Citizen Men's BL5180-57L Eco-Drive Perpetual Calendar Watch

This watch has many pluses. First, it never needs a battery. It is solor powered. At night I take my watch and place it on my dresser and it simply leaves the second hand at 12 until the sun shines through the next day (or I cut on the light). Second, it has a perpectual calendar which means I don't have to change the date. The calendar runs until 2100 and even leap years are not missed with this watch. Third, it is waterproof. And fourth, is can be worn for any occassion.

A great watch!


Fantastic All-Purpose Timepiece   April 4, 2007
J. Whitaker (USA)
27 out of 29 found this review helpful

Purchased this direct from Amazon - it must have been one of, if not the last one in their inventory, and was selling for quite a bit less than you can find it for now. Having said that, I would still pay more for such a quality watch. Citizen has a long-standing reputation for making solid, practical watches with innovative features, and this model does not disappoint.

It is a visually beautiful watch. The stainless steel band and case work very well together, both mechanically around my wrist and in appearance. The clasp is perfect - easy to remove but will not release until you want it to. This is literally a watch you will feel confident wearing anywhere; from a black tie affair to playing around with the kids or swimming. The face is easy to see from any angle. The flat crystal and its glare reducing coating alleviate problems with other watches I've owned. Weight is a non-issue - it is certainly there, but very reasonable for a steel band watch. If you have fragile wrists, you may want to look for a canvas band watch or something in titanium, perhaps a ladies style..

The mechanical and technological features are practical and useful. Eco-Drive is a great concept and seems to be implemented very nicely. If the idea of never thinking about your watch battery again appeals to you, you'll enjoy the Eco-Drive. The Perpetual Calendar is accurate and adds to the non-existant maintenance this watch provides. Chronograph is useful and works well. I didn't buy this watch for an alarm function, but it exists. Someday I may try it out.

I really can't say enough about this watch. Especially considering the price I scored, I am thoroughly pleased and would make the purchase again. Abundant resources are available to assist you with the easy setup, shipped with the watch in form of a manual and an instruction CD, as well as an interactive movie available through the Citizen Watch website.


Great Watch   November 22, 2006
Andrew Vaughan (California)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful

This is a great timepiece. It is rugged, attractive, never needs a battery or winding, and never needs to have the date adjusted (for months of different lengths, leap years, etc).

I agree with the other reviewer that the watch does have some complex functions, however all of the basics (setting the time, setting the alarm, etc) are fairly straight-forward.

My only complaint is that the mode dial (the dial that looks like a wind dial on a wind-up watch, but switches between "> TME <> CHR <> LTM <> ALM <> TME <> CHR <> LTM <> ALM <", in a repeating ring) tends to turn by itself on occasion while I am wearing it. Thus, occasionally I will glance at the watch for the time and it will read 7:00am exactly, with the second hand not moving...this is momentarily confusing until I remember that the alarm is set to 7am, so the mode dial has been bumped backwards one click to the ALM setting. This can be annoying because it takes the watch a while to wind back around to the true time. I have found that I can 'bias' the mode dial towards the CHR setting, so that it has a tendency to go forward instead of backwards...it's ok if it switches to CHR, because the time is still correct, but the second hand is not moving...an easy fix.

This is a minor complaint, however, it happens rarely (particularly now with my work-around), and overall I love this watch! Five stars!


Excellent Watch   January 28, 2008
Matt S. (Kettering, OH)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

This watch is an excellent buy. A nice looking watch but not too flashy, it can be worn on any occasion. The perpetual calender, local time, chronometer, and alarm also mean that you get a very functional watch. Setting time and using all of its features is extremely easy.

Not only do you get a detailed instruction manual, you get a DVD with interactive instructions on using different functions. If you go to the Citizen Website you can get interactive instructions as well.

The Eco drive function is one of the nicest aspects. No batteries and no hassles. Some people put their Eco-Drive under a light source at night to charge. I have never done that. Just wearing the watch normally charges it. I have 3 Eco-Drive watches and never had one run out of power.

The perpetual calender is one of the reasons I chose this watch over others. Once you set it up properly, you will never have to adjust the date until 2100. The directions for this are a little complicated so make sure you use the interactive instructions.

The band has a good feel to it. The links feel good on your skin and don't grab at the hair on your wrist like some cheaper brands do. The clasp is solid, and the push-type lock ensures that there aren't any accidental releases.

The face and dials on this watch are very clear and easy to read. The pointer movement is exact, in that they line up perfectly with the numbers. It's the small things with this watch that make it nice. Note: The Face of this watch is slightly grayer than the picture here shows. But it still looks great. The face is about medium size, 40mm so it is not imposing. There is a little thickness to it all but you get used to it very quickly.

I recommend buying this watch from Amazon. No, I don't work for them. Retailers will never match the prices of Amazon. With the free shipping, this is a good deal. I got about 40% off buying this watch online, whereas any retailer will barely give you 25% off. If you must, go to a retailer and see how the watch looks in person, but I wouldn't do much more.









Cool Eco Drive   January 11, 2007
P. K. Maradani (OH USA)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

I have been using this watch for the past 3 months.
Look and feel is excellent. you won't feel the weight on your hands. Perpetual calender works flawless. Stop watch is great, fraction of seconds.
Only thing I don't appreciate about this watch is the local time, which could be set only in multiples of 1 hrs. May be its ok in US but you cannot use it as a dual time.

Otherwise the technology is great. Go for eco drive defenetly and if you are looking for good looking and long lasting watch on your wrist go for this. If you want more features then may be look for more costly eco drives with features.
But I am completely satisfied by this watch whatsoever.