I bought a brand new Citizen Eco-Drive watch last week (Solar power watches). The price was around 200$ (with the added extra three year warranty). I was told by the sales person, all you need to do is charge this watch for 24 to 48 hours and it would retain the power for at least 6 months (if the watch was not exposed to light again),
I charged it for two days (left the watch by window)…I then tried it on and it worked for about 2 hours and then completely stop. After two attempts of charging it, I went back to the store (People) and ask what was wrong. I was told I did not charge it long enough. I said OK…so I went back home after this extra trip to the store and I did not wear the watch for a whole week and focus on charging the watch, by the window during days and below a lamp during the nights and, after a week of this charging…. still no success.
I went back Friday evening and got to store a little too late (8:59 PM) and was told to come next day because they were closing and didn’t have time to look at it.
Saturday I went back to store and told the sales clerk I wanted a full refund and I was going somewhere else. I received my full refund. The store acknowledged there was issue with watch. I am now shopping again for a watch.
My experience with Citizen Eco-Drive watches wasn’t good and I will be avoiding them and I won’t be recommending them to anyone.
The final thing I will share is that my friend Andrew told me he had purchased one of those watch 4 years ago and paid around 300$ for it. Andrew had no problem with his watch until year 4. On year 4, the watch stopped retaining the charge. He told me that the store would not replace the batteries.
Basically, once the Eco-drive battery dies it’s non-replaceable and you have to throw your watch away and it becomes garbage…..how convenient, so much for trying to be Eco Friendly.
Any thoughts?
It’s always harder to be eco-friendly then people let on, but this just seems like a weird problem. I’ve got a Casio Pathfinder watch and it’s solar powered too, only it’s worked flawlessly for me. The batteries in this one are replacable far as I know.
Might be something to look at if you like the style of the watch.
Hey Gaetan,
The eco-drive doesn’t actually have a battery, it uses a capacitor and the capacitor is replaceable. You can buy them for about $25 online. Stores like People’s wouldn’t stock them though as it is more difficult to replace than a regular battery, so it would be beyond the abilities of the store clerks to do the replacement.
As for your experience, there are bound to be some duds in every product. I think they should have known there was a problem the first time you went back to the store but at least they replaced it when you went back.
Jamie
I agree guys, I probably had a lemon, thanks that is great feedback!
Hey G-Man.
John and I both have eco-drives. I bought him his 6 years ago this month. It was around 400$ and is still going strong today. John, in turn, purchased one for me. It too, works great and has no problem with the charge. We have never had to “leave it laying out” to charge it and even if it has been away for a while, as soon as it come out of the drawer, it works fine. Hopefully you will have better luck.
Nina
Thanks Nina! I think I just got a lemon. Eco drive called me and told me this was not normal. Thanks for your post!