The Citizen Sapphire Eco-Drive Watch Review: Geek Cred in a Not So “Dumb Watch”

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It’s easy to forget that with so many smartwatches available, there are still plenty of people who simply want to wear a watch that looks good and tells the time. But finding that watch doesn’t mean you need to give up your geeky edge; the Citizen Eco-Drive Watch line manages to roll true greek-credibility into a beautiful not so “dumb-watch”.

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Citizen recently offered me my choice of several Eco-Drive watch styles to review. I chose from the Sapphire line; they offer a 44mm mens watch, and I went with the 28mm ladies version. I have to admit that although I had heard of Eco-Drive watches in the past (Kev owns one of their titanium models), I didn’t know much about them, much less what made them “Eco”. I was about to get an education, though.

My first hint that this wasn’t simply a quartz watch came when I opened the outer box. The flap inside had a diagram briefly explaining that Eco-Drive watches convert “any light into energy.” The energy is then stored in a power cell, and that power cell is enough to keep the watch working for at least 6 months, even if the watch is stored in the dark.

Let’s take a look at the ladies Sapphire Eco-Drive watch, and then we’ll dig more into what being an Eco-Drive watch actually entails.

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About the Author

Judie Lipsett Stanford
Judie is the co-owner and Editor-in-Chief of Gear Diary, which she founded in September 2006. She started in 1999 writing software reviews at the now-defunct smaller.com; from mid-2000 through 2006, she wrote hardware reviews for and co-edited at The Gadgeteer. A recipient of the Sigma Kappa Colby Award for Technology, Judie is best known for her device-agnostic approach, deep-dive reviews, and enjoyment of exploring the latest tech, gadgets, and gear.