Citizen Eco-Drive Calendrier with moon phase.

I’ve seen more technical watches with perpetual calendars and radio control, and I have one, but I like this model.

I mainly wear a watch as a basic tool for telling time, without having to look at my phone. These watches don’t collect any data about me and they don’t send any signals. They don’t need updates, and don’t fail after 4 years. A watch like this doesn’t buzz or beep at me every time anything on the internet happens. I value privacy and peace of mind, as well as reliability. These eco drive watches can tick away for over 30 years, without any maintenance. I actually prefer quartz watches over automatics since I don’t have to fuss with this thing like I have to with an automatic watch. They’re more accurate. All analogue watches are useless in the dark, so I wear a cheap digital Casio to bed and around the house that has an amber colored backlight that is pleasant to view in pitch black – when I have my normal night wakeups. This means my analog watch just sits for days if I’m not going out, and a mechanical watch would die or need to be kept on the winder.

Most analogue watches that use batteries can get a year or two out of them. A battery change at a shop can run $15 or $20, so per watch, that can add up over time, especially as the collection grows. Imagine having 20 watches that need annual changes? That’s maybe $400 per year. You may not even wear a watch once a year if you own 20 of them… and a person can buy 2-3 more watches for that. With Eco drive you don’t have to do that, but in addition to the cost savings, you’re not throwing 20 dead batteries into the landfill every year.

On my new watch, I think the moon phase is cool, IDK why but a few years ago I noticed the moon and was like wow I guess it does just its own thing? I had never noticed, but over 28.5 days it goes through it’s lunar cycle. I like to keep track of the moon, I’m not sure why. I guess because most people don’t. I mean knowing how much light to expect at night is useful for navigating, conducting night raids, etc.

I don’t have anything against expensive watches, but I just don’t have need of one.

When I think about watches that I’m interested in, it’s something like this Seiko Lord Quartz. the dial is damaged, in fact, this watch doesn’t even work. It’s so old, that the lubricant has dried up and it no longer ticks. This watch is junk, probably worth about $25, but how did the dial become so damaged? Maybe it got wet, maybe it sat in the sun for a long period of time, I really don’t know, but I am interested in it because of the stories I can make up about it in my mind. The only way to get a watch to look like this is with time.

I also like this old Bulova Automatic. It’s a Sea King model. I simply enjoy the little whale.

One reason I enjoy buying Citizen’s eco drive models is that they’re easy to validate, the technology is complex and difficult to counterfeit. Additionally the date window cut out is thicker because the solar panel adds thickness so I can verify them usually just by looking at a photo. They also always work. I’ve not purchased a single eco-drive watch that didn’t just need a few minutes under a bright light to start ticking again.

Counterfeit watches can easily slip in if you don’t know what you’re looking for, and for expensive watches you can blow an entire year’s profits on one bad deal. If you also do not catch it, you can damage your reputation, this is especially important in the high end watch game, but for me, Citizen’s are affordable and move quickly if you can pick them up for the right price.

Typically I’ve been making $30-$50 a watch, which is chump change, but it allows me to refresh my collection often, and also to occasionally find a watch with more meat on the bone.

I just sold a watch I paid $96 for to someone else for $275. I sold it the same day I listed it. I was actually quite sad about it, as I love that watch, it’s a higher end movement in that model, it I am sure it isn’t the last time I’ll part with one I was fond of.