I'm trying to buy new watch, but I can't decide between the two brands. I'm looking for an automatic, at least 40mm, and a watch that has a sapphire crystal. Any ideas which brand would be better?
hydroblak69
Very general question there... so heres my general answer.
Love Stuhrling designs. Nice mix of homage and original styles. Love how they take box-engine movements and dress them up with colored screws, decorated chassis parts and custom rotors. Don't like Stuhrling out of box QC... which can be hit or miss.
Dislike most of Citizens design and styles. Many of their dials are just too busy / cluttered for my tastes. Love their in-house movements, although I wish they focused a little more on mechanical movements. Love their top-notch out of box QC.
Love Stuhrling designs. Nice mix of homage and original styles. Love how they take box-engine movements and dress them up with colored screws, decorated chassis parts and custom rotors. Don't like Stuhrling out of box QC... which can be hit or miss.
Dislike most of Citizens design and styles. Many of their dials are just too busy / cluttered for my tastes. Love their in-house movements, although I wish they focused a little more on mechanical movements. Love their top-notch out of box QC.
Citizen makes a better quality watch and has a better reputation. Stuhrling is more of a fashion-forward, catalogue brand.
A Sturhling should be, generally, cheap, and can be decent watches.
Citizen makes a range of watches so you might have to go second hand if you see something more expensive. They definitely offer sapphire. Not sure about Stuhrling.
A Sturhling should be, generally, cheap, and can be decent watches.
Citizen makes a range of watches so you might have to go second hand if you see something more expensive. They definitely offer sapphire. Not sure about Stuhrling.
Overall...Citizen. They've been at it longer...make everything from affordable to expensive...and I've yet to hear a negative review. My impression is they are a lot like Seiko...good watches for the money you pay and they can last forever. Plus resale is also better in case you ever decide to go that route.
A Citizen Eco-drive bests any automatic that Stuhrling has to offer. Hands down!!
Quality,CS,reputation, you name it.
Quality,CS,reputation, you name it.
Generally speaking, a citizen will most likely outlast a Stuhrling. However, Stuhrlings can be had for much less money than citizens, and they have designs that are IMHO more appealing than those offered by citizen. If this is your first foray into automatic watches, then I would recommend the Stuhrling. That way, if you find that you cannot live with an automatic watch, you will have lost a small amount of money relative to discovering this by purchasing a new citizen. Just my $.02. Good luck!
I asked a similar question late last year with Bulova instead of Citizen and was told that Bulova's quality was far superior quality but I went with Stuhrling because I liked the style better. Just returned it for the second time due to poor quality. When it comes to buying an automatic, I think you're best served going with the one with higher quality. Just my .02
I will go for Stuhrling because of their unique, ideal and classical touched designs. My preferred design is, "Men's Delphi Adonis Automatic" which have luxury styles with 24 mm width strap with the Gold Plated Stainless Steel casing. Dial color is partially skeletionzed see-thru silver with silver border which is filled with Luminova steel. I bought one for me already 
Look at their models and buy the one you like best.
Stuhrling doesn't use sapphire crystal though. They use something called krysterna which appears to be a hybrid of mineral and sapphire. In practice, i doubt it makes much of a difference.
Stuhrling doesn't use sapphire crystal though. They use something called krysterna which appears to be a hybrid of mineral and sapphire. In practice, i doubt it makes much of a difference.
I think it depends on what your goal is. As mentioned, Sturhling makes some really nice looking pieces for the money. I've bought a lot of them to give away as Christmas gifts and in terms of quality I've had no issues regarding the build quality of the cases/straps/dials/hands etc. In terms of movement however, it's real hit and miss... most of them do not keep good time for more than 48 hours.
So if you're looking for an impressive automatic watch to wear occasionally like to a nice dinner or date, I wholeheartedly recommend a Stuhrling - I'm looking to buy a Winchester for myself the next time I'm stateside. But if you're looking for a reliable everyday piece, I'd have to go with Citizen.
So if you're looking for an impressive automatic watch to wear occasionally like to a nice dinner or date, I wholeheartedly recommend a Stuhrling - I'm looking to buy a Winchester for myself the next time I'm stateside. But if you're looking for a reliable everyday piece, I'd have to go with Citizen.
Check out the Citizen NP4020 -
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Fantastic watch - 40mm, automatic, sapphire, clear display back, nicely decorated movement, cool blue lume, made in Japan. Sells for ~$200-300 on the web (I got mine from an ebay auction for $199, including overseas shipping).
Fantastic watch - 40mm, automatic, sapphire, clear display back, nicely decorated movement, cool blue lume, made in Japan. Sells for ~$200-300 on the web (I got mine from an ebay auction for $199, including overseas shipping).
I forgot to mention this....
The other thing with Citizen is they (many times) only sell/designate certain models for certain countries. Often times Asian, European and America designated models do not cross continents. So you can end up paying a premium, and you will have to handle international shipping (customs...etc...) if a particular model is not available in your country. I do not know how Citizen handles international warranties, or watches purchased internationally off the gray market from non-ADs.
Stuhrling may have a similar scenario, but I don't think so. As near as I can tell they sell the same models to everyone around the globe. From what I have seen, the Stuhrling brand has a strong presence on the gray market from non-AD sellers. But I do not know how they handle warranty coverages from these retailers. From what I have read on various watch forums Stuhrling post-sale customer service is very good, and I have never read a case of them denying a customer some level of service based on whether or not the wach was purchased from an AD.
The other thing with Citizen is they (many times) only sell/designate certain models for certain countries. Often times Asian, European and America designated models do not cross continents. So you can end up paying a premium, and you will have to handle international shipping (customs...etc...) if a particular model is not available in your country. I do not know how Citizen handles international warranties, or watches purchased internationally off the gray market from non-ADs.
Stuhrling may have a similar scenario, but I don't think so. As near as I can tell they sell the same models to everyone around the globe. From what I have seen, the Stuhrling brand has a strong presence on the gray market from non-AD sellers. But I do not know how they handle warranty coverages from these retailers. From what I have read on various watch forums Stuhrling post-sale customer service is very good, and I have never read a case of them denying a customer some level of service based on whether or not the wach was purchased from an AD.
Ahem, i know it isn't citizen or sturhling but it fits your criteria.
Tissot Le Locle!
Sapphire crystal, 39mm
Great watch
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Tissot Le Locle!
Sapphire crystal, 39mm
Great watch
Anyone who cares about the watch they wear has at least 2 watches.
A nice quartz for daily wearing and a nice automatic as a backup while the quartz is in for repair.
The main reason being that quartz watches are generally tougher than automatics and automatics generally store better than quartzs.
So 99.9% of the time you want to wear something that can handle the daily wear and tear and 0.01% of the time you want to wear something that 'when you pick it up after sitting in a drawer for 10 years' hasn't been destroyed by a leaking battery.
So again, if your care at all about what you wear you need a minimum of 2 watches.
With that being said, I would recommend a Citizen quartz and a Stuhrling automatic.
Just my 2 cents.
Hedghog
A nice quartz for daily wearing and a nice automatic as a backup while the quartz is in for repair.
The main reason being that quartz watches are generally tougher than automatics and automatics generally store better than quartzs.
So 99.9% of the time you want to wear something that can handle the daily wear and tear and 0.01% of the time you want to wear something that 'when you pick it up after sitting in a drawer for 10 years' hasn't been destroyed by a leaking battery.
So again, if your care at all about what you wear you need a minimum of 2 watches.
With that being said, I would recommend a Citizen quartz and a Stuhrling automatic.
Just my 2 cents.
Hedghog
What an odd thing to say. When is a quartz watch ever "in for repair"? A battery change takes all of about five minutes... much faster than the servicing time for an automatic. Also, a quartz watch "stores" just as well as (or better than) an automatic so long as it doesn't have a dead, leaking battery. Given the long lifespans of watch batteries these days, it seems unlikely that a battery will die in storage unless you store the watch at the end of the battery's life, or store it for several years. Either problem is quickly remedied by simply storing the watch without a battery, or better, not ignoring the thing for weeks, months, or years at a time.
Oh, and my vote goes to Citizen. But if I were you, I'd also take a look at Seiko's automatics. And Orient. Both have nice designs with good quality for very little money. Especially the Seiko 5 series. One of those would be a perfect first auto. Sure the Sturhlings are beautiful and cheap, but I'm just betting their resale value is next to nothing. You could likely get 75% (or more) of your money back selling a Citizen, Seiko or Orient here on the forums...just sayin.
As to the OP's original question... without knowing models, I'd probably still take Citizen over Stuhrling. I can't say I'm crazy about most Citizen designs but I like them at least as well as Stuhrling's, and I feel a Citizen watch will be better made, tougher, and more reliable over the long haul.
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