Citizen Eco-Drive Corso Quartz Mens Watch, Stainless Steel, Classic, Silver-Tone (Model: BM7100-59E)

As my title suggests, I have now owned this watch (purchased here on Amazon) for about three years. I thought I would give my opinions on this delightful and affordable offering from Citizen having gotten to know it and its capabilities.Pros:- As many purchasers have suggested, this wach keeps excellent time as most quartz watches do. I have not truly timed it, but generally speaking it seems to lose or gain between 5-10 seconds a month, which is absolutely fantastic. You are probably adjusting the time on this guy once every 4 to 6 months if you are picky.- I love the size. With a case size of 40ish mm, it's a pretty universal size for men, assuming you don't have tree trunks for wrists. It's nice and slim at 10 mm thick, meaning you aren't wearing a hockey puck on your arm. It can slide nicely under a dress shirt shirt or suit. With a band with of 22mm, there are no shortage of outstanding band options. Dress it how you see fit. Which leads to my next point...- This watch is so versatile! You want to rock it as a dress watch, have at it. Sports watch? Check! Casual watch? You betcha. Now, it is obviously not a diver, but I would say this watch effectively serves as a dress/sports/casual watch, and does all three well.- Overall simplicity and convenience. That's what I love about this offering from Citizen. It has the acclaimed Eco-Drive, so forget about worrying about a battery. Just charge this bad boy up for a handful of hours, and it's fully powered. This watch has very little features, and I love that. It has two jobs; tell you the date and time. It comes with a Saphhire crystal so forget about scratches. I have dinged this thing around, traveled, swimmed, camped, hiked, etc. The crystal is perfect. It has a few scrateches around the bezel, but that just adds character to the watch, knowing it has been there for you during any circumstance or situation. With 100 meters water resistance, you can get this guy wet and not worry about it. Swimmng is okay, but this is not meant for diving.Cons - There is so little to complain about here. Two nitpicks. 1. The date can be a little difficult to read for aging eyes. I can read it just fine. It's not that the font is small, but it is recessed into the dial and not flat, so it makes the font appear smaller than it really is. 2. The lume looks nice when charged, but it doesn't last long. If they could add some Seiko quality lume, that would be outstanding. I do love the beautiful turquoise blue that citizen uses.Final Conclusions: I really like this watch a lot. This really could be a one watch collection (but what's the fun in that). Assuming you are not a diver, this watch is a great every day companion ready to tell you the date and time. No fancy complications, no extras. It is just a simple, well made watch. I wish more companies did this these days. Not everybody wants an instruction manual with their watch. Citizen just keeps proving that you don't have to dish out a lot of money to get a nice, quality time piece. This little guy ranges between $120-$180 dollars, and I truly think it is worth every dollar. I own far more expensive pieces, and I still enjoy wearing this. This watch is a prime example why I think Citizen is one of the best manufacturers in the business. Always affordable. Always dependable. Always quality.

First of all, let's face it, the technology is where it should be--a watch that is powered by light, never (really, never? I'm not sure I believe that -- but I guess we'll have to wait forever to find out), never needs a battery change, probably will never need servicing of any kind. Compare that to the average quartz battery watch that you have to replace the battery every three to five years or so, or compare it to the automatic that, if it's worth keeping, needs an expensive servicing every five years or so. Exposing the watch to light, any source of light, charges the battery and keeps it running and the power reserve is incredible, according to the Citizen user guide: "fully charged it will run for a minimum of six months without further charging." Perfect.It's a great looking watch, there is no doubt about it. It is dressy enough to wear with a suit, yet bold and masculine enough to go with jeans and sportswear. I especially like the dial with the accentuated silvery markers and over-sized silver hands that contrast beautifully with the black dial. The luminance is extraordinary, a beautiful shade of cyan or blue, it glows brightly even in the dim light of dusk or dawn.As for the case, it is a nice combination of brushed and polished stainless steel and a very noticeable size at 41mm, not counting the crown. I like the crown guard that will keep the crown from snagging on shirt cuffs and such. It is rated at a 100M for water resistance, and that is more than adequate for the occasional splashing it might get. A sapphire crystal tops it off and I think that's a real plus although you would expect it on a watch that costs over $200. So there's no doubt that the case and crystal, if necessary, will stand up to many year's abuse and hard use, toil and sweat, and still look good.The bracelet, being solid-link stainless steel with a push-button deployment clasp is also what you would expect on a more expensive watch; it has solid end-links as well. It was a little difficult to fit my wrist until I discovered that the half-links are not really "half" links. A full link measures about 9mm whilst the half-links measure about 6mm, so you really have a lot of variance. For example, once I got the size close, it was still too tight; taking out one full link (9mm) was not enough, taking out a full and a half (15mm) was too much, but taking out the two half-links (12mm) got it right. Kudos to Citizen's engineering department for solving the problem.As for the Eco movement, I haven't had it long enough to know how it will hold up or how accurate it is, but after 48 hours the watch is still dead-on, accurate to the second. One thing I think is a sign of a quality quartz movement is when the second hand ticks right on the second markers, every time, all the way around the dial. This one does just that.And finally, another aspect of Citizen's quality is the fact that the watch came to me charged up, with the winding stem pulled out and the watch stopped; as soon as I set the time and pushed the crown in it started and hasn't stopped since. I left it under a light all night to get it on its way to being fully charged. Once charged it won't take much to keep it that way, according to the user guide, although I will leave it out of my closed watch box when not wearing it -- whenever that will be, which I am sure will not be too often.The overall quality and workmanship of this Citizen Eco is exceptional and comparable to many watches that cost 2-3 times as much, or more, and this is coming from someone who owns Omega, Rolex, Hamilton and other fine Swiss watches, quartz and auto. It is my first Citizen and I am quite sure it won't be my last. If you are looking for a beautiful watch that is accurate, durable, and relatively inexpensive, you cannot go wrong with this Citizen ECO.

Firstly, I want to mention that I have owned several automatic and quartz watches in the past few years, this is not my first watch nor watch review.What drew me to this watch was the design, especially the hands of the watch, which are reminiscent of the ones found on an earlier versions of the Omega SP.. The fact that it comes with a sapphire crystal and eco drive technology just made it a even a better deal, considering the price. As with every watch, the pictures don't do it justice. The quality can be felt once it's in your hands.The case and band: The watch has 41mm case, which is the ideal size for today's standards for a men's watch. It's also quite thin at 10mm which I definitely like as it slides easily under a shirt cuff. These dimensions and the curved case that hugs your wrist, contribute to a very comfortable fit and wear. The case is made of brushed steel, except for the bezel which is polished. Also polished are the center links on the bracelet and the caseback. The band links appear to be solid, however the end links, although they have solid end links design, I'm under the impression that they might be hollow inside, as they are extremely light when you remove it and hold it in hand (I might be wrong on this one but that's my observation from comparing the end links with the solid band links).The clasp is generic stamped steel, I would've linked to see better machined clasp to compliment the rest of the quality of the watch. The band has more than average rattle, mostly likely because of the multiple links on it.The dial: The dial is comprised of three different sections; the center section has a pattern that under certain light conditions reflects reddish/brownish color. The next layer is a glossy very dark, almost black finish, where all the hour markers are placed on; and the last is the outer circle with the minute markers, which is black. I would have preferred to have the whole dial be of the same pattern on simple black glossy finish. The date window is really small and the date wheel is pushed in, making it hard to tell the date at a glance. I would have preferred a black date wheel with white numerals, and also it should be about 50% larger. The date window is not framed with silver, just with white printed border. Also I would've liked to have applied Citizen logo on top and not just printed. Also, the 12 o'clock hour marker is the same as all other hour indices and not double as most watches have.The crown is a decent size and the crown guards are a welcome addition.Crystal: The crystal. although stated as non-reflective sapphire, I'll have to say that there is non AR (anti-reflective) coating on it, and the glass is highly reflective under light. AR coating would've improved the legibility of the dial, but you can't have it all at this price point.The movement: This is a battery operated quartz watch. Eco is just the patented term Citizen uses for solar powered; the battery charges from a light source. If this is your everyday watch, it will always get enough light to keep it running virtually forever. Being a quartz, it lacks the satisfaction you gain from wearing a mechanical/automatic watch, where there are hundreds of small parts working together to make the watch "tick", and also that smooth, sweep second hand that is wonderful to look at, especially on the higher end Swiss timepieces.The hands are illuminated, as are the hour markers but not with as much lume as on the hands. The hands seem to be visible throughout the night.Overall, this is a fairly decent watch, with good build quality, with only a few drawbacks, mainly the date window. Having said that, I wouldn't pay more than $200 for it. If you can get it on sale for about $150, it's a great deal. If you are looking for an accurate "grab and go" everyday watch with a great design, look no further.Update Nov 21, 2017I initially sold the watch to get Seiko automatic, but after seeing this go on a flash sale, had to get it again. I appreciate it even more this second time around. The fit and finish is second to none. Sits extremely comfortable and low on the wrist. The half links provided allow for an exact adjustment to fit any wrist size. The seconds hand hits the minute markers spot on. After wearing 38mm watch, this 41mm feels much more masculine and has a great wrist presence with just the right amount of bling on the case and bracelet. Timeless design, coupled with the eco-drive technology should make it last for a long time.The watch comes with unmatched five years warranty, but as the included paperwork indicates, if you register it online, you get an additional one year warranty for a total of six years! Outstanding! Seiko provides only 1 year warranty, anything goes bad mechanically after that, you end up with a minimum of $100 bill to cover for repairs.Excellent watch in every regard, buy it, you'll love it!Changing my 4 star rating to 5.

It is a beautiful and precise watch. The Eco-Drive system is amazing, we can save some money because it does not require frequent battery replacement.

The Citizen Corso was the first watch I ever purchased, after conducting much research online. I'm surprised it's not more popular than it is—I have seen it selling for under $200 on Amazon.ca, and it is fantastic value.The Corso is an extremely versatile sports watch. The dial is a nice black with multiple levels (a "parquet" texture in the centre with plain black around the indices). The indices are applied and striped with blue lume, as are the sword-style hands, although the lume is relatively weak. The case is a classic shape, with a screwdown caseback and 100M of water resistance, so you can swim with it no problem. Even the H-link bracelet is well-made, with solid links and endlinks. Additionally, the scratch-resistant sapphire crystal is an excellent addition at this price point. Not to mention, the Eco-Drive solar technology makes the watch worry-free and prevents you from having to open the case to change the battery.My gripes with the watch are limited. The biggest issue would be the date window—it is very small and is sunken well below the dial, making it difficult to read in dim light (the dial actually casts shadows on the date window). The stamped clasp on the bracelet feels a little cheap, but I guess that is to be expected at this price point. I am also not sure why Citizen felt the need to write "SAPPHIRE" on the dial. Sapphire crystals are standard on nicer watches; printing it on the Corso dial cheapens the watch by advertising sapphire as a central selling-feature. Finally, although the 41 mm size is probably normal these days, I think a size of 39-40 mm would have looked more proportional (similar to a Rolex Explorer).Overall, this is an amazing watch for the price and serves well for an everyday piece in both casual and formal settings. Throw it on a leather strap when you're wearing a suit and you'll look like a champ! Can easily serve as your only watch.

I like this as my everyday watchPros :It's a nice all around watch, very neutral, goes with everything and it's not too flashy. The band looks nice but......Cons: the band is loud, and it's not the greatest citizen band I've worn. There's no band adjustments at the clasps. I'm stuck between taking another link off (too tight) or keeping it as is ( feels little too loose). The date window is a little small. The hands aren't as luminous as other citizen watches I own.

Easy to read, illumination at night is decent. The diameter of the face is a little larger than my others but still fits okay. I’ve had a black Citizen Eco Drive for over 7 years and it has performed flawlessly. I love never having to change batteries.