such a good watch that I kept on looking for another & finally found another online; so here's a bit of thread resurrection & some more photos of a fantastic watch  














































Many thanks for looking (again) :thumbup:


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## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

Slow day at work so been playing with the camera & have also tried the watch on a 24mm Nato - works well & I prefer it to the rubber strap (though the fantastic buckle can't be swapped over unfortunately).

Anyway - here are a couple of pics which I'm reasonably happy with


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## minkle (Mar 17, 2008)

Nice one Paul! Must get a nato for mine too.. i trimmed a bit lot off the end of my rubber, still ok..just :lol:


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