I've always loved watches, and one of the most beautiful complications on a watch is a moon phase. Since this isn't really a necessary function for most citizens today, the beautiful moon phase watches were only available in prestigious hand made complicated Swiss watches. I.W.C. offers a stunning complicated Moon Phase watch, the Da Vinci Tourbillion for just under $60,000.00. They even make a cheap moon phase for only $20,000. The German Company A. Lange & Sohne offers its Lange One Moon phase for a mere $23,000 (or $30,000 if you'd like it in platinum) and Patek Philipe offers Moon phase watches from $20,000 to well over $40,000. For the slightly more esoteric, Paul Picot offers its Atelier Chronograph Rappopante with moon phase complication for $80,000.00 and Vacheron Constantin offers a perpetual calendar with the moon phase complication for $62,000.00.

(quick note - a complication in the watch world is simply a term used to describe any particular function of a watch, such as a chronograph, calendar, or moon phase, the more functions, the more 'complicated' a watch is said to be)

So, unless you are very rich, an attractive watch featuring a moon phase complication was something you'd have to do without, until now. Citizen, although certainly not a luxury brand, makes very attractive and very functional watches for citizens who cannot afford to pay the price of a new car for their watch.

When I first saw the watch, I knew that this was a moon phase I would be pleased to wear. It is not an automatic watch as all the high priced esoteric time pieces above, but it doesn't need a battery, nor is it quartz. The Moon Phases offered by Citizen all feature the Citizen Ecodrive.

EcoDrive Ecodrive is a feature of many Citizen watches and it is basically a solar powered battery that is the face of the watch. To look at the watch face, you would never know, the Ecodrive faces are all quite attractive. Yet, it powers all the functions of the watch with sunlight or even office light. Just don't place the watch in a dark place for too long. Because the Ecodrive is in essence a solar battery, the minute hand moves a second at a time like a quartz watch, rather than continuously like an automatic watch.

Features of This Model First of course is the beautiful moon phase featured just to the right of the 6:00 position. It is a round circle with the covered half in blue with gold stars showing the big dipper. (the photo featured for this product should give you a good idea of the appearance, but it does look better in person). The Moon phase shows through the cut out window, so you will know when its a quarter moon, half moon or full moon. The watch also features a full array of calendar functions with the day of the week in another round dial at the 10:00 position. A small black hand points to the day of the week, all of which are listed in abbreviated form outside the dial. The months are featured on the third dial just at the 4:00 position, with every other month abbreviated and a small black dot for those not shown around the outer edge. The date of the month is shown on the edge of the watch face, with the dates around the dial in fine black Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3). A wavy gold hand with a black sunburst points to the date. Of course the time is shown by two gold hands with luminescent centers so you can see the time in the dark. None of the outer markers are luminescent. The numbers for the times are all beautifully displayed in Roman numerals (I, II,III) in gold, except where obscured by the function dials.

Setup You have to fiddle a bit with the two function buttons on the edge to get all the functions set, that is my only complaint here. You need a small pin or end of a paper clip to push one of the buttons in to set functions.

Clasp The clasp on this watch is a snap to use, it features two buttons on each edge of the clasp. You just squeeze the two buttons, and the watch band opens. Just click it shut, to put the watch back on. Thus far, I have had no problems with it coming open on its own.

Water Resistance The watch is rated for 100 feet, which realistically means that you can get the watch wet in the shower or the rain, but it's not advisable to go swimming and certainly not scuba diving with this watch.

Price / Value Don't be afraid of the list price, if you look around, you will find this watch significantly cheaper than the list price. As to value, since I found it as attractive as the watches above, I'd say its an outstanding value.

Looks Although Citizen's moon phases are offered in a few varieties, I found this one the most attractive. This same face is also offered with blue dials and black numerals and it is all in stainless steel. As you can see from the photo for this watch, this model is two tone with gold colored features on the watch, a gold ring around the bezel, and gold links interwoven into the stainless steel band. The band features several small links. The other moon phases Citizen recently came out with features larger links in the band, and dash markers for the hours, and the moon phase doesn't feature the stars on the dial.

Cache This is one attractive, expensive looking watch. I really do find it to be as beautiful as watches literally costing tens of thousands more. Citizen's machine made watches and use of the Ecodrive makes this watch far more accessible than hand made complicated automatic watches with the moon phase complication. I absolutely love the way it looks.

When to Wear This is a dress watch, I wouldn't wear it for every day use. I do wear it to work, this watch looks very nice with a suit. I would choose another watch for the gym or outdoor fun (like Breitling) and I wouldn't wear this diving (I'd go with my Omega Seamaster for that). Citizen has really given us a very elegant dressy watch that anyone can afford.

If you enjoyed this watch review, please take a few moments to read some of my other watch reviews below:

Citizen 8700 Ecodrive a stylish every day watch
Breitling Chrono Colt A rugged jet fighter pilot watch
Omega Seamaster A serious rugged scubadiving watch, fancy enough for James Bond.
Nike Oregon a fun cool looking watch for hanging out.

(if I ever find my other dress watches on the site, I will review them)

Trivia - What is one of the last reasons people buy a watch for?

Answer: To tell the time.

Recommended: Yes