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You can get far on a good reputation. For men’s style, nowhere is that more clear than with J. Crew’s marketing & selling of Timex Watches. They look great and many swear by them despite the price, but reasonable alternatives exist for a fraction of the cost. This is part of our week long series on finding field watches that look just as good, and cost a whole lot less. For more, see the archive.
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Citizen Eco-Drive Chronograph – $135.00
Hat tip to DGHayes who left a comment over here and beat me to it. Watches get progressively more expensive for plenty of reasons. Two of which are how they’re powered and whether or not they have a chronograph. Equipped with Citizen’s terrific Eco-Drive, this one is a not tiny 41mm and comes with a chronograph. That and it looks awesome. All for $135 and sold direct through Amazon. Not bad. Band width is a bigger 21mm.
Citizen Eco-Drive Non-Chrono – $87.00
The first watch’s kid brother. Or, since it’s just over 37mm in diameter… kid sister? No matter what gender is wearing it, it’s light, it’s cheap, and it’ll never need a battery thanks to the Eco-Drive. 18mm lugs on this one.
Citizen Eco-Drive Black Dial – $120.00
The tweener with a different look to it. Reminiscent of the Momentum Atlas for sure with the fatter numbers and arrow hand. 40mm in diameter with the larger 21mm band width.
Your turn guys. Which was your favorite from the past week? Got a write in? (Like the ultra-inexpensive Timex Easy reader) Or despite the cost, do the J. Crew watches still win out? Cast your vote below. Top Photo Credit
I’d give the crown to the Weekender Slip-Thru, with the Seiko 5 coming in a close second place. Both watches are, in my opinion, better looking than J.Crew’s rip-offs, and in the case of the Seiko, are of much greater quality. The Seiko 5 would be my overall winner if I was looking for a “real” watch (i.e. a watch I’d expect to last me a decade or two) or if I was in the mood to drop a bill right now. I’ve got textbooks to buy, and I feel it slightly extravagant to have to invest in what is supposed to be a bang-up watch. But then again, my budget is a bit puny right now. I digress.
J. Crew’s 1600 watch remains king of aesthetics in its class but is any immensely unlikable king given its absolutely ludicrous price to workmanship ratio. The Andros never had a throne; it looks silly, its price is silly, and no amount of barrier reef inspiration can save it. But the alternative for it looks good, though I am unsure why someone would substitute canvas for the leather strap? To each his own.
I enjoyed the series a lot, by the way. Lots of good finds, and I look forward to seeing similar series.
Perry
I like the eco-drive chrono followed by the seiko. seiko might have gotten top spot for me if it was a bit bigger.
I loved the design of the Timex Weekender Slip-Thru, with the Seiko 5 coming in as a very close runner-up. As a student of design, I can say comfortably that they both beat out the J. Crew Military and Field watches in terms of design merit. Also, the faces and metal aren’t “strategically distressed” (like J. Crew’s are), making them an easy win.
On the dressier side, I still have not seen an alternative that I prefer to my J. Crew Timex 1600. But, when I go to purchase a casual field watch, I’ll definitely refer back to this series. Excellent picks.
I own the Citizen chrono above and love it; got it a month ago off Amazon for the same price. Glad to see it featured here. For me the pros are:
1) The plain font, easy-to-read numbers. It might just be me, but I find that on other watches that just use hash marks for the hours, or just put numbers at the 12, 3, 6 and 9 positions, for some reason I hate having to do that split second calculation in my head of what hour it is…the point of a watch for me is to quickly tell the time the instant I look at the watch, and for that I like seeing all the numbers right away.
2) The size and weight are perfect. Substantial but not huge or clunky, and not flimsy feeling.
3) Time keeping accuracy. I set this watch to the exact second hand on my iPhone’s cellular network time, and a month and a half later it hasn’t lost or gained a second like many automatics will. And after dropping $30 at the jewelers to change two watch batteries on my older dress watches two weeks ago, I feel like the Eco Drive eventually pays for itself.
4) Very durable. I wore this watch throughout a Caribbean vacation in the ocean, jet skiiing, pool etc. Not a scratch or ding on it and lives up to its 100m water resistance. It’s a great summer casual look you can wear during any activity.
5) I like the olive canvas band with the grommets and the accent of the red chrono second hand. Combines for nice color and detail.
A few cons to be aware of:
1) The chrono minute dial is kind of small with minimal distance between markings. You have to look close to judge how many minutes have elapsed. Not a big deal unless you actually plan to use this primarily as a chrono.
2) The 21mm lugs are a rare measurement. Most straps come in 20mm and 22mm widths. The extra 1mm isn’t a huge deal, and you can see plenty of user photos on Amazon of alternative straps people have put on this watch. Just be sure that if you can’t find the strap you want in exactly 21mm, to go the size lower and pick 20mm or the strap will look bunched up. I picked up a black rubber band in 20mm to give this a dive watch look, and it fits perfect. More important issue is that if you lose one of those 21mm springbars, it could be hard to find a replacement – jeweler might have to order special.
I would note that if you read the Amazon reviews, a lot of buyer claims the strap is too short. I have a 7 inch wrist and wear the watch comfortably on the middle grommet with some breathing room, so I don’t think it’s an issue, for what it’s worth. And you may end up replacing the strap anyway.
The Eco Drive Chrono is pretty sweet for the price. The strap seems a bit cheapy, but swap it for a Bond (Grey/Black striped) NATO strap and its a sweet watch.
My buddy bought it for his little brother. Now the kid wants nothing but more watches / strap combos.
The Eco Drive Chrono is pretty sweet for the price. The strap seems a bit cheapy, but swap it for a Bond (Grey/Black striped) NATO strap and its a sweet watch.
My buddy bought it for his little brother. Now the kid wants nothing but more watches / strap combos.
I got the Chrono about half a year ago and I love it. It works really well as a everyday watch. The band is very comfortable and the inside lining has leather which makes it a bit more comfortable. The only thing that bothers me is the fact that the second hand responsible for timing has shifted over by 7 seconds but I think I will take that in and get it fixed.
Greg,
I believe you can re-align the chrono second hand yourself, directions are in the manual if I recall. Apparently it is not uncommon for the chrono hand to get bounced off center if the watch is bumped or banged against something while the chrono is running. And not just on Citizens but many chrono watches. Should be an easy fix.
Could we PLEASE get a bot about the NATO straps? I dont know where to find them. The AE ones are gone and i look up NATO and on there site it says they all sale in large quantities.
bot?? ooops sorry i meant post
Haha thanks Ray. I actually called the local place that services citizens and they helped me out! Once again my second hand is back at 0. Thanks
I was ready to suggest the Citizen Eco-Drives but it seems you saved them for last, Joe. I’m really digging that Chrono. It’s been on my wishlist for months. Just waiting for a coupon code or sale…
http://www.gnomonwatches.com/Product-view.asp?id=20
http://www.broadarrow.net/maratac.htm
http://www.westcoastime.com/newzulbanare.html
http://www.panatime.com/20dist1.html
Thank you!!
I’ve worn my Citizen Eco-Tech Chrono watch for almost two years and I’m absolutely satisfied. In fact, I purchased the Jcrew Timex field watch, which I paid something over $150 online for. When I got it, I was underwhelmed-the watch was small, the strap thin, and it looked like a $30 watch. Rather, I sent it back and got the Citizen, which I instantly fell in love with. I wear it everywhere, even when I’m working at the motorcycle shop or machine shop I frequent. It ages well- there’s weld slag burns on the strap buckle, scratches on the bezel and glass (glass is very durable), and oil stains on the strap. A good rinse on the strap cleans it up just fine, although the end strap loop tore from the abuse.
Only issues can be that the strap is a little short-I have thin wrists and wear it on the third buckle hole from the end. Besides that, I’m happy with it. If it ever breaks, I’ll just buy another one.
I’ve worn my Citizen Eco-Tech Chrono watch for almost two years and I’m absolutely satisfied. In fact, I purchased the Jcrew Timex field watch, which I paid something over $150 online for. When I got it, I was underwhelmed-the watch was small, the strap thin, and it looked like a $30 watch. Rather, I sent it back and got the Citizen, which I instantly fell in love with. I wear it everywhere, even when I’m working at the motorcycle shop or machine shop I frequent. It ages well- there’s weld slag burns on the strap buckle, scratches on the bezel and glass (glass is very durable), and oil stains on the strap. A good rinse on the strap cleans it up just fine, although the end strap loop tore from the abuse.
Only issues can be that the strap is a little short-I have thin wrists and wear it on the third buckle hole from the end. Besides that, I’m happy with it. If it ever breaks, I’ll just buy another one.
http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?itemdescription=true&itemCount=80&startValue=1&selectedProductColor=&sortby=&id=20824538&parentid=M_ACC_WATCHES&sortProperties=+subCategoryPosition,+product.marketingPriority&navCount=20&navAction=jump&color=&pushId=M_ACC_WATCHES&popId=MENS_ACCESSORIES&prepushId=&selectedProductSize=
Wow Brain, that UrbanOutfitters watch looks like an exact copy of the JCrewTimex (the only difference I see is the hands look peach in color, rather than green luminescent). That being said, the watch doesn’t have any brand name associated with it, does not state that it is quartz, and is sold at UrbanOutfitters—so it’ll probably only last a week.
I’m thinking of purchasing this Squad Leader Watch from U.S. Cavalry http://www.uscav.com/productinfo.aspx?productID=5427&TabID=548
Differences from the JCrewTimex watch: white rather than red colored seconds hand, watch dial doesn’t project out from the watch, says USTime rather than Timex, and it has a date function. It recieved positive reviews on the U.S. Cavalry website, so we’ll see…
could we get an update on the squad leader watch?
Hi Tyler & Everyone,
I’ve had the US Cavalry Squad Leader Watch since Christmas, I put on a red strap from JCrew because the olive strap that came with the watch has a plastic buckle (which the reviews said). It’s been working great, I’ve crossed time zones and reset the watch without problems, and I love always knowing the date.
One thing I have noticed is that the seconds hand makes a loud noise as it moves, so if you’re sitting in silence you’ll hear it ticking.
Other reviewers mentioned that the watch looks small on their wrists, but I am a female so it looks fine on me, maybe even a bit big.
Picture of the watch with new JCrew strap, and original plastic buckle strap here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/25340458/photo.JPG