n wrote:

I also purchased a citizen watch from Columbian Emeralds International in St
Lucia. They couldnt have been more helpful and were very knowledgable about
the watch. The cost was $260, which at the current x-rate is about £140. For
this you get a very good timepiece, a great sailing watch (IF you read the
instructions) and a nice looking piece of arm jewellery.

There are more features on this watch than you can shake a stick at and all
are aimed at sailing. It has 2 alarms, multiple time zones (which I have
used crossing the atlantic) including UTC! a race timer with many countdown
functions, chronograph, calendar and timer.

I am happy with my purchase because I went in with my eyes wide open and
knew what I wanted, what I cannot understand is why Chris hasnt read the
manual?

Ah, finally somebody who has hands-on experience with both the shop and
the watch mentioned in the original article.
Your comment sounds rather different from what Chris Brady had to say.
Obviously you're somebody who
a) knows what he wants and
b) is able to read and comprehend instruction manuals.

Having said that, my personal experience with Citizen wasn't that good.
I bought a Citizen analogue quartz watch about 20 years ago and had
mechanical problems with it: the bracelet broke into two and finally the
crown came off - after only 3 years on my wrist. :-( As a time keeper it
was quite precise though, it never gained more than 5-6 seconds / month
when I wore it 24 / 7.
I bought another Citizen analogue/digital watch about 12 years ago and
experienced the same problems: a malconstructed bracelet and a crown
that came off two days after I had picked up the watch from a battery
change (no, it was a good watchmaker's, not some backyard idiot who
changed batteries by removing the back with a crowbar).

Finally I switched to Tissot and, more recently, to Omega and I'm more
than happy with both brands. Although the watch bug has bitten me again
and I'm seriously considering to buy yet another watch. It could be a
Mido OceanStar or a Marcello C. Nettuno 3 or Tridente GMT - if I feel
like purchasing a watch that falls into the "beater" category - or a IWC
Spitfire UTC if I feel that I urgently need to add a really classy watch
to my collection. :-)

Kind regards,
Olaf

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