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 ...
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