People don't talk about Citizen mainly because "influencers" only drone on and on about Seiko, so there is little space left in the popular watch media for the "other" Japanese brand. 

Spot on! The amount of influence is phenomenal. Like I said in the first post, Citizen was not even in my radar and I was focusing only on a couple of Seikos - thank god, I wasn't readily convinced. I'm now definitely considering the Citizen Series 8. I wish they hadn't written the Series 8 in such a big font. Once you see, you can't unsee it. Not bad looking, but could've been better with a smaller meaner font. Anyways, this is such a super-minor gripe when I come across $800 Seikos with misaligned chapter ring/bezel markers.

I don't get it. It's like they're happy being purveyors of cheap mall watches, even though they do a whole lot more. They're not even trying.

Yes. They should have a better branding version of the 'Series 8' and 'The Citizen', in relation to how Seiko brands like King Seiko and Grand Seiko, respectively. There's no information or flutter in the market for their 0200 caliber, the 9051 caliber and accuracy - heck, not even a decent pic of the movements. I think they made their best efforts, and went back to focusing on eco-drives.

Higher end Citizen watches are as good as #grandseiko  even if the design language isn't as good.  Quality wise, I'd put them up against anything.

Quality-wise, I agree. Design-wise, not neck and neck with Grand Seiko, but almost there. Some more minmalism and dial variety required from Citizen.

...proportions look great on paper, a sapphire crystal & 9x movement are definitely a plus 

Not just on paper. Looks stunning for the price. Even the bracelet was in a different league, considering it's from Citizen. Loved it. I'm torn between the black and the white dials. Hard to decide as both look superb.

Yeah, looking at all these comments - looks like more or less the same feeling about Citizen. I regard this brand in high esteem.

 I have a cheap Citizen NJ0100 and the only thing that's cheap is the stamped bracelet that squeaks a bit - but then, I came across Rolex bracelets (on YouTube) that squeak as well. The NJ0100 is my beater watch and I've worn it in heavy rain, blistering heat, dust - maybe, it hasn't seen snow yet. Keeps ticking and the accuracy is as close to my Hamilton Khakhi Field, if not better.
 

That’s the fugu, correct? I’m eyeing the barnacle diver. 

Really well. Super-thin and doesn't feel like you're wearing anything on your wrist. Classy dress watch and dead accurate. I'm using this watch as the reference to set time on my others ;)

Adorable time pass :)

I wouldn't call Hamilton field watches (under $500-$600) overrated. The finishing, the dial quality, the asethetics, and the entry-level ETA movement (quite accurate!) -- all fall in line. I don't think this can even be compared with the Seiko field watches - so-so finishing, QA issues, and the accuracy of the 4R (and even the 6R) movement being all over the place. But they have great dials. If you're in love with just the dials, you can't go wrong with Seiko. The rest is a gamble with them. I guess those that support these Seikos and overrate them have luck in the 100% effectiveness when they got their Seikos.

@SriramStark Try Invella and zuludiver websites. Invella ships from Gujurat, and for the price, their quality is not bad at all! I recently ordered from Zuludiver (UK), and these are very nice as well, but the length of the straps is a bit too much for my 6.8inch wrist. I've a bunch of NATO straps, and I'm still collecting some - thankfully, most of my watches have a 20mm lug width and I swap them to my hearts content.

A few pics with different straps. Get a few and try them on and you will fall in love with your watch all over again. Cheers.