A handsome analog with the functions of a digital

For years I've worn a cheap digital watch because I couldn't find anything nicer looking that incorporated the same functions as my digital. Analog watches offer a more attractive timepiece but you usually have to sacrifice the handy functions I had grown used to having. For me the Eco-Drive Skyhawk combines the best of both the analog and digital worlds.



The Skyhawk has two small LCD's that give it all the same functions as my digital and even add a few more. You access those different functions by turning the winding crown (which actually doesn't even serve that function on the Skyhawk since the watch is powered by a solar cell beneath the faceplate). Turning the crown rotates the tiny mode hand on the bottom-most dial and points it at the abbreviated name of the function you've selected.



The functions displayed on the LCD's are: Time (hour minutes and seconds on the right display with the time zone on the left); Calendar (day month and day of the week on the right time zone on the left); Alarm (there are three separate alarms-hour minutes and `on' and `off' on the right time zone on the left); Chronograph (up to 99' 99" on the right the left indicates split time etc.); Timer (counts down from 99' 99"); and Set which is for setting up the time date etc. for the watch. You can program in customized names for the time zones if you choose. For example instead of LAX for Pacific Time I have SEA (for Seattle) programmed for my time zone. Since the analog hands show my local time I leave the LCD in Calendar mode but you could also have a different time zone's time or date set to display.



The other two small dials show a 24-hour UTC clock (Universal Time Constant-same as London time) in the upper-right dial (with minute and hour hands) and a 24-hour clock (with just an hour hand) for your local time zone in the upper-left dial. My watch arrived with the proper date and time already programmed in. I just had to set the watch to my time zone.



There is a slide-rule bezel that rotates around the faceplate and apparently can be used to calculate fuel and oil consumption for an aircraft. I didn't notice anything in the instructions that explained how to use this but I'm not a pilot or engineer and don't have a use for it anyway.



The Skyhawk ships with a CD-ROM that has narrator walk you through the steps for setting up your watch and using the various functions. These identical tutorials can be accessed from Citizen's web page here: http://www.citizenwatch.com/us/frame_noflash.html. There is also a printed manual that covers the same information.



Citizen claims this watch will never need a new battery in your lifetime. The Skyhawk recharges its internal battery by way of a solar panel beneath the faceplate. When you look closely you can see that the faceplate is made of a dark but semi-transparent material like the lenses of sunglasses. With normal wear it should keep itself charged with ambient light whether indoors or out. Even if denied a light source Citizen claims a fully-charged watch can go four months before running out of power. The left LCD displays up to three horizontal bar to indicate how charged the watch is.



I only found two negatives with this watch. There is one function it does not have that my $10 digital watch does and that's a light for reading time in the dark. Lights take up a lot of battery power so I can understand why Citizen opted not to include one on a solar-powered watch but I do miss it sometimes at night. The numbers on the faceplate and the analog hands do have a glow-in-the-dark material on them but it's still not as easy to read the time in the dark as it is with my digital which has a blue backlight.



The other negative (for some people) may be the size. This is a fairly good-sized watch on your wrist. It's a little wider than most men's watches and probably a little thicker too. That said I think the faceplate size and overall design of the watch is such that it doesn't look too big on my just-under-medium-sized wrists. But it's a personal call and I can see how some might find this too big and bulky for their tastes. You may want to visit a local watch dealer to take a look before ordering.



You should know that there are three different versions of this watch with varying price tags (all metal mixed metal/rubber wristband and a Blue-Angels-commemorative version). Each version is available in either stainless steel or titanium. Mine is the all-metal stainless-steel version. I weighed the pros and cons of titanium and decided against it. Relative to stainless steel titanium is more resistant to corrosion has greater tensile strength and is lighter. But I can't imagine any scenario in which I'm going to need those advantages. The watch's weight is a non-issue to me. Once it's on my wrist I hardly even notice it's there. The disadvantages of titanium are it costs significantly more and has a slightly darker hue and less luster than stainless steel. Titanium is also a softer metal so it should be less resistant to abrasions.



All in all I'm very pleased with this watch. It couples a handsome understated elegance with all of the functions I want in a timepiece.



You'll have to size the watch's wristband when you get it (unless you have very large wrists). You can do it yourself if you have the proper tool. There are tiny pins holding the different links together. You need an equally small tool to push them through from one side to the other. Take note of the arrows on the inside of the wristband that show the direction you should push the pins. If you don't size it yourself be sure to point those arrows out to the person that sizes it for you. I took my watch to a jewelry counter at a respected clothing store to seek help. Unfortunately the woman who helped was lacking in hand strength and ended up scuffing up several of the metal links before I knew what she was doing (yes brushed stainless steel will scratch). If you can find the tool to do it I recommend sizing it yourself to avoid the aggravation I went through.

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Great!!!

I have 4 Eco-Drive watches and this one is the best yet!

Sporty and elegant. Not too heavy. It has a stopwatch that figures out the average speed of a race car based on the track length you input into the watch. It also automatically shows the fastest lap.

I bought it for $450 out the door so maybe there are better prices out there.

This watch was just released.More detail ...

For geeks with style

This review is for the Citizen Skyhawk BlueAngel edition titanium watch however most of the comments are relevant to the entire Skyhawk series. I received this watch (Mar 2) days ago. So far I am very happy with it. I had a hard time deciding between the Blue Angel and the "regular" Skyhawk; I had an even harder time deciding between titanium and non-titanium. Below is a list of pros and cons of the watch(es) roughly in order of decreasing importance to me. However I do want to make clear that I do love the watch the pros WAY outweigh the cons.



Pro:

- Watch looks beautiful though some may find it "too busy".

- Watch never needs batteries (solar charging) and even has power saving modes which is fascinating for a techno-enviro-energy saving guy like me.

- I've always been a sucker for dual display (analog/digital) watches. As such this watch has MANY useful functions: stopwatch (split/stop) countdown timer (1-99 minutes) many time zones (analog aligns with any time zone you want at the press of button) 3 Alarms (in any time zone) calendar (with day of week month and year - never need to correct for leap year month or daylight savings) and slide rule calculator on the outer dial of which I have more to say in the next bullet.

- I was born after the slide rule generation so this is my first exposure to the concept. It is intriguing! This particular configuration (or two proportional dials) allows for multiplication and division to 2 significant figures (e.g. 120/43 or 0.18*1.4). This is plenty sufficient for calculating sale price tax tip unit price in stores car/air fuel economy etc. And it sure beats wearing around what I call a "geek watch" - a calculator watch. I used to love the functionality of a calculator watch but people were just embarrassed to be seen with me in them! :-) This watch is for geeks with style!

- Watchband is bracelet that does not open fully so it's easier to take on an off and won't fall off onto the street if accidentally unlatched.

- Titanium is wonderfully lightweight in comparison to the steel!

- I slightly prefer the yellow and blue pattern on the slide rule as opposed to the gray of the Skyhawk.

- I like the hour notches on the Blue Angel as opposed to the large while numbers on the regular Skyhawk which is somewhat awkward due to the non standard numerical sequence: 1369&11 as opposed to the more standard 12369.





Con:

- Watchband replacement: The first link is part of the main watch (circle) therefore only very specifically sized watchbands will fit if it needs to be replaced. If the line is discontinued this may pose a problem.

- The hands and hour dots are not coated with a phosphor film so the watch does not glow in the dark. I understand not having a light for the digital display (uses too much power?) but the watch should at least glow in the dark.

- To access a lot of the watch functions the crown must be turned (and pulled out) a lot. I imagine that this part will be one of the first to fail after many uses (just my guess).

- Crystal curves out (convex) so it is more likely to make contact with other surfaces and thus be more easily scratched.

- Scratches show up more easily on blue dial (blue angel) rather than silver dial (skyhawk).

- Two of the 3 internal dials serve very little function and seem to be more for form over function. Most people will not need a UTC dial or a 24 hour dial - when the digital display could show both of these times more accurately. It would have been better to have one of the dials be power level and/or perhaps light level(?)

- The second link of the watchband does not lay flat therefore the watch cannot be stored flat but must always sit on its side.



A note on Titanium and scratching.

- Other users have commented that the scratches show up more on the finish on the titanium rather than the steel. Here the Blue Angel is different from the Skyhwak. The titanium Skyhawk has the gray finish wheras the Blue Angel titanium band looks quite similar to the steel (somewhat less shiny). If you do not abuse the watch I think that the weight savings is worth it. I'll reserve final judgment on this after a year or so of normal wear.More detail ...

Simply stunning

I fell in love with this watch when I saw an ad for it on a big billboard. The watch face looks awesome. I immediately put it on my wish list and the very next day saw an Amazon third party seller (dexclusive) running a promotion for it for $418 (normal price is > $500). I did not hesitate to pull the trigger and order it.



I love big/complicated looking watches and this fits my nerdy needs perfectly. It even comes with a CD with an instruction manual (that's how complicated it is!!). But I had no problems setting it up with the help of the quick-guide that comes in the box (I still haven't opened the CD).



This particular item is all titanium based and of course it's eco-drive so no need for batteries...ever.



I have uploaded 2 pictures that I shot of the watch in the product's main page.

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Beautiful watch... One (possibly) major flaw...

I compared this Blue Angels version with the Black/Orange version of this Skyhawk model and liked the blue/yellow tones much better. So I bought it.



However Citizen decided to make a change in one of the more important controls between the two variations the Crown. On the other version the crown is knurled. Therefore it's easier to get a grip on it to pull it out as needed. You need to pull the crown out one stop to change to any of the other modes. If you spend good money for something with all these features you will figure on using them.



The crown on the Blue Angels version albeit nice and sleek is smooth around it's circumference. When it's on your wrist you either need a very long (and curved) fingernail to pull the crown from underneath or you need to remove it from your wrist first. The only point where you can "catch" the crown to pull it is underneath and at the base of the crown. The top side of the case covers the bevel at the base of the crown.



Sure you can leave extra links in the band and "maybe" be able to get underneath the crown to use it while wearing it but the watch will be spinning all around your wrists during the day.



Now I don't know if frail fingers would do better operating this. Just roughly gauging the human physique and proportions of the extremities only someone with large enough arms/wrists would even feel comfortable wearing a watch this size and weight for any period of time. Therefore I would expect those who can wear it to have larger diameter fingers compared to the rest of the populace. Those larger fingers just cannot get under the crown very easily to activate it.



I like the watch's features but I'm afraid I might have to return it. I will be using the alarms and chronograph quite frequently and having to remove the watch each time I want to do something with it simply will not do. Especially for the price it sells for.



I might like the black/orange version if I give it a chance. That has the knurled knob. Or I might just trade it in for a Citizen Promaster SST instead.More detail ...

A review for the Titanium model

There already exist many reviews on Amazon for this watch. Most of the reviews can be found in the non-Titanium non-Blue-Angels models. I just need to add a couple things. (I own this Blue Angels Titanium model).



TITANIUM-SPECIFIC PART: The Titanium version is much lighter! I compared it against a stainless steel model. The difference is huge. I know what most guys are thinking "unlike this reviewer I'm a real man who can handle an extra ounce on my wrist." FYI I consider myself pretty athletic. But I appreciate not feeling the watch on my wrist most of the time. Bottom-line: it's a personal choice. Titanium is lighter stronger and personally makes me feel better about this watch. Stainless steel is cheaper and gets the job done.





NON-TITANIUM-SPECIFIC PART - WATER RESISTANCE: The product description says "water resistant depth: 660 ft". I bought this watch thinking I could take it for scuba diving. The face of the watch says "WR 200" and the backplate says "WR 20BAR". But if you look up the owners manual both these terms actually mean you can only skin-dive (I guess that means snorkeling.) Scuba-diving with air tank is NOT ok for this watch.



CALENDAR: HUGE pain in the a** to use. The date is only displayed for world time not local time. This means at those hours when the world city is a day ahead of or behind your local time you cannot get an accurate reading of your local date. The only fix is to set the world time city as your local city which defeats the purpose of the "World Time" feature.



IN THE DARK: This watch is great in the dark! The luminescent dials are very bright in the dark. Additionally there is a backlight. Because Apollo powers this watch I don't need to worry about the backlight shortening battery life.



This is my first Citizen and I LOVE it. Still I'll give it four stars because the awkward calendar could have been very very easily avoided by just a slight amount of foresight in design.

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SUMMARY



PROS: Titanium = strong + lightweight; Atomic accuracy - never needs setting; Easy to read in dark; Never needs battery replacement; Very good looking; Japanese quality at a fractional of the cost of Swiss antiquity.



CONS: VERY CLUMSY calendar function; Water resistance not adequate for scuba-diving; Most of the features that look cool have no practical use for most; Endorsed by Eli Manning - OH PLEASE!More detail ...

Citizen Skyhawk AT Atomic Watch - JY0000-53E

Skyhawk A-T

Model: JY0000-53E



PROS:



I bought this watch as I finally came to the realization that I needed a timepiece that did everything and required no upkeep. No battery changes are therefore required as the solar panel face is more than sufficient to keep the internal batteries charged in regular use (fully charged the watch is rated to operate 6 months without sunlight and the watch easily stays fully charged even in regular office use - there is a charge indicator on the face).



The most important (and costly) feature of the watch is that it keeps perfect time. It permanently stays within one second of actual time as it has a radio receiver that automatically resets it to the exact time every day in the US through a radio broadcast from the US atomic clock. Europe and Japan have similar broadcasts from their atomic clocks and the watch can be set to receive from those broadcasts if you are in those areas. Note that most of Canada Mexico and Eastern China are also covered by the aforementioned broadcasts but some areas at the outer rim of Europe are not. I would suggest that if you are in doubt about whether you are in range of atomic clock broadcasts that you look at the full instructions for the watch which can be found on the citizen site under "technical information" (it has maps showing coverage areas).



Given the additional expense for the atomic time reception feature it would be pointless to buy this watch outside of those areas that can receive atomic clock broadcasts as one of the other Skyhawk watches would be a better choice. Without any radio reception the watch is rated to no more than 15 seconds loss per month so should you travel outside of reception areas the watch will still keep excellent time.



Reception of atomic time broadcasts in the US has been very good despite the fact I live towards the east coast and the time broadcast emanates from Colorado. Nine out of ten nights the watch updates and I have never found the watch to be more than half a second off from actual time after several months of use.



As this is a pilot's watch one of the greatest features is that you can easily and quickly move between time zones (without having to reset the watch) and it would be useful for anyone who travels or is calling people in foreign countries (so you don't accidentally call them at 3 am). You can display one time on the hands and a different time zone on the LCD if you wish. Two dials also display UTC and 24 hour time.



Countdown timer date chronograph and two different alarms exist on the watch using the LCD to work and set. A significant improvement over previous versions of the watch is a backlight on the LCD. The slide rule on the outside does permit rudimentary multiplication and division as well as calculations relating to some airplane functions. The watch is waterproof down to 600 ft so you don't have to take it off while swimming or in the shower (note: this is not a diving watch and it really does not meet the requirements for diving).



All around this is an extremely useful watch if you need to know the exact time may travel a lot and have some interest in the rest of the functions. It is a good looking quality timepiece very solidly made and I would highly recommend it but you need to take into account some drawbacks stated below before a purchase.



CONS:



A review would not be a review without stating any negative aspects of the watch so here they are. First of all it is big and somewhat heavy being made totally out of stainless steel (no titanium version is available at the time of this review and it would be worth the extra price should one become available). Even by the standard of a diving watches (which are usually pretty big) this is a big watch. It's somewhat thick but really the diameter of the face is what might be considered large. On anyone with a slight frame it may appear oversized and be uncomfortable. For those who are used to wearing all-metal diving watches it does not take long to adjust to the size and weight. For those preferring slim elegant dress watches this watch would be a bad choice.



The watch is also quite complicated (as it does so much) but it does come with excellent documentation and even an interactive setting instruction disk. Intitial setup takes some time but once that is done you soon get used to using its features. If you are not the type to spend at least a little time learning how to make best use of the watch this may not be your timepiece.



One feature that I am surprised Citizen kept on this watch was the requirement you pull out the crown to set some things. This is somewhat annoying and I worry about the durability of constant use of the crown in that manner. Although the strap is very solidly made and quite comfortable you can only adjust it by adding and removing links. Once you realize you can use a thumb tack to push out the link pins (in the direction of the arrows stamped on the reverse of each link) you can adjust it yourself but it's a fiddle (NOTE: the pins are split at one end (the NON-split end going back in first). Make sure you put them in the right way round and back in through the side of the links they came out).



If you are looking for the cheapest price on this watch make sure you buy it from an authorized dealer (even some ebay stores are) as the warranty probably is not valid if you buy it from someone else.



Without a doubt for those interested in this type of watch with the aforementioned functions and features it's a fantastic watch. For those of slim build or not used to wearing the bulk of a large diving watch this may not be a good choice.

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