This review may appear duplicate if you had read my posts elsewhere.[1,3,4]
Background
Generally I wear watch above the wrist, pushed up the forearm where circumference is ~7.125in. Legibility is my most important criteria, followed by function & ease of use.
Citizen CA0265-59E watch above the wrist, 7.125in, where I usually wear
![]()
At this point in my life I have weak eyesight. I only care for a largest possible watch that I could wear (~43mm case; lug to lug <=49-50mm); a watch with distinct & large enough hour & minute hands which I can easily without Rx glasses and especially just after waking up when eyesight is blurry.
When I saw Citizen BJ7111-86L in the thread BaselWorld 2019 Citizen GMT Divers ...[1], I was interested in buying one because I was looking for a ...
As it happened to have a "GMT" hour hand, so I would not need to pull out/look for my phone to know the time in another time zone. Lovely, I thought.
Purchase
I was hoping that I would be able to buy from Citizen USA but that was not, and still is not, possible as of Aug 2019. In June 2019 I imported BJ7110-89E watch from Chino Watch Co, Japan for US$439. I had no issue in dealing with it.
I bought the black dial watch with yellow GMT hand, instead of BJ7111-86L (blue dial with orange GMT hand), so that it would be more visible in poor light due to higher contrast ratio. If the blue dial watch had yellow or white GMT hand, I would have bought that version instead. Or, so I think; I'm not in position to compare the variations.
It arrived, properly packaged, in about 10 days. It arrived when I was on vacation. Man, was I anxious to collect it and wear it on a rubber strap (instead of the bracelet that it comes with) as soon as possible.
Regret; Acceptance
I felt disappointment when I first saw the tiny hands after having been accustomed to wider, longer hands of CA0265 chronograph watch[3]. Visible face area (with normal 12-hour indices) of BJ7110 is smaller too. I was thinking I should have waited for/tried one of Citizen BJ019[018].
CA0265 on original bracelet -vs- BJ7110 on Bonetto Cinturini Model 281
![]()
After ~2 months, I have almost adjusted to the geometry of BJ7110 watch. In any case, now I have a ...
I cannot stress the ease of reading the date enough, for trying to read date on CA0265 is a miserable experience.
Daily Wear; Time Setting
The watch has B877 movement. With the included paper instructions in tiny type, I was able to set both local time and date, and the second time zone.
I initially found the watch (on rubber strap) to be top heavy. This watch/strap is heavier than the above mentioned chronograph on its titanium bracelet. Now I am do not notice that.
Rubber Strap(s)[4]
I measured the spring bar body thickness to be 2.01mm and tip end to be 1.18-1.19mm (with an old Mitutoyo digital calipers, if that matters to you). Others had noted the tip diameter to be 1.1mm.
I had purchased Borealis rubber strap (BRSIB22)[4]. It fits the 2mm spring bar, but with effort: spring bar went in the strap about half or two-third of its length rather easily; then pushed it with finger; pushed it with pin on the spring bar tool; then pushed it some more, with feeling one last time, so that tip of the spring bar would be exposed enough to go in the lug.
I found it to be not long enough for 8in circumference with enough of tail of the strap left after the keepers. I will use it where I won't need to wear the watch up the forearm.
Watch on Borealis strap (not that one could see much of it)
![Watch Analog watch Watch accessory Wrist Fashion accessory]()
So I currently wear the watch on Bonetto Cinturini Model 285[4] rubber strap. The strap is listed to accommodate Seiko fat spring bars (2.5mm). As such the Citizen spring bars easily pass through. Most of time, I wear the watch lower on the arm as shown in the first image (3rd hole from the lug). It is long enough that I can move the watch up the forearm (~8in; 4th or 5th hole from the lug, depends on length of the wrist) before wearing a wristband and still have enough of the strap pass through the keepers.
Watch on Bonetto Cinturini Model 285: buckle
![Wrist Glove Wool Arm Finger]()
Before Model 285, I had bought Bonetto Cinturini Model 281. The Citizen spring bars could not be used as there was not enough clearance. The spring bars that came with the strap had thinner tip ends than the space available in the lugs. So I had exchanged model 281 with 285.
Final Thoughts
I do wish CA0265 could have included a magnifying lens over the date; Borealis would make a longer version of the strap. I have been alternating between the two about every other day. Oh, also ...
BJ7110 in some darkness
![Watch Analog watch Watch accessory Number Font]()
BJ7110 in mostly sodium vapor light
![Watch Analog watch Black Watch accessory Fashion accessory]()
-- * --
Discussion elsewhere:
Background
Generally I wear watch above the wrist, pushed up the forearm where circumference is ~7.125in. Legibility is my most important criteria, followed by function & ease of use.
Citizen CA0265-59E watch above the wrist, 7.125in, where I usually wear
At this point in my life I have weak eyesight. I only care for a largest possible watch that I could wear (~43mm case; lug to lug <=49-50mm); a watch with distinct & large enough hour & minute hands which I can easily without Rx glasses and especially just after waking up when eyesight is blurry.
When I saw Citizen BJ7111-86L in the thread BaselWorld 2019 Citizen GMT Divers ...[1], I was interested in buying one because I was looking for a ...
- ~43mm titanium (for being lighter than stainless steel) watch;
- with 60-minute timing bezel, without chronograph (I already had CA0265-59E with one); and
- at least 100m water resistance.
As it happened to have a "GMT" hour hand, so I would not need to pull out/look for my phone to know the time in another time zone. Lovely, I thought.
Purchase
I was hoping that I would be able to buy from Citizen USA but that was not, and still is not, possible as of Aug 2019. In June 2019 I imported BJ7110-89E watch from Chino Watch Co, Japan for US$439. I had no issue in dealing with it.
I bought the black dial watch with yellow GMT hand, instead of BJ7111-86L (blue dial with orange GMT hand), so that it would be more visible in poor light due to higher contrast ratio. If the blue dial watch had yellow or white GMT hand, I would have bought that version instead. Or, so I think; I'm not in position to compare the variations.
It arrived, properly packaged, in about 10 days. It arrived when I was on vacation. Man, was I anxious to collect it and wear it on a rubber strap (instead of the bracelet that it comes with) as soon as possible.
Regret; Acceptance
I felt disappointment when I first saw the tiny hands after having been accustomed to wider, longer hands of CA0265 chronograph watch[3]. Visible face area (with normal 12-hour indices) of BJ7110 is smaller too. I was thinking I should have waited for/tried one of Citizen BJ019[018].
CA0265 on original bracelet -vs- BJ7110 on Bonetto Cinturini Model 281
After ~2 months, I have almost adjusted to the geometry of BJ7110 watch. In any case, now I have a ...
- titanium watch with both
- 60-minute bezel &
- comparatively inexpensive "GMT" movement to track second time zone;
- with magnifying lens (cyclops) over the date window which allows me to easily see the date from an angle; even the dates in 20's & 30's are readable unlike on possibly all other current Eco-Drive watches sans magnifying lens or "big date" feature.
I cannot stress the ease of reading the date enough, for trying to read date on CA0265 is a miserable experience.
Daily Wear; Time Setting
The watch has B877 movement. With the included paper instructions in tiny type, I was able to set both local time and date, and the second time zone.
I initially found the watch (on rubber strap) to be top heavy. This watch/strap is heavier than the above mentioned chronograph on its titanium bracelet. Now I am do not notice that.
Rubber Strap(s)[4]
I measured the spring bar body thickness to be 2.01mm and tip end to be 1.18-1.19mm (with an old Mitutoyo digital calipers, if that matters to you). Others had noted the tip diameter to be 1.1mm.
I had purchased Borealis rubber strap (BRSIB22)[4]. It fits the 2mm spring bar, but with effort: spring bar went in the strap about half or two-third of its length rather easily; then pushed it with finger; pushed it with pin on the spring bar tool; then pushed it some more, with feeling one last time, so that tip of the spring bar would be exposed enough to go in the lug.
I found it to be not long enough for 8in circumference with enough of tail of the strap left after the keepers. I will use it where I won't need to wear the watch up the forearm.
Watch on Borealis strap (not that one could see much of it)
So I currently wear the watch on Bonetto Cinturini Model 285[4] rubber strap. The strap is listed to accommodate Seiko fat spring bars (2.5mm). As such the Citizen spring bars easily pass through. Most of time, I wear the watch lower on the arm as shown in the first image (3rd hole from the lug). It is long enough that I can move the watch up the forearm (~8in; 4th or 5th hole from the lug, depends on length of the wrist) before wearing a wristband and still have enough of the strap pass through the keepers.
Watch on Bonetto Cinturini Model 285: buckle
Before Model 285, I had bought Bonetto Cinturini Model 281. The Citizen spring bars could not be used as there was not enough clearance. The spring bars that came with the strap had thinner tip ends than the space available in the lugs. So I had exchanged model 281 with 285.
Final Thoughts
I do wish CA0265 could have included a magnifying lens over the date; Borealis would make a longer version of the strap. I have been alternating between the two about every other day. Oh, also ...
BJ7110 in some darkness
BJ7110 in mostly sodium vapor light
-- * --
Discussion elsewhere:
