Watch looks amazing in person, bezel is big but not overly thick on wrist; has a nice weight and is comfortable to wear throughout the day. Metal color is more of a classic yellow gold than rose gold. Buttons have good feel and travel. Solid time piece overall. Watch band is nothing special, leather is a little stiff and somewhat cheap feeling, akin to a cheap dress belt, but also not terrible. Band looks decent while worn; fits average size male wrist and is comfortable. Will likely not change the band unless it deteriorates. Buckle color matches watch perfectly and band color compliments watch color well. Watch metal is soft and will show wear with light abuse.
Set up will seem daunting without consulting the manual, but manual is relatively useful. Citizen support also responsive and helpful.
Watch shipped with an almost depleted battery and could not be set. After charging in sunlight for a day, watch works fine after 2 months and counting.
Once watch is fully charged, battery does not seem to be an issue as long as recommended storage and minimal upkeep (occasional exposure to sunlight/ambient light, not storing watch in a box, etc.) is practiced.
Watch may appear to be dead on arrival, likely a consequence of storage prior to sale; watch must be charged in sunlight for about 24 hours before becoming functional. Be sure to consult instructions in order to avoid rendering watch unusable with a premature full reset on a dead battery.

Myself

The Citizen BL-5403-03X is by far the best watch I've ever owned. The purchase was based on the quality and reliability of two other Citizen chronographs I've owned for years.

I've been longing for an Eco-Drive watch which recharges its battery from exposure to light and am glad I made the move. It's a beautiful watch and although large in size, not particularly heavy.

This watch does everything claimed by the manufacturer. Initial setting of time and the perpetual calendar function took a little careful reading of the extensive manual which comes with it. At the end of April (30 days) it was gratifying to see the perpetual date calendar roll over to the first of the month. Initial setup was not intuitive and required following the instruction manual carefully. The manual is well written and I got the setup right the first time.

As a commercial pilot of over 40 years experience it's a pleasure to wear this watch which is everything the manufacturer claims as well as a beautiful jewelry accessory. The chronograph function counts up to only one hour and it would be nice if it could count up to 12 hours like some other Citizen chronographs, but this is a minor point.

Although a bit pricey, I love this watch but the sales invoice is carefully kept out of sight of my wife. Making this purchase through Amazon.com saved me considerable money over the suggested retail price. The watch arrived quickly as promised.

I particularly love the Eco-Drive which recharges the internal power source and does away with periodic battery replacement. The perpetual calendar relieves me of the periodic chore of resetting the date as is necessary on lesser calendar watches.

To sum up my reactions, I love this watch and am very glad I made the purchase, although I wish I'd done long ago.

Citizen Men's BL5403-03X Eco-Drive Perpetual Calendar Chronograph Watch
I love Citizen watches, currently owning three. I've worn a Promaster with eco- drive for the last year, and it's a pleasure. Fortunately, it does not require use of an owner's manual to make adjustments. And then I have a Navahawk and the watch under consideration, the Eco- drive perpetual calender chronograph. This watch is like the Navahawk only in the abysmal quality of the manual and the difficulty in making any adjustments to date and time. Believe it or not, the Navahawk is actually harder to set than the perpetual calendar chronograph. Fortunately, the calendar chronograph came with a mini CD which enabled me to get the watch set up without searching the net for advice. My experience with my other Citizen eco- drive is that once you get it set, it keeps time accurately, no batteries to change, so you won't have to bother setting it again for a long time. Those of you with large wrists should be aware that the strap is both too stiff and too small. The case of this watch is around 47 mm, so it's made for big people. Why Citizen put a smaller strap on it is beyond me. I have to use the next to the last hole in the strap. You will find that a larger replacement 23 mm strap may cost over seventy dollars and will not have the rose gold buckle of the original. You may be able to detach the buckle on the original strap and put it on the new one to make it match. Others have commented that the face of the watch is supposed to be brown but is/ was black. The watch I received has a dark brown face. This is a quality Citizen product flawed by the manual, and dare I say complex setting routine and by, in my case, a strap that should be on a smaller watch.

Having many Citizens timepieces, all eco drive, which to me is a blessing, having to deal with battery changing every two or three years, not to mention, the re-adjustment of all the movement's within the watch, is a nightmare. This watch is an outstanding time piece, in appearance, color, rose tone, and cherry brown leather band. Many have made comments about the band being too short, and for me and most men this is true, however, I found a 24mm leather band, same color tone, with a gold clasp, and simply exchange it the two. It's perfect. My only wish is one day they make a version that has an all steel matching band.