The folks at Citizen just rolled out three new watches that might make you forget about the winter chill and start thinking about your next trip to the water. The Endeavor Chrono collection represents something of a milestone for the Japanese watchmaker, combining their proven solar technology with a feature that's never appeared on their standard lineup before.
These aren't your typical dress watches. At 43mm across and 12.5mm thick, they've got enough wrist presence to make a statement without overwhelming your arm. The cases come in brushed and polished stainless steel, with one version sporting a rose-toned finish that gives it a distinctly different character from the others. What's particularly noteworthy is the attention to detail in the finishing—the kind of chamfered edges you'd normally find on watches costing two or three times what Citizen is asking.
The real news here is the ceramic unidirectional bezel. This is the first time Citizen has put one of these on a watch in their core collection. For anyone who's spent time around water, you know what this means—a proper dive bezel that won't scratch up or fade the way an aluminum one might. Sure, there are plenty of dive watches out there with ceramic bezels, but not many at this price point with everything else these watches offer.
Speaking of everything else, let's talk about what's under the hood. The Cal. B620 Eco-Drive movement is where things get interesting. If you're not familiar with Eco-Drive, here's the simple version: the watch runs on light. Any light. Sunlight works great, but even indoor lighting will keep it ticking. The dial has a wave pattern that's not just for looks—it's actually semi-translucent, allowing light to pass through and charge the watch.
Once fully charged, you've got 270 days of power reserve. That's nine months. You could put this watch in a drawer after Labor Day and pull it out for Memorial Day weekend, and it would still be running. No battery changes, no winding, nothing. Just light doing its thing.
The movement handles quite a bit more than just telling time. You've got your standard hours, minutes, and seconds, plus a date window. There's a 24-hour subdial that shows you whether it's morning or afternoon—handy when you're jet-lagged or just lost track of the day. The chronograph function measures down to one-fifth of a second and includes a 60-minute counter, which covers most timing needs you'd have in daily life.
The three color options each have their own personality. The black dial version comes with yellow accents that pop against the dark background—sporty without being over the top. Then there's what watch people call a "panda" dial: white with black subdials, giving it a classic chronograph look that's been popular since the 1960s. The third option pairs that rose-toned case with a blue and black dial, creating something a bit more contemporary and a little less conventional.
All three versions have those wave-pattern dials, which add some visual interest without making the watch hard to read. It's a sailing-inspired touch that makes sense given the nautical theme these watches are going for.
The construction allows for 100 meters of water resistance. That's not deep-dive territory, but it's more than enough for swimming, snorkeling, and most water sports. The pushers for the chronograph are traditional pump-style, which look cleaner than screw-down pushers but typically don't seal as well. Somehow Citizen made them work at this depth rating, which is a nice piece of engineering.
The lug-to-lug measurement—that's the distance from the top of where the strap or bracelet attaches to the bottom—comes in at 49.6mm. For a 43mm watch, that's relatively short. What this means in practical terms is that the watch won't hang over the edges of smaller wrists the way some larger watches do. The 43mm width might sound big on paper, but the proportions should actually work for a wider range of wrist sizes than you'd expect.
Two of the models come on polyurethane straps with standard buckles. These are practical for beach or pool wear since they dry quickly and won't corrode. The panda dial version ships on a stainless steel bracelet with a push-button deployant clasp, which bumps the price up slightly but gives you that more traditional watch look right out of the box.
The whole package costs between $595 and $650, depending on whether you want the bracelet or which case treatment catches your eye. In the world of watches, that's the sweet spot where you're getting solid construction and real features without having to take out a second mortgage.
Citizen has some serious manufacturing muscle behind them. According to industry reports from a few years back, if they ran their production facilities year-round, they could pump out over 30 million movements annually. That's not a misprint. Thirty million. This kind of scale means they can keep costs down while maintaining quality, which is exactly what you want as a buyer.
The Eco-Drive technology itself has been around since the mid-1970s, though it really hit the mainstream in the 1990s. For a generation of Americans, Citizen's sponsorship of the US Open tennis tournament from 1993 to 2017 burned the brand and the Eco-Drive concept into their consciousness. The idea of a watch powered by light seemed almost science-fiction back then. Even now, it's an elegant solution to a problem that's plagued watches forever—how to keep them running without constant intervention.
Other brands have tried to implement solar power over the years with mixed results. The challenge is the dial. It needs to be translucent enough to let light through to the solar cell underneath, but not so see-through that it looks cheap or unfinished. It's a balancing act, and Citizen has had decades to perfect it. These new Endeavor Chronos show that refinement, with dials that look substantial while still doing their solar job.
The watches sit in an interesting position in today's market. They're not trying to be luxury pieces, and they're not bare-bones budget watches either. They're squarely aimed at someone who wants a solid, capable timepiece without overthinking it. You want to wear it on your boat without worrying? Done. Need something that looks decent at the office but can handle a weekend camping trip? These fit the bill. Want a watch you can actually read at a glance without squinting at tiny numerals? The applied indexes and subdial layout deliver.
The chronograph pushers deserve a mention. While screw-down pushers might offer more water resistance in theory, they're a pain to actually use. You have to unscrew them every time you want to time something, then remember to screw them back down. These traditional pushers are ready to go whenever you need them, and Citizen engineered them to seal properly at 100 meters anyway.
The sapphire crystal is another detail worth noting. Sapphire is highly scratch-resistant—not scratchproof, nothing is, but it takes a lot to mark it up. This means the watch should still look presentable years down the line, assuming you're not deliberately trying to destroy it.
For guys thinking about their first decent watch, or maybe someone looking to add something reliable to a rotation, these Endeavor Chronos check a lot of boxes. The solar power means you can grab it whenever you want without wondering if it's dead. The 270-day reserve means it probably won't be dead anyway. The water resistance and dive bezel mean you don't have to baby it. And the price means you won't be sick if something does happen to it.
The ceramic bezel is particularly significant. Ceramic has become the standard on high-end dive watches because it doesn't fade in the sun and resists scratching better than aluminum. Bringing this material to a sub-$700 watch is the kind of value proposition that makes sense if you're actually going to use the watch rather than just look at it.
All three versions are available now, not as limited editions but as regular production pieces. That means no artificial scarcity, no waiting lists, and no games. You want one, you can get one. It's a refreshingly straightforward approach in a watch industry that sometimes gets too caught up in hype and exclusivity.
The Endeavor Chrono collection isn't trying to reinvent watches or make some grand statement. It's just good, honest watchmaking at a fair price. Solar power that works. A dive bezel that's built to last. Chronograph functions you might actually use. Water resistance for real-world activities. And styling that won't look dated in a few years.
In a market flooded with options, these watches succeed by focusing on the fundamentals and executing them well. Sometimes that's all you need.
