Citizen Minute Repeater Chime Eco Drive Perpetual Calendar BL9000-83E/BL9001-56E
When I first saw this watch in the local dealer's display while I was shopping for a different Citizen watch entirely, I knew I had come across something rare to see and some research had to be done on it.
True to the heritage of the prestigious Minute Repeater, this watch chimes on the hour and quarter hour and minute on demand. This is the first time that there has been an Eco-Drive Minute Repeater with a Perpetual Calendar showing month and day as well as an alarm function.
After a weekend of some careful thought and researching this piece, I decided that it was just too good of an opportunity, and an incredibly special watch, to pass it up. It was also upwards of $300 more than I wanted to initially spend, but quite worth it in the end. I got a heavy discount off the price tag since the dealer told me it had been sitting in his display case for about 13 years! My purchase price was $540CAD. This is effectively a new-old stock of a watch first released in 2006. He had a box, but no manual or papers, they were lost in a renovation of the store a few years ago, but I was OK with that. The watch works perfectly and seems to take full charge without issues.
I'm not going to do a full review of it simply because it's a discontinued watch, but there's a decent video already on YouTube showing some of the watches' features from the channel Modern and Vintage Watches.
I'm really enjoying owning this watch, it has a good weight and fits like a glove; no micro adjusts, but it has half-links on its hidden clasp bracelet.
If you ever come across one, I'd recommend buying it.
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