Citizen watches have long held their place as one of the premier watchmakers. Cornering the market in well made yet affordable watches, the Japanese based company has been trading in timepieces for over a hundred years.
Built on the foundations of innovation, including their famous Eco-Drive technology, Citizen has created a range of male and female watches that are as varied and diverse as any collection you’ll see being sold today.
The style and range of men’s citizen watches are vast. They include dress watches for formal occasions, classic designs, limited edition pieces, watches for sporting occasions, and many more variations in between.
The following reviews will break down this huge collection and range into the very best of Citizen watches for men, making your decision as a consumer a much easier one.
Best Men's Citizen Watches
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Best Overall
1Citizen Eco-Drive Promaster Diver Men's Watch
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| 2
Best For Low Budgets
2Citizen Eco-Drive Chandler Field Men's Watch
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Best For Higher Budgets
5Citizen Eco-Drive Blue Angels Men's Watch
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1. Citizen Eco-Drive Promaster Diver Men's Watch
This watch features Citizen’s proprietary Eco-Drive technology, which harnesses the power of light from any natural or artificial light source and converts it into energy. This energy is stored in a permanently rechargeable power cell, which means your watch will never need its battery replaced as it uses renewable energy to keep it running forever.
That function is a bonus in a dive watch, because the case will never be opened, helping your watch to maintain its factory seal and water resistance.
It’s water resistant to 200 meters or 660 feet, and it’s suitable to wear in the shower, in professional marine activities like swimming and snorkeling, for surface water sports, and for scuba diving.
The mineral crystal window is anti-reflective, protecting the date indicator and luminous hands while providing a crisp time display that’s easy to read. It has a three-hand display (hour, minute and second) with quartz movement and a date indicator over the 4 o’clock position.
Comes with the renowned Citizen name, a pioneer in watchmaking and innovative technology for decades.
Specifications
Pros
- The Eco-Drive technology means there’s no need to ever change batteries or wind the watch.
- Citizen is renowned for making quality watches.
- Anti-reflective window makes it easy to read.
Cons
- Visibility of the watch face and hands may not be great at deeper dive depths.
2. Citizen Eco-Drive Chandler Field Men's Watch
- Light powered Eco-Drive.
- Water-resistant to 100m.
- Luminous watch hands for easier use in the dark.
- Compact 37mm case.
Citizen Chandler is one of the most popular watches in the Citizen range. Its practical and militaristic design makes the Chandler great for sporting activities in particular, but it is versatile in any scenario.
Featuring a black dial with combined date and day display on a 37.2 mm case, Chandler’s simplicity is its best quality.
Boasting Citizen’s trademark Eco-Drive technology, which is powered by the sun, there is no need to worry about having to replace the battery. The military look and style of the watch is completed with a 100m water resistance and a khaki color scheme.
The Chandler is one of the few watches that look better with wear, and at the lower end of the Citizen price scale, it is one of the more affordable options.
Specifications
Pros
- 5-year warranty.
- Great affordability for a watch of this style and type.
- Date and day combination display.
- Utilitarian design.
Cons
- The nylon band can stay wet.
3. Citizen Eco-Drive Avion Men's Watch
This is a beautiful, vintage Citizen watch with Eco-Drive technology (charges from light sources) and a Japanese quartz movement. The face is clean, with large numbers and a complication for the date in the 3 o’clock position.
The background of the analog dial is a dark-grey, which highlights the colors used to mark the 12h and 24h formats displayed around the main inner circle. The outer circle is perfect for keeping track of minutes (with an easy to follow second-hand).
Lastly, the face of the watch is quite large and the numbers and hands are luminous in low-light conditions. The entire mechanism is protected by a stainless steel case and mineral crystal lens. Also, the watch stays comfortable on your wrist due to the brown leather strap with adjustable buckle closure.
Specifications
Pros
- A vintage design that attracts everyone’s eye
- The face is easy to read
- Eco-Drive technology (no need to change the battery)
- Accurate Japanese quartz movement
- It is durable & reliable
Cons
- The face looks too big on small wrists
- The strap is a bit too thick
4. Citizen Eco-DRV AR 2.0 Men's Watch
- Textured dial with blue accents.
- 100m water resistance.
- Comfortable rubber strap.
- Crown guard.
The Citizen Citizen Eco-DRV AR 2.0 is the perfect casual everyday watch, yet can also be used to add the finishing touches to a smart outfit.
Featuring a textured dial with blue accents around the entire face of the watch, the smooth and curvaceous elegance of this watch is aesthetically pleasing on the eye as well as practical in everyday life.
Running on Citizen’s Eco-Drive technology, this model can stay powered for months on end, with just the sunlight as its source of energy.
The plastic band strap adjusts to any sized wrist and gives it a sense of durability and movement that is great for adding even more flexibility to the watch.
Specifications
Pros
- Smooth and elegant design.
- Affordable pricing.
- Lightweight at 12 oz.
- 30 days of light exposure produces 240 days of battery life.
Cons
- The Plastic strap is prone to wear and tear, and may need to be replaced often.
5. Citizen Eco-Drive Blue Angels Men's Watch
- Water-resistant to 600 ft.
- Synchronized to atomic time clock for superior accuracy.
- Eco-Drive technology.
- 1/20 second chronograph measures up to 60 minutes.
The Citizen Eco-Drive Blue Angels watch was crafted with the Blue Angels flight demonstration squadron in mind. As such, the careful crafting of this piece brings to mind the delicate instruments of an airplane cockpit.
Inspired by travel, the Blue Angels watch can change its display to preprogrammed time zones by rotating the dial to select your new time zone. Push it back in, and the hands move automatically.
Alongside this, there is also a perpetual calendar that displays both the day, week, month, and year without any change. This also takes leap years into account.
Aesthetically, this model mimics the Blue Angels colors of blue, and yellow. Married with stainless steel and a sapphire crystal glass, this gives the watch a dress feel as well as a practical one.
Specifications
Pros
- Equipped with a perpetual calendar.
- Sapphire crystal window material for extra durability.
- Day, month, and week display.
- Glow in the dark numerals.
Cons
- Watch face can appear overly busy.
6. Citizen Eco-Drive Nighthawk Men's Watch
If you’re looking for an advanced timepiece with a reliable movement and accurate timekeeping features, this Nighthawk model may be the right choice.
The large face features a modern take on the classic pilot-style design with a Pilot’s Slide Rule bezel that’s controlled via the crown at 8 o’clock position. If you combine this with the overall industrial design and the mechanical-looking bracelet, you get a beautiful timepiece that looks more like a pilot’s equipment and less like a modern watch. It’s one of the reasons why so many people enjoy having this model in their collection – the design is quite unique.
The hour markers are luminous and large enough to read at first glance. The hour and minute hands are also lumed. There’s also a date complication (by the 3 o’clock position) and a GMT hand that lets you read the time in AM and PM for a second Time Zone (the white plane tip reads the time in AM and the red plane tip is for the time in the evening).
Overall, this Nighthawk model is amazing for anyone passionate about aviation or someone who can appreciate the purpose and functions of the bezel.
Specifications
Pros
- Beautiful, mechanic design
- Impressive features, with an aviation theme
- Reliable four-hand movement
- Second Time Zone feature
- Easy to set and comfortable to wear
Cons
- Not many people understand the bezel’s purpose
- The date window is a bit small
7. Citizen Eco-Drive Axiom Men's Watch
- The watch is water-resistant to 22 feet.
- The minimalist watch face is unique in its style.
- Date window at three o’clock for easy reading.
- Eco-Drive technology.
The Citizen Eco-Drive Axiom is the perfect example of modern watch design weaved seamlessly with traditional Citizen craftsmanship and technology.
The minimalist and numberless watch face creates the ideal fashion statement without losing any of the functionality that we now come to expect from a Citizen watch.
Although the watch comes with modern aesthetics, the traditional Echo-Drive technology that Citizen is famous for shines through. With a full solar charge, this Axiom will run for over six months in total darkness.
Complementing the black minimalist watch face is a well crafted calves-skin leather strap. The comfort and adjustability of this band are unlike any other watch strap in the Citizen range.
The black, ion-plated stainless steel and mineral dial window will keep this watch in great condition for many years to come, and with such versatility with when and where you can wear this watch, you will be sure to want a lifetime’s use.
Specifications
Pros
- Can be worn as a dress watch or as a practical one.
- Complete with ion-plated stainless steel.
- Adjustable leather strap for comfort.
- Extremely lightweight.
Cons
- No numerals on the watch face.
Men's Citizen Watch Buying Guide
Citizen Watch Brand
Founded in 1918 by Japanese and Swiss investors, the Citizen watch brand has been making and trading in watches for over 100 years. Throughout this time, they have forged a reputation as one of the world’s premier watchmakers.
Based out of Tokyo, Citizen watches have far-reaching customers across the globe, from Asia to the west. Drawing on traditional Swiss watchmaking techniques, Citizen has taken these values into the 20th and 21st centuries and pushed the designs and features of modern watchmaking into the modern age.
When you buy a Citizen watch, you are buying into the brand and everything it stands for. Citizen’s major company calling cards include the claim in creating the first light-powered watch, known as Eco-drive – a major feature that adorns all CItizen watches today.
Citizen Watch Quality
Citizen have cornered a section of the watchmaking market that offers both high-quality watches and a sense of affordability. Their long-standing place in the watchmaking world has given them nearly a century to hone their skills in crafting good quality timepieces that don’t always have to break the bank to buy.
Using top-quality materials is how Citizen watches began creating high-quality watches, and drawing on traditional Swiss designs without Swiss craft keeps the price low. Although the prices are more competitive than other brands, there is no less quality.
All this being said, quality in watches is often something very subjective and relative to your own needs and wants. Citizen watches are neither high-end luxury watches or cheap fashion watches, so it would be wrong to compare them with either of these.
Materials
One of the key things that have made Citizen watches popular over the years is their variety and wide range of watch designs. Their use of not just one material has given birth to a back-catalog of watches that use many different materials.
Mens’ Citizen watches use a variety of materials depending on the model and style. Stainless steel is one of the most commonly used materials in the men’s range, giving the watches a look of high quality but also offering protection from continued use.
When it comes to the range of sports-based Citizen watches, materials such as a rubber or a carbon compound are used. This choice of material allows for far better movement and flexibility while wearing the product during vigorous sporting activities.
Citizen watches also use a wide pallet of colored materials in their watch designs, creating items such as an all black citizen watch or an all-white one.
Design & Style
As mentioned above, Citizen watches cover a vast array of designs and styles, from the more formal and stylish Citizen dress watch to the more casual everyday watch range, and everything in between.
The one design feature that links all Citizen watches together is the same feature that gave it its original fame and notoriety; the Eco-Drive. The design of the Eco-Drive feature was groundbreaking technology that allowed watches to be powered by solar light, eliminating the disposal of ten million batteries in North America alone.
Alongside the trademark Eco-Drive, each watch face is decorated with the Citizen brand name clearly on the watch face, this tradition shows the quality of the make but also gives it its stand-out look.
The overall look design and style of a Citizen watch is not one you can uniformly pin down. The vast array of different designs and styles is why people come back to buy from Citizen time and time again.
Citizen Watch Value
The majority of watch purchases are made for the actual watch itself, but many take up the practice of buying watches for their intrinsic value, seeing it as an investment.
Although many major watch brands can offer themselves up as great investments, Citizen watches corner the market in great value and great quality timepieces. The lack of a high end, eye-wateringly high luxury price means that Citizen watches, like many items, begin to lose their value at the time of purchase.
This isn’t to say that their price tag is not justified, or the quality of the piece is compromised once it is bought. Citizen watches should be purchased for the use it was intended for, no as a financial investment.
Pricing Range
Citizen watches can be seen as a quality watchmaker that isn’t going to leave you out of pocket. The wide range of prices means that customers have a lot of choice when it comes to how much they want to spend on a good quality watch.
Cheap citizen watches, on average, hover around the $130-$200 mark. Although not rock-bottom prices, the fact these are on the ‘cheaper end’ of the spectrum illustrates the quality of the brand.
The most expensive citizen watches tip the scale at around $700-$800. The top of the range watches is complete with all the features you would come to expect from a Citizen watch. Alongside these are the added qualities of black ion-plated stainless steel, anti-reflective sapphire crystal, or the fact you are purchasing a limited edition piece.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Citizen watches are seen as some of the best watches on the market. Although they do not market themselves as a luxury brand or even appear to be the most expensive, the fact they have over 100 years’ experience in crafting and selling watches is a testament to the quality of the company and brand.
Citizen watches also have the proud and rightful title of being an innovator in the world of wristwatch technology. Their Eco-Drive concept, one that powers watches from light, changed the face of wristwatches and continues to be at the forefront of their watch range today.
Citizen watches are made by the Citizen Watch Co. Ltd, which is currently based in Tokyo, Japan. Like most Japanese companies, all components of the watch are made in house by the Japanese company and are based on both traditional Swiss mechanisms and more modern innovations.
Our Verdict
When it comes to Citizen watches, there is an endless stream of designs, styles, and materials. This variation and diversity offers watch lovers an almost endless choice of watch, whatever the occasion.
The single link between all these watches is Citizen’s famous Eco-Drive technology and owning a watch whose battery will never need replacing again is a hard opportunity to let pass by.
Citizen not only offers tremendous diversity and ground-breaking technology, but they also provide quality watches without the huge price tag. From the lower end of the spectrum right up to the highest, Citizen can provide functionality with a hint of luxury.
Those seeking both dress watches and practical timepieces should look no further than Citizen’s excellent range of men’s watches and with over one hundred years of watchmaking experience, you can not go wrong.
