A tricky thing to describe is “value” and how do you actually measure it.  In very basic terms for me, it means when applied to a watch, that the basic requirements I wanted are in fact met and the price was right.  To illustrate the point I can do no better than highlight this Citizen Eco-drive model I bought some 6 years ago in 2008.

Citizen Eco-Drive 180 (BM8180-54E)

This military inspired Citizen Eco-Drive 180 ( BM8180-54E ) – with center seconds highlighted in red with pointer and a nice sized day and date window @3. It is as good today as the day I bought it and I’ve never had to adjust the time as it’s accuracy is about as good as it gets from a mainstream quartz watch.  I also can’t fault it in any way whatsoever as it does exactly what it’s supposed to do and does it very well indeed.  It also cost under £100 at the time and a sure sign of the longevity of this model is the fact that it’s basically still available today, some 6 years later.

Citizen Military Eco  – available at Argos (UK)

It’s basically the same watch and the price again is good at under £70 (from Argos UK) and in my opinion it is a real “value” watch, no question about it.  It also is remarkably good at night as the luminous hands and dial are excellent.  The neat day and day window @ 3 is easily read and it manages 100m water resistance – so what’s not to like?

Here it is again, this time it is the same model code as well, currently available at Watchshop in bracelet form and still under £100.

The Citizen Eco BM8180-54E still around

And it’s amazing in how many guises this model can still be found – this one for example is the BM8470-11E, with a nice dial facelift perhaps and the case has changed a little, but it seems awful familiar to me.  Perhaps a rather more modern take on my original version I suppose and still under £100 (from Timeshop4you).

Citizen Eco-Drive BM8470-11E

So there you have it – what I call a “value” watch.  The design is basically as good as it gets, the size is virtually universal (not too big, not too small), very clear to read, day or night, day and date information.  A good second hand, excellent crown size and is water resistant to 100m, so swimming no problem.  And the price of course has virtually stayed unchanged in over 6 years which is not bad for an Eco-Drive day date watch.  Also as evidenced by my own experience, this model would appear to be what we call a “good un” – never a problem, simply wear it and forget it!

This latest incarnation is rather good, almost a civilian version if you will (the older one was a so called military inspired creation) – no crown guards, cleaned up dial maybe, but the essential model is still the same – I think Citizen know this is a winner all the way.

Now that’s what I call value!