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Review Citizen PMD56-2952

121K views 96 replies 38 participants last post by  Robbie_roy 
#1 ·
I received my new PMD56-2952 from Japan yesterday and here are my first thoughts on it. My criteria were quite simple. I wanted an Eco drive watch with a titanium case and bracelet, uncluttered black face, good clear luminous features and waterproof to 20 bar. Nothing sold in the UK gave me all 5 of those features and I decided to buy what I really wanted rather than taking second best.

I bought it through "Shopping in Japan" who have an online shop as well as putting items on eBay. The price was $690 or 57,700 Yen. I did see it cheaper on some Japanese language sites but none answered emails so I don't know whether they would post abroad and if there would be postage etc. on top. Amazon JP list the watch for example but won't post it outside Japan.

Anyway, 7 days after ordering it arrived and I had good emails from them with tracking so I was very happy with their service.

Firstly, it is even nicer in the flesh than the pictures and seems a very nicely put together watch.
A couple of things surprised me. Firstly that even though I have fairly small wrists (7 ¼") the bracelet almost fitted without any adjustment. I needed to remove a single link to make it the right size for me but I wonder if someone with big wrists would find it large enough. The bracelet also has a three position catch which adjusts about ½" in total.
Second item was the way the time adjusts. I realize that in Japan it is automatic but if it has to be manual it is a bit tedious. You need to pull the winder out and twist one way or the other. The watch then either adds or subtracts one minute with the second hand stopping at the 12 O'clock position. OK for small adjustments but this watch was on Japan time of +9 hours so it took about 15 minutes to alter. Hopefully I'll never need to alter that much again.

The instruction booklet is in both Japanese and English and I attach the English instructions as a pdf.

Some pictures below
 

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#81 ·
Looks great! Assuming you're not in Japan, have you managed to sync using one of the apps discussed earlier in this thread? I'm seriously thinking about pulling the trigger on one of these. I really just wish that Citizen sold it locally in Europe with the ability to sync directly to Atomic clocks here.
 
#83 ·
Hey Riverman, I tried the Clock Wave app when the watch first arrived, simply just because it had a lot of good reviews in the app store. I should have given this thread a more detailed read like Ziptie mentioned, because Clock Wave didn't actually work for me after about 30 minutes of fiddling (I didn't try dgaddis's trick above though).

I ended up setting the watch manually, but when I need to set it again or get curious, I'm going to give both Clock Wave and JJY Simulator a try.

The watch filled so many of my needs -- quartz, beautiful case, simple military / field dial, sapphire, titanium -- that the atomic clock sync would only be icing on the cake for me. I'm seriously considering emailing Citizen about this model because it's a shame it's Japan-exclusive, if I understand correctly (at first I thought it was just discontinued). TBH I always wanted to get into the brand before because of everything I've heard about the bang-for-buck, but so many Citizens seemed to have some over-the-top designs compared to the PMD. Just very happy I found threads like this.
 
#84 ·
I just got mine today! What a beauty. Perfect size for my skinny wrists. Outstanding finish especially when you consider the price. Great tool watch that can handle anything- never have to worry about it. The radio controlled sync is awesome- downloaded the app and it was a breeze. My first quartz since I started collecting- my automatic Omegas and Rolexes might start collecting some dust!
 
#85 ·
Glad that you are liking it Wooden! I'm feeling the same about my automatics and feel a little guilty when I'm wearing this thing for days in a row and start to see the time drifting off on the autos (or them winding down completely).

I thought some of you might get a laugh out of the email I had with Citizen about the PMD56 below. I am happy that they replied to me and I partially understand their logic. But I'd still love to see this series get a US or worldwide release. If anyone here gets bored, highly recommend they send in some comments to Citizen as well ... on the low chance that an overflow of feedback will encourage them to give the PMD a wider release ;)

Me:
"I recently bought the PMD56-2952 on eBay from Japan and wanted to let your US team know how much I love the watch.

As I understand it, the PMD56-2952 (and 2951) are only available in the Japanese domestic market, and I think this is very sad! I truly believe this model could be a great hit in the US as well, just as long as the antenna on the US version could be tuned to the Colorado atomic clock. I only say this because I don't think some of the other similar offerings like the Promaster Tough or the Promaster Tough Ray Mears have as nice a balance between the reasonable size and clean proportions as the PMD56.

It was also only through blind luck that I found out about the PMD56 online; if I was a more traditional buyer in a shop like Macy's or a jeweller, it would have been wonderful to run across a watch like this.

I would greatly appreciate it if you would forward this to your team! I am looking forward to wearing this watch for many years."

The response:
"I'm thrilled to hear that you found that watch and are happy with it. I agree with you that there are some watches that are only available in certain regions that are pretty cool and ask the same question of "why are they not available to us here". But in a way that makes the watch more special, knowing that anyone else near you will have that same watch."
 
#88 · (Edited)
I've had used -2952s as beaters twice, and love my -2951. I have even acquired a few others in the family. Sadly, they all wear a bit too small on my 8"+ wrist. I'm struggling with whether to keep the -2951. The blue -2864 is a keeper, the gray -2861 will probably go. The other blue is the PMT56-2711. Hard to find, great look, Wears even smaller due to the smaller crystal. :'-(

 
#89 · (Edited)
My 2951 arrived today. I've found nothing to be disappointed in. I was a little worried the applied indices would "look" applied. They don't, not on the wrist irl .

I got a decent deal used, but like new in box from a U.S. seller. It came sized perfectly (2 links removed), even to the point where the nifty micro-adjustment can be used fully. The bracelet uses pins and tubes; I couldn't find that info anywhere last night.

It was running 1 second fast, so of course I wanted to sync it. The iOS app I paid $2.00 for, which works fine for Ft. Collins, wouldn't sync using JJY setting.

So I got the free JJY app and it synced. Then I remembered what you said, Ziptie, and changed my phone to UTC. Just fyi, if you enter GMT into the iPhone date & time setting, nothing comes up as a suggestion. When I entered UTC, that appeared, I selected it, and then it changed the time zone name to GMT, along with my phone time. :confused: The watch then synced with UTC time, and I will have my four contiguous time zones memorized in no time. Thanks for that suggestion.

I've never had a watch with anything other than a black (mostly) or white dial. I think the moss green may grow on me. :)

So I am good to go, but I must add that I have also found another watch that appeals to me, and has an even easier method of changing time zones, the white dialed Longines VHP. It's so Swiss looking, and I love the autonomous nature of a 5 spy watch. Check out Random Rob's vid review. I have my sporty side too. :)

Great thread on a great watch.

15388020
 
#90 ·
Glad you are liking it Galavanter! Funny you mention the subtly-applied indices, because I would have also disliked them if they were too obviously dimensional or with something like an added metal outline. That -2951 looks like it's in great condition.

And Ziptie -- I'm late to reply, but definitely give the PMD56 some thought before you let it go! Sifting through this thread and a lot of your posts in it helped me decide on the beautiful little watch. I can understand how our taste on sizes change over time for sure though.
 
#95 ·
And Ziptie -- I'm late to reply, but definitely give the PMD56 some thought before you let it go! Sifting through this thread and a lot of your posts in it helped me decide on the beautiful little watch. I can understand how our taste on sizes change over time for sure though.
Interesting timing for me to find this thread again, just sold my last PMD56 last week. I've wholeheartedly moved into the CB0171 (etc) line, similar specs except world radio and 42 mm cases with flat crystals. The look is not quite as clean as the pmd56 models, but for me they're a better fit in every other way.

I did a long write up on that line here.

 
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