# The Citizen Attesa ATV53-2834, limited edition



## xevious (Feb 1, 2008)

A guy named Jason posted a video on YouTube of his ATV53-2834, that helped push me over the edge to get one. I was also fortunate to time my interest so that I'd pick one up at auction for about 50% off JPY MSRP. I like this watch so much, I thought some other folks might appreciate it if I gave it a fairly indepth write-up.

Many of the Japanese product manufacturers create special editions of their products that are only sold in Japan. The limitation is such that official product retailers in other countries cannot get any inventory of these products. Your only hope would be to physically visit a local retailer in Japan to purchase the product. Why do Japanese companies do this? There is something about Japanese society that craves exclusivity and this is one of the ways they show it. Well, a global economy is just that--global. When a seller offers something exclusive, a buyer will eventually find them, especially on "that auction site". And so, through the right channels you can obtain exclusive Japan market products on-line. Thankfully, I found such a channel and got the Attesa ATV53-2834.

Before I go into my impressions of the watch, here's a brief background on what influenced my choice for it:

When I first learned of Citizen's Eco-drive technology in 1998, I was really intrigued. Having long been a believer in solar energy from my childhood days, I was thrilled when Casio came out with solar watches affordable to the mass market (prior to this, you could only find them in rare models of high priced brands). Citizen also had a version of a solar watch, but comparatively it was very expensive. For me, Casio was the choice. But when LCD watches began to slip out of fashion favor, Casio cut back on their models and the solar line was discontinued. Naturally, other watch brands stopped making them as well, until a decade or so later when solar started making a comeback. Today, I think Casio sells more solar recharged watches than any other brand.

Citizen's foray back into solar watches came via their "Eco-drive" technology. It's an intriguing layered design which does not show any sign of a solar cell on the face. Going over a nice array of design choices, I eventually found a model I liked, a titanium alarm chronograph that I still wear to this day. I ended up getting two more Eco-drive models in the years that followed (one stainless steel model for dressy occasions and an Aqualand diver watch for plunging beneath the ocean surface). However, there were some design issues I was hoping Citizen would address. They came up with some great casing designs and watch faces to go with the Eco-drive, but some of the functionality was lacking. The biggest culprit had to do with setting the alarm, which was cumbersome and time consuming. I even wrote to Citizen with my complaints and offered some suggestions. I was politely thanked with a courtesy e-mail and follow-up inquires went unanswered.

Eventually Citizen did answer two of my most serious complaints: Ease of setting the alarm and a power level indicator. A striking model that Citizen addressed these two issues in is the Calibre 2100. It is a nicely designed watch, but a bit chunky for my tastes. I felt that if I was going to fork out several hundred dollars once more, it would be on a watch that really meets all of my needs.

The Citizen Attesa ATV53-28xx series 
When I spotted this Citizen Attesa series on a Japanese watch website, I quickly recognized that it had everything I've ever wanted from the Citizen Eco-drive model line. The only thing that held me back was the price. The MSRP was very high for what I'd normally pay for a watch, but even still the discounted prices appearing on eBay were quite higher than the MSRP of my other Citizen Eco-drive watches (which I never paid full retail for). I would have to summon up the courage to break my price point limits.

The ATV53 series features the 2831, 2832, 2833, and 2834 models. They all share the same movement, the super robust U600, and are made of titanium (both casing and band). Everything else is pretty much cosmetic variations in color on the face, casing, bands, and levels of anti-scratch treatment. So, I ruled out the 2831 right away, as it has a blue face that I don't find appealing--all of the other models have black faces. Next... the 2832 has a black bezel, but silver case and band. The 2833 has a two-tone case, with black bezel and some black accents on the band. The black accents all feature Duratect plus DLC. Then finally, you have the 2834, which is completely black with Duratect+DLC treated casing and band (plus a 20th anniversary limited edition case back stamping), red accents on some of the hands/indicators, and a backlight for the LCD displays. I really like the two-tone look of the 2833, so I set my sights on that model... and when I found these watches being sold on eBay at times not much lower than the 2834, I began to think it would be better to spend the extra money on the 2834. And so, I waited... and finally got one at the price I wanted.

The ATV53-2834

*The three things I appreciate most about the ATV53-2834* are the ability to set the alarm without the scrolling of the hands, the very visible hour/minute hands, and the micro adjustable band.
Prior Eco-drive models with alarms would force the scrolling of the minute and hour hands to set the alarm time, which can be annoying if you're 12 hours away from the current alarm time. The novelty of seeing the hands spin automatically wears off after a while, as you sit there waiting for the alarm time. This model lets you set the alarm rapidly.
I can definitely tell the time with a very brief glance on this watch, even in low light. Digital requires a little more effort.
My wrist expands and contracts quite a bit, depending upon my activity level and the air temperature. So, metal banded watches have to be fitted to my wrist so they won't be too tight when my wrist is expanded the most. This means the band gets loose around my wrist at times, something I find annoying. The adjustable band on the Attesa solves this problem quite well. I'm surprised not more watch manufacturers provide such a feature.
*Features
*The U600 movement is versatile and provides a number of useful functions. Analog displays show the local time, UTC time, 24-hour indicator, and battery level (it also doubles as a regional atomic clock synchronization selector). The left LCD display shows the home city and mode function information. The larger LCD display on the right shows the "away" city, and can be configured to show other information like the time and date. There's also a countdown timer, settable up to 99 minutes, and a chronograph. One of the key capabilities is the sophisticated atomic clock synchronization mechanism, which performs routine time calibration from one of three atomic clock signal stations (depending on your worldwide location). And lastly, the watch is solar power assisted (Citizen's renowned Eco-drive technology). Under a full charge, you can put the watch in a drawer for 6 months and it will still show the time accurately. Beyond that, the hands will no longer display the time but the time keeper will continue for up to another 2 years. So, you certainly don't have to worry about your watch running out of power when you don't wear it for a while (quite a contrast to the roughly 48 hour limit of a mechanical movement).

All of the watch functions work well and dependably... no surprise there, as Citizen has a reputation of making high quality movements. The modes are actuated by pulling out the crown to position #1, then rotating it. It could use a little more friction, so that position #1 is easier to select without slipping to position #2, but overall it works. The back lighting is bright enough to see the LCD displays clearly. The lume longevity is decent--not the best, but good enough for casual use. One other thing I really like is the countdown timer... you can set it, then return the watch to your usual function position (e.g. "Cal" for showing the date); the timer continues on and rings when it reaches 0. This is really handy for a little reminder when you need it. Overall, the watch is fairly easy to use. The method for setting the home and abroad cities and setting the atomic clock zone is not intuitive... you need to read the manual to get it all figured out. But it's not all that hard. I would download the U600 manual from Citizen and keep it on a computer for easy reference, rather than having to break out the paper manual from time to time.

The Visual and Tactile Experience
Size-wise, it's bold without being clumsy. It's the biggest watch I've owned so far and it feels "just right" (not heavy and not too light). The band isn't as contoured as on my older titanium Citizen, but it is still comfortable. And the micro adjustment really comes in handy. I find myself using it once or twice during the day in warmer months. *NOTE:* If you size the watch yourself or have it done by a jeweler, be advised that the band segment pins are fitted with a very small "collar" for a friction fit. Those collars are _easily_ lost. You take out two pins to resize the band, so if you lose both collars you're not going to be able to wear the watch--the pin won't stay in. I lost one of them before I noticed their presence and fortunately kept my eye out for the second one. 

As far as appearance goes, I find this watch to be the most handsome in my collection. It is the antithesis of a minimalist looking Sinn watch, with its busy face. But it's done well and the primary hands don't get lost in it. The mix of brushed matte and gloss black accents is superb. Some of the nice touches I like are the red accents (especially the second hand), the "faux chrome rivets" around the mode selector dial, the chrome trim around the hour markers, and the mix of gloss and matte black throughout the casing and band. The attention to detail is obvious, making no mistake that this is not your usual Citizen watch. It has been said that for formal affairs, you don't wear any kind of watch other than a pure analog, but in this case I'd make an exception. I have a strong appreciation for good watch design and have had my sights on a number of watches in the marketplace today, but I have to admit that my desire for those has been tempered by this watch. Which is a good thing, as this was no cheap watch either!

* The Gripes (just a few)*
Of course, nothing is perfect and this watch could stand a few minor improvements. The big hands get in the way of display information all over the watch face. Some of them are inconsequential, like the battery level and 24 hour indicators. But the whole lower half of the watch consists of the mode selector dial and the LCD screens. What if you want to do a count-down timing function, but that big fat minute hand is blocking the way? You either wait a few minutes or you try angling the watch to see the info. Citizen should definitely have put in a "park hands" function, scrolling them up to 12 o'clock on command when you need them out of the way. Lastly, it's a very minor point... although the band is comfortable, the outer edge is rather sharp. I wish Citizen had rounded it off a little more. You don't feel it on the wearing wrist, but you do when you touch it with your other hand. It also makes me wonder how well the DLC will last on it--hard edges are the bane of DLC. Other than my two main gripes, I really like the look of the watch.

According to Citizen, the ATV53-2834 is a limited edition run of 3,000 pieces only for the Japanese market, so it is bound to have a "unique cachet" outside of Japan. The Duratect hardened titanium plus the DLC coating and AR sapphire crytal means these watches will be looking good for a VERY long time. I hope to keep mine for as long as I possibly can (at least until Citizen manages some revolutionary advancement that makes this one seriously obsolete, but by then this will be a 'vintage classic').

However, if you don't mind a stainless steel model with a graduated bezel, you can opt for the Citizen Skyhawk JY0000. This is a USA market watch with the same U600 module and very similar watch facing, which is often sold on eBay in the low $300's. If it came in titanium, I would have gone with this model instead.

And now for the obligatory photos:









On the wrist and looking pretty good! LCD back light has a contrasting orange hue with good visibilty.









The lume activated in low light. Wish it would stay brighter longer.









A shallow angle, whereby the chromed accents are more visible.









You can see the "lens" effect of the curved crystal and the inner bezel markings specific to the atomic clock synchronization.









The sky blue lume at full glow. I just wish the lume half-life was a little slower.









The blue lume and orange back light contrast pretty well.









The watch profile. Notice the contrasting glossy and matte finishes and how the casing is thoughtfully tapered.









The very attractive nautilus Attesa logo on the band clasp.









The useful band sizing feature demonstrated. You can see it's about a good quarter inch. I noticed that I forgot to take off some of the protective plastic. :-d Also, what looks like a blemish on the link attached to the clasp is actually a black imprinted band serial number.

*UPDATE, 2011:*
I'm still very fond of this watch. Citizen naturally came out with other Attesa models since. They're really nice looking and one sports a bezel that is rotated with a knob. One other thing I'm very appreciative on this watch is the strength of atomic clock synchronization. It continually does a better job than my Casio watches and doesn't seem to mind whether the watch is on a west or east facing window sill.


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## Denizen (Jun 30, 2006)

really enjoyed reading your review and those are some excellent pics of the watch. i own the non-LE version and i love this watch for some of the very reasons you posted and then some. :-!

thanks for writing and posting this.


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## xevious (Feb 1, 2008)

Thanks, Denizen--I'm glad you enjoyed it. Please post your specific impressions of the watch as well, now that you've owned it for a while.


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## Denizen (Jun 30, 2006)

xevious said:


> Thanks, Denizen--I'm glad you enjoyed it. Please post your specific impressions of the watch as well, now that you've owned it for a while.


Ok, since you asked. ;-)

Likes:
- an audibly loud alarm that actually does what it's meant to do
- easy toggle to display main time between two time zones
- great bracelet and case design...the case reminds me very much of a thinner version of the IWC Ingenieur and the individual links on the Citizen bracelet have complete range of movement (woo-hoo)
- also love the hidden micro-adjust feature in the clasp (i discovered this by accident on my second day of wearing it...very odd that it is not mentioned in the owner's manual)
- love the fact that they made this in lightweight Ti with the scratch-resistance of Duratect
- i dig the amber color of the backlight and it is needed of course to read the LED in darkness. i have a seiko ana-digi that has no backlight...what genius at seiko decided to leave that out?!

Dislikes: 
- non-optimal LED arrangment & size. i would get rid of the 24hr dial in the upper right, move the citizen logo to its place instead which allows enlargement of the the left LED window so that it would show the calendar (or another user selectable function) without having me to select that function from the crown
- the calendar view is only viewable if it is selected. there should be some way to display this 'permanently' on the LED since it is such an oft-used function

remarkably these are the only 2 issues that i have found with the watch. i haven't noticed any issues with the sharpness of the edges that you mentioned in your review.

imo, this watch is nearly a perfect traveler's watch among it's many other uses. it has the dual time zone capability (albeit a little more complicated to adjust) and nearly every other useful watch function you could possibly need - chrono, timer, alarms - all in one package. the watch is comfortable enough that i can sleep with it and it's sleek and chic enough to fit under a long-sleeve cuff if you need to wear it with a suit (i dislike carrying more than 1 nice watch on inter-continental trips), etc.

*Wish-list:*
- as odd as it may sound, i would like to have a feature that allows me to hack the main time-keeping. yes, it's a rather unusual request but i want the ability to stop the movement from running. this would allow me to minimize wear & wear (from a very long-range POV of ownership) if i don't wear the watch for a month or two.

in the Time setting, if i pull out the crown it appears to do just that but i haven't played with it very much to be 100% sure.

and the 'obligatory' picture:


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## TTT (Sep 10, 2007)

Denizen said:


> in the Time setting, if i pull out the crown it appears to do just that but i haven't played with it very much to be 100% sure.


Just a warning: If you do that on a Seiko Kinetic, it wears the battery down really fast (it says not to do it in the manual for this reason). I'm not sure if the Citizen is the same in this case, or not.


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## xevious (Feb 1, 2008)

Vandice is right. It's not like other quartz watches where you pull out the crown to stop the time, and thus conserve the battery power and wear on the movement. Citizen has incorporated into a number of their Eco-drive movements a power conservation mode that kicks in when deprived of a light source for a certain amount of time. On my older Modena, it kicks in when the second hand reaches "12". If there's insufficient light, the second hand just stops (hour and minute hands continue). Once the watch detects enough light again, the second hand performs a rapid spin to "catch up" with the correct seconds position.

For the Attesa, this is what the manual says:

*Power saving 1*: When power is not generated for more than 30 consecutive minutes, the digital displays go off to save power.

*Power saving 2*: When the power saving 1 condition continues for 7 days or longer, to save power the hour hand, minute hand, second hand and 24-hour hand move to the reference position and the charge level indicator as well as the UTC hands (hour and minute) stop in their current positions.
The correct time continues to be kept inside the watch.
The alarm tone will not sound.
The power saving function will be automatically canceled when the watch face is exposed to light:
When power saving 1 is canceled, the digital display is restored.
After the power saving 2 has been canceled, the hands will rapidly move to the current time and return to 1-second interval movement.
If the watch is insufficiently charged, the second hand will begin the 2-second interval movement. Return the second hand to 1-second interval movement by sufficiently charging the watch.
On older Eco-drive chronograph models that don't have a power conservation mode, you can put the watch in chronograph mode which parks the second hand at the 12 o'clock position (ready for the chronograph function) and the minute/hour hands continue. The second hand draws more power to operate than the minute and hour hands, so it definitely conserves battery energy. There are also some models that have a "0" mode check position for performing hand alignments, which parks the second hand at the 12 o'clock position--this can also be used for power conservation.


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## herbolaryo (Aug 31, 2008)

Good Review Xevious,
Did you resize (remove links) the bracelet yourself?

I was comparing the clasp of Citizen Attesa in your picture from that of Seiko found in this page...
http://www.pmwf.com/Watches/WatchToo...ingToolUse.htm

When you remove the bracelet links from the Attesa, did you remove the bracelet from the clasp end?:think: 
(That is Step 0/opening the bracelet in the tutorial)
 
How is Step O (Opening the bracelet) done with the adjustable clasp of Citizen Attesa?:think:


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## JohnnyBlazE (Jul 26, 2008)

xevious said:


> ...However, if you don't mind a stainless steel model with a graduated bezel, you can always go with the Citizen Skyhawk JY0000. This is a USA market watch with the same U600 module and almost the same watch face, which is often sold on eBay in the low $300's. If it came in titanium, I would have gone with this model instead (nearly 50% cheaper than what I paid for my ATV53-2834!)....


Nice review and a stunning watch.

For information purposes, however, it would be useful here for me to note you can get the Skyhawk A-T in titanium (JY0010-50E), but not with DLC coating.
You can only get a stainless steel bracelet in black (not DLC).

The titanium version of the Skyhawk A-T is much lighter than my SS version but still feels solid


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## xevious (Feb 1, 2008)

Sorry, for some reason I didn't see further replies to my review, so I'm quite a bit late with responding.



herbolaryo said:


> Did you resize (remove links) the bracelet yourself?
> I was comparing the clasp of Citizen Attesa in your picture from that of Seiko found in this page...
> http://www.pmwf.com/Watches/WatchToo...ingToolUse.htm


Yes, I did size it myself. Your link to the Seiko adjustment page is still working. The premise is pretty much the same. I used a jeweler's screwdriver to push out the pins. There is a small friction fit collar involved that is _very_ easy to lose. I did manage to lose one of mine (which would only be a problem if I wanted to put the removed link back in), but when I sent my watch in for the software update, Citizen provided me with extras (no charge).



herbolaryo said:


> When you remove the bracelet links from the Attesa, did you remove the bracelet from the clasp end?:think:
> (That is Step 0/opening the bracelet in the tutorial)
> How is Step O (Opening the bracelet) done with the adjustable clasp of Citizen Attesa?:think:


Before removing a link, take a look at where the bracelet will be positioned if you remove one of the links either to the left or right. Whichever looks good to you, remove the corresponding link. When wearing the watch, the clasp is released by squeezing the two release pins. These are the same pins that adjust the sizing, except rather than pulling up on the clasp as you would to take it off, you just slide the band in the direction you wish (in/out).

I'm still happy with my purchase. I have an eBay search alert set out of curiosity to see if any come up for sale... and there have been none at all for over a year now. I guess owners are holding onto them pretty well. You'd probably have to go over to the Yahoo Japan auction website to find them, as it is specialized in Japan market only items (most of which seldom appear on eBay).


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## geogecko (Apr 24, 2007)

I still have mine too, and have never thought about selling it. In fact, I just recently sold my Casio Oceanus watch, and a Pathfinder, because I never wore them. I have also found my Attesa syncing when my Casio's wouldn't. I have noticed, over the winter though, that my Attesa will drop down to the first bar on the battery level, and discovered that this seems to be due to wearing long sleeves, and the watch face being covered up most of the time. It's quite an amazing watch, and I still find the DLC to be one of the hardest substances, or coatings, rather, of anything I've ever seen. Sure, mine has some scratches, but nothing that shows the color of the underlying titanium... I had a Casio that was "Ion" plated black, and it had more wear in two weeks, than this watch has had in over 3 years! Just incredible. Of course, I kind of expect it, after what I paid for it.

I have also loved that Citizen fixed the syncing issue that existed before the so called "broken date" issue. Now it syncs on the night of the time change, instead of the next night, like it did before.


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## xevious (Feb 1, 2008)

Corrected some strange corruption that happened to several of the image links, and updated the content a little.


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## boeing767 (Nov 18, 2009)

A great review, thanks for sharing :-!


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## DWong5354 (Sep 20, 2010)

Wow...revisiting this thread sure brings back memories. Reading this thread two years ago was what started my hunt for this particular model. It has since become my grail and I'm still on the hunt...:-(

This is a little off topic, but could you guys help a fellow watch collector out and just shoot me a PM if you see one of these come up for sale somewhere? My story can be found on this thread: https://www.watchuseek.com/f21/questions-regarding-citizen-attesa-atv53-2834-a-451758.html

I've looked everywhere, but to no avail...I've seen some of your guys' posts on other watch forums which I'm not a member of, so maybe one will come up for sale on those forums that I might miss?:-s

Thanks in advance for any help, I take really good care of my watches so I'm sure that once I finally get my hands on one I'll have no problems keeping it ticking for a long long time.

And my sincere apologies for going off topic xevious.


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## JohnWatch (Jun 26, 2010)

Thanks for the review, these Citizen are just great watches! 
Looks like a Skyhawk ( same movement and LCDs ) with a sporty but less complicated dial.


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## kingracer (Jul 24, 2009)

@xevious (or anyone else who owns this atv53-2834)... I'm curious about what you describe as "chrome" accents around the hour markers and mode dial. Are they silver in color? Bronze? Rose? Gold (I hope not!)? It's so hard to tell from pics on the internet. Do they match the outlining of the minute and hour hands? Do they match any other finish on the watch?

thanks


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## xevious (Feb 1, 2008)

^ I should have been more specific. They are "gold chrome" accents, but a rather light coloration. It is tastefully done on this watch and does not in any way shout out "bling."



I must say I have been very happy with this watch and I do not foresee ever selling it. It is superb in being able to synchronize nightly. Whereas my Casio watches are a bit touchy with placement, this Citizen does the job in any orientation. Also worth noting is accuracy. I turned off synchronization for 7 days and in that time the watch gained just 0.5 seconds! That's approximately 2 seconds per month. So, if tolerating a watch being off by no more than 10 seconds, one would need to reset this watch only once every 5 months. It sort of makes the synchronization a little superfluous, but I'm still glad to have it. ;-)


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## xevious (Feb 1, 2008)

Still own this, for several reasons:

* It's one of the most comfortable metal banded watches I own. I make use of the adjustable band feature, as it makes it easy to adjust when my wrist size expands/contracts with body temp and activity.

* The design may be busy, but it has grown on me. The sword hands have great visibility. The DLC is holding up well. It's not as "bullet proof" as Citizen may lead you to believe, but it's good enough. The interplay of matte and polished surfaces is another design aspect I continue to appreciate.

* Alarm tone is very decent. It will wake me if I've had a full night's sleep and my "good ear" is not pressed against my pillow.

* Atomic sync is excellent. I don't need to leave it near a window to synchronize. Beats out my CASIO watches for reliable synchronization.

* I periodically get questions or compliments on it. Only other watch I own that edges it out on getting noticed is my vintage Omega Seamaster DeVille from 1960.

* There are some attractive looking models that have superseded this one, but they have asymmetrical case profiles and just don't look as elegant. Plus, the functionality hasn't really improved. Frankly, I find the whole satellite synchronization to be unnecessary. The Radio frequency transmission is reliable enough.


The only times I've been annoyed by it is when I want to use a timer function and the frigging minute hand is sitting over the display! The U600 movement doesn't have a park mode when using the timer/stopwatch, which is an annoyance. But thankfully I don't run into this often.

I doubt it will really appreciate in value, but not really concerned as I'm probably going to own this for many more years to come.


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