Citizen Eco-Drive Titanium Review (BM7170-53L) – The Gorgeous Eco-Drive Watch

Introducing Citizen Eco-Drive Titanium Watch BM7170-53L

From the dawn of time, the concept of time itself has amazed men. Many have thrived to find the perfect way to store or perhaps keep a record of time.
The process of this development was very slow but, after painstaking effort, mankind got it better and better. And one of the improvements in watch making was the usage of titanium.

Citizen was first ever watchmaker to make a solid titanium watch with its Citizen X-8 Chronometer debuting in 1970.

Citizen X-8 Chronometer, the first watch with solid titanium case

From then on, the Japanese brand continues to innovate and it truly glorifies people to stand at the pinnacle of impeccability. And now, here comes the Citizen Eco Drive Titanium BM7170-53L.

The watch has a majestic deep blue dial with honey comb pattern at center is something which truly makes the watch unique. It also features the titanium casing along with the anti-reflective sapphire window ensures durability and lightweight for super comfortable wear.

This is not just a pretty watch, it is strong in its mechanics too. It has Citizen’s famed Eco-Drive movement inside, which ensure no battery change for its whole life.

Those are the quick facts about this Citizen BM7170-53L. Now let’s go in-depth into the review of this beautiful dress watch.

 

Citizen Eco-Drive BM7170-53L Watch Specification

Diameter: 43 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Lug Width: 26mm
Case: Titanium
Strap: Titanium bracelet

Dial: Dark blue dial with honeycomb pattern at center
Watch Crystal: Sapphire crystal
Hands: Dauphine hands with lume
Markers: Index hands with lume

Movement: Citizen Eco-Drive E111 Quartz movement
Movement Features: Solar powered watch, Gain/lose 15 seconds per month
Power Reserve: 180 day power reserve

Water Resistance: 100 m

Best Place To Buy: Amazon for $215, it’s MSRP is $375

Simple and Elegant Watch

The major beauty of a watch lies in its dial face and that is totally true with this Citizen BM7170-53L. The watch face is elegant; citizen has decided to keep it clean and simple with analog type.

The citizen emblem is situated at the regular place underneath which the eco drive is written. The watch face also has a classic calendar date part. The face and dials are very simple, and there is no difficulty for you tell time. It is, in short, an elegant dress watch.

 

 

Gorgeous Deep Blue Dial Face

It has a deep blue dial with a honeycomb pattern at the center which is a very nice detail done by Citizen. One thing to be noted about the dial is it’s mostly dark in places where the light is not very bright.

This is because the dial is a solar panel that needs to absorb light to recharge itself. Thus, the dial appears to be almost black in some instances. This thing is not only special to this watch though – almost all solar powered watches have a near black dial due to this.

But in very bright condition, the dial will appear blue with some hint of sunburst effect – this is what most of the photos of this watch looks like – and it’s totally gorgeous.

Having a silver case for the watch helped to bring out the focus on the dial too. All in all, a beautiful dial with unique honeycomb pattern on it.

 

Under low light condition, the dial can look quite dark but still very stylish

 

Luminous Hands and Markers

One of the good things about this watch is the huge amount of lume (read more about lume/luminous in my article HERE) applied on its over-sized hands and markers. A typical watch does not have much lume on it but this Citizen BM7170-53L is different.

 

But how important is having a lume on our watches?

 

Well, a lot! It sure make the watch appear a bit less elegant but to be able to tell the time in dark is very useful. Besides, the bright blue color of the lume on this watch matches it perfectly and just so beautiful to look at.

The Citizen Eco-Drive Titanium has a bright blue lume, thanks to its huge lume applied area on its hands and markers

 

Titanium Case: Lightweight and Hypoallergenic for Comfort Wear

One of the best watch materials is undoubtedly titanium. The entire casing of Citizen Eco-Drive Titanium watch is, as the name suggests, made of titanium.

The case has a diameter of 43 millimeters and a thickness of 12 millimeters which is a normal sizing for men’s watch nowadays. I’m quite sure that unless your hand is girlishly small, there is no issue on having this watch to fit a man’s wrist.

Being made of titanium, the casing is very light (almost 40% lighter than normal stainless steel as claimed by Citizen) and provides a huge comfort while wearing.

 

Thinking back the first time I wore my watch, it sure feels very heavy as it’s a normal stainless steel. So for those just starting out to wear a watch, titanium is a great choice!

Another great characteristic of titanium is it’s hypoallergenic – meaning it won’t cause reaction to skin. Apparently, some people suffers from allergy reaction to stainless steel and titanium is a good material to be worn by these unfortunate people =)

 

Powered By Solar With Eco-Drive E111

Eco-Drive E111 is the movement that powers this Citizen BM7170-53L titanium watch. I’m sure you guys have at least heard about this Eco-Drive thing by Citizen.

Eco-Drive, as the name suggests is an environmental “eco” friendly watch movement and the fact that it works from light source is truly amazing (hence the “eco” name).

So you must be curious to know how does this work right?

The concept is simple, yet revolutionary – a lithium ion battery inside the watch is continuously charged under the presence of light. Thus, you never need to worry about your battery “dying”. The Eco-Drive E111 is environmentally friendly and truly one of the most innovative movements out there in the market.

You have no worries about winding regularly or replacing the battery with this watch which is an epitome of perfection. Excellence and creativity runs in the very ‘veins’ of this watch.

 

A Quartz Accuracy

And being a quartz, there is no issue with accuracy. The standard gain/loss time of 15 seconds per month is good and most people won’t even notice it. This is unlike automatic watches that even with the most accurate chronometer can has +-6 gain/lose every day.

But of course automatic has some other unique characteristics that quartz don’t have, but that’s not the purpose of this article lol! (read more about automatic vs quartz movements HERE for more information and which one is good for you).

All in all, the movement of this Citizen Eco-Drive BM7170-53L is a good one. I don’t usually like a normal quartz but I do love solar powered watches as it’s cutting edge and very cool.

I mean how cool is it to have a watch that runs by light and does not need its battery changed or manually wind? =)

 

Who Is This Watch For?

Now, you must be wondering is Citizen BM7170-53L for you? In my opinion, the watch falls under the category of casual/sports watch. The deep blue color scheme and the overall design and price makes this choice almost perfect for anyone who likes a durable watch that represents class and is also affordable!

The fact that it uses light source as power, mother Earth lovers would absolutely love this. Due to its Eco-Drive movement, the watch is suitable for people who expects a lot from their watch with little or no maintenance at all – as the battery requires no changing.

Having a titanium case is a huge boost for those that want to wear a watch but don’t like to put a substantial weight on their wrist. And those allergic to steels should benefit from this watch too.

 

Who Should Not Get It?

However, this watch would not be suitable for teenagers or people who are in to extreme “funk”, very extravagantly colorful watches in their type. The design of this Citizen BM7170-53L Titanium is quite restrained to keep its elegance which will not goes well with some people.

Also, if you are diver, this watch is not for you as it, although, does many things but not do diving very well.

Titanium do make for a good diver’s watch because of its lightweight but since there is no screw down crown, I’d be quite worried to wear my beautiful watch inside water.

 

Have a closer look at the watch in this video

 

Pros and Cons

I’ve listed down the pros and cons of the Citizen Eco-Drive Titanium below. Again, these are just my opinions of the watch. So if you don’t agree with any of these, let me know in the comments section and we will have a discussion on it =)

 

Pros:

• Has a great design with deep blue dial and honeycomb pattern
• The titanium casing is lightweight and hypoallergenic
• Eco-drive solar technology ensures the “immortality” of the watch’s battery and therefore no replacement required.
• A good water resistant of up to 100m.
• Simple and elegant design
• Great scratch resistant sapphire crystal

 

Cons:

• The watch case and lugs is specially designed for this bracelet, so no changing of straps can be done for this watch
• No screw down crown

 

Like The Citizen BM7170-53L? Buy It Cheapest On Amazon!

If you like this watch, you can always get it cheapest from Amazon. Amazon currently has a great deal for it at just $215, instead of the MSRP of $375. For a watch with titanium casing, solar powered and sapphire crystal, $215 is definitely a steal! Click the link below to check out this watch on Amazon.

 

-> Click Here To View Citizen Eco-Drive Titanium BM7170-53L on Amazon <-

Final Thoughts

Citizen is a brand which has made its mark in the watch making industry with its innovation and creativity, and sheer engineering skills. The features of this Citizen Eco-Drive titanium watch are remarkable and unrivaled for its price.

 

So what are my final thoughts?

 

Well, this is is one of those watch which is loved by all users, one of the watch which symbolizes elegance without being too “shiny” – so it’s an epitome of perfection but to some limited extent.

It’s also fully packed with features :- solar technology, titanium body and sapphire crystal, all of which make it one of the most good value for money watches out there in the market.

 

*************************

 

Hope you guys enjoy my Citizen Eco-Drive Titanium review. Let me know your opinions or questions regarding this watch.

Drop your comments below and sign up for my weekly update =)

Cheers!

Isaac