Citizen

The choices are Quartz, Automatic or Eco-Drive. Honestly, go with a quartz if you just want a straightforward watch that keeps good time without breaking the bank. If you're a fan of the idea of a mechanical watch that gets its power from your wrist, then automatic is probably your best bet. But if you just want the easiest option - accurate, no fuss and no regular battery swaps - then Eco-Drive is probably your best choice.

So - Eco-Drive uses light to charge the watch, it's pretty simple. Light coming through the face charges a little rechargeable cell inside the watch and keeps it ticking over. Lucky for you, you can get that light from anywhere - even indoor lighting - so you don't need to do much of anything except wear it.

We think Eco-Drive's a good choice if you don't want to spend your time worrying about swapping batteries out. It's accurate like a quartz, but it's charged up by light so you don't have to do anything. It's just the easiest Citizen tech to live with day in, day out.

We think automatic watches appeal to people who see their watch as more than just something that keeps time. They don't need batteries - your wrist action winds the mechanism up. So while they may need a bit of a tug or a spin every now and then to keep them running, they've got a more traditional, authentic watch feel and are the choice of the collectors so if starting a collection, Citizen Automatic watches are the perfect entry in the world of horology.

Yeah, pretty much everyone agrees that Citizen is a pretty solid value for money. You get a reliable watch that you can wear every day, plus tech like Eco-Drive, and a whole bunch of other models from dress to sport to automatic. And you can get all that without breaking the bank like you would with some of the luxury watch brands. Citizen also have premium watches in the Series 8 and the Attesa collection in case you are looking at the top end.