Citizen Eco-Drive Watches

The Eco-Drive feature of Citizen watches is one of their biggest catchcries, one of their major selling points, and one of their unique selling points compared to other watch companies.

So why is Eco-Drive so hot? To me, it sounded more like something that would help you save a bit of money on your gas costs, like a standby mode for your car. Perhaps it was a tree-hugging chauffer? Anything seemed possible!

When you actually find out what Eco-Drive is, it does make perfect sense – it basically means that the watch is powered primarily by solar power, which is supported by a lithium ion battery. The reason the battery is a lithium one, is to prevent the usual inconvenience of the battery having a charge time and a discharge (or ‘being used’) time.

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Stainless steel pendant

If you have decided to look past the tie and sock aisle of your local department store for a men’s birthday gift – good for you! A lot of people are surprised by the range and suitability of men’s jewelry that is available nowadays. Couple this with the fact that men’s jewelry is becoming more widespread, and worn even by the real ‘man’s men’, and you have a whole new world of gift ideas!

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Citizen Quartz Watch

Many of the watches in our range are quartz watches … and since they are obviously not made of a pretty, swirly pink stone, who cares?! What does it matter?

Well, quartz watches are the most accurate, common form of manufacturing timekeeping pieces. Quartz can be used to keep time in both analog and digital watches – the quartz piece is really the backbone of the timekeeping function, and the way the information is displayed is just window dressing (however important it may be to the wearer!).

It is fascinating how it works – when you apply an electric field to a piece of quartz, the stone actually bends … this electric field comes from a battery, and in some specialized watches can even indirectly come from the wearer’s thermo-kinetic energy (body heat!) and be transferred inside the mechanism. Then when the electric field is removed, the quartz creates its own electric energy in returning back to its original shape. Handy, eh? It’s a give and take relationship with the old quartz.

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Opal Pendant

If you’ve been looking for a gift for a birthday coming up in October, but don’t know where to start, birthstones are always a great jumping off point! Opal is the birthstone for October, and while you may not know your friend or loved one’s favorite gemstone, a birthstone setting will always have that extra bit of meaning for them.

In fact, you are lucky to be looking for a gift for an October birthday, because opals come in a wide range of colors, are used in settings for both men and women, and come with a range of price tags for all different recipients.

Opal settings in jewelry often have a beautiful flowing, amorphous shape, which is a lot more natural than many other cut stones. They can afford to be cut and shaped smoothly because of their natural internal light refractive properties, whereas clear stones like diamonds and sapphires look best with multifaceted cuts. If the person you are looking for a gift for is the more down-to-earth, outdoorsy and spontaneous type, then opals are especially good for them.

Don’t count opals out because the colorful varieties can look gaudy and showy. While this does make opal a great choice for certain people, there are other varieties that have beautiful but very subtle lines and colors through them, and can be mostly clear, mostly milky, or mostly one color, such as blue or green.

They are a really individual stone, and you can get some stand-out pieces containing opal jewelry here!