Comprehensive review: the new Citizen Attesa Eco-Drive Satellite Wave GPS

We carried news of the Citizen Attesa Eco-Drive Satellite Wave GPS with our commentary when the watch was released on February 4, 2025. We had a loaner from Citizen Japan for a couple of weeks, and here is our hands-on review of the watch.

Review: Citizen Attesa Eco-Drive Satellite Wave GPS

The Citizen Attesa Eco-Drive Satellite Wave GPS Ref. CC4104-53E  retails at SGD 2,343.50. Price is inclusive of GST.

This is the hot new watch from Citizen for this year. The Attesa Eco-Drive Satellite Wave GPS watch is a technological tour de force like no other. The February 4 release announced two watches: one of the novelties is finished in a natural titanium finish using Duratec Titanium Carbide, and the other is finished in black using Duratec DLC. Other than that, both watches are identical. Our review sample is the natural finished, lighter looking watch. The CC4104-53E is finished in a DLC Titanium Carbide, and like the other novelty, features a ceramic bezel for the first time.

As a technical recap, Citizen made the first titnium watch in in the world way back in 1970. This was the Attesa X-8 Chronometer. It had a grey, unpolished case made from 99.6% pure titanium. It was powered by a chronometer-grade, electro-mechanical movement. Less than 2,000 pieces were made available for sale due to the challenge of mass-producing titanium cases. And today, it is highly sought after by collectors. Citizen was a full decade ahead of the first Swiss titanium watch – the iconic IWC Porsche Design Chronograph which was released in 1980.

The case, dial and hands

The case of our review sample is made from Duratec DLC. The other release of Feb 4 was in Duratec Titanium Carbide. As a handy comparison, the following paragraph explains the differences.

Duratec Titanium Carbide and Duratec DLC are a coating technologies, the former features a silvery hue showcasing the metal elegance, and the latter, was introduced by Citizen in BaselWorld 1987 achieving a dark coat. Both have excellent hypoallergenic properties and remarkably scratch resistant. In tests released by Citizen, the Duratec DLC coating is even more resistant to scratches than Duratec Titanium Carbide, and thus commands a small price premium.

The case shape follows the design language which we have been seeing from Citizen in recent years. This same language is used to design the Series 8, and now used on the new Attesa. The case is angular, with multiple facets. The facets are given contrasting finishes, some with fine linear graining, others being high gloss polish. The case is topped with an 8 sided ceramic bezel.

The bracelet is integrated seamlessly to the watch head, and features a three link design, again with contrasting finishes. The center link is polished and the sides are linear brushed.

The dial itself is rather congested. The sheer amount of information to be displayed demands that, and even with three sub-dials, each is called to double duty, depending on the mode indicator sub-dial located at the 3 o’clock dial position. The indices are appliqué and stnad proud of the dial, giving the impression of a 3 dimensional look. The indices are also faceted and feature high polish on the facets to maximise the light reflecting capability to improve legibility. The rehaut is sloped and cut with indents to accommodate the indices, and this gives an even deeper 3 dimensionality to the face of the watch. And for such a complicated dial, it is surprisingly easy to read, and very intuitive. The hour and minute hands are large and sword shaped with lume inlay. The seconds hand is long and slender no-nonsense style.

The movement

The Attesa features a closed caseback, so we are not able to examine the F950 movement that powers the watch. The specifications list is very impressive. This is the ultimate movement for Eco-Drive Satellite Wave GPS watches. The movement is capable of receiving time signals in as little as 3 seconds – the fastest GPS satellite signal reception in the world – and the hour and minute hands move rapidly to display local time. No matter where you are on planet Earth, these watches can rapidly receive time signals from satellites in orbit to ensure they always display the correct time. In our testing in Singapore, the time taken to synchronise with the satellite could take longer, most of the time, taking as much as 20s. We say as much as 20s, but this timing is still very impressive.

These watches are also equipped with Double Direct Flight which allows the user to rapidly change the display to local time in 26 time zones by selecting the city. The Attesa is also equipped with a chronograph as well as an alarm. As the time and date information is synchronised with the GPS satellite data, the watch keeps the entire calendar like any perpetual calendar would. However, the movement has the perpetual calendar built in, and capable of full automatic calendar control function even without synchronisation with the GPS. The watch autonomously and automatically adjusts the end of each month, including in leap years, until February 28, 2100.

The watches do have a rather steep learning curve with first encounters. And this is perhaps a necessity, given the complexity and sheer number of functions that the watch is capable of displaying. Keep the manual handy, and after a few days, it should be easy to operate.

Competitive landscape

The competitive landscape is lined with sports oriented watches built by folks like Garmin, Corus, Suunto, Polar and the like. We can also add the ubiquitous Apple Watch as one of those with the ability to synchronise with GPS. And among the serious watch makers, we have Casio with their Protek Series and Seiko with their Astron series.

In our mind, perhaps the closest competitor is the  Seiko Astron GPS Solar Dual-Time 5X53. The Astrons can also be offered in titanium cases with titanium bracelet. The titanium is Seiko’s competitive offering to Citizen’s Duratec. Seiko emphasises on their zaratsu finishing, but the same is available on the Citizen. The Astron GPS watches are more expensive at about EUR 2.5k, while the novelty is less than SGD 2.5k.

Concluding thoughts

Despite being 44mm in nominal diameter, and some 13.7mm high, the watch wears rather smaller than the dimensions, and is comfortable on my flat 7.5″ wrist. But the size does give it a presence, and the watch does get noticed and can be a bit challenging to tuck under a dress shirt. But in sporty attire, and out in the open, the watch shines. The lightness of the titanium case makes it easy to forget that it is strapped to the wrist. And the set and forget GPS timing system is easy to take for granted. When travelling, on arrival, one only needs to press the upper (2 o’clock) pusher for 2 seconds, and the watch goes into Time Setting Satellite mode. Once locked on to the satellites, it updates the time, and off we go!

Overall, this is a rather handsome watch. We quite liked the black ceramic bezel contrasting with the light, almost silver hue of the watch case and bracelet. And for the asking price of just below SGD 2.5k, we think this is definitely a consideration for the world traveller, who wants as little fuss as possible with his watch, yet demands absolute reliability and accuracy. On top of this, the Citizen branding makes this less of a concern in large cities, where wearing a high priced, flashy watch may cause one to end up as a victim of robbery. That said, we enjoyed our time with the Attesa.