Citizen Skyhawk Review

What was your dream growing up? Oh no, I wasn't interested in flying but I did like computers. I found Windows fascinating, and wondered how people came up with this stuff. Somewhat ironically, I ended up working in the medical field.

Regardless, this watch reminds of those yester years. Seriously, how did people in Citizen manage to fit so much into a 45 x 15mm watch (49mm lug-to-lug)? Eco-drive, atomic time keeping via radio-signal, chronograph/timer/alarms/etc.

Citizen's Promaster line, I believe, are probably the most serious tool watches out there. I think the lack of attached history (for most of the watches in the line-up) also allows Citizen to make modernizing adjustments as necessary.

When I first saw the watch online on Citizen's website, I immediately shot it down. I'm not a pilot. It really was not my usual style. It was also 45mm. And yet, when I saw it in person, I was strangely attracted to it. I had to try it on.

The watch is super light. It's made of grade 5 titanium ("super titanium" as Citizen calls it). It's quartz. Despite its humongous size, it's easy to forget that you have it on.

The dial, covered by AR coated sapphire crystal, is very dense. Honestly as a non-pilot, the slide rule bezel, UTC time, and the miniscule 24 hour indicators are sort of useless. There are also two digital displays on top of all this! And yet again, it is very easy to read the time. Against the charcoal gray dial, the white indices and hands pop out. 

The lume is pretty good too. Not their diver great, but you're not going to have trouble reading it at night. If all fails you also have a back light to read the second time zone time.

The crown is very grippy, and creates a nice "click" every rotation. It is used to select the mode and to change settings. All in all, it hS been a pleasant experience with a crown and pushers.

The watch is not perfect, unfortunately. To make way for their branding, the left digital window only displays the home city. It would have been nice to forgo "Eco-Drive" and "Titanium" on the dial for a constant date display instead.

Secondly the UTC and 24 hour hands aren't lumed. Not a huge deal but I would have liked it.

Thirdly the functions are a little difficult to use, and sometimes feel a little less refined. For example, changing the time zone feels like it should be done by rotating the crown, but in actuality is done by pressing the pushers. I guess bigger than that, you need to pull out the crown to change modes. There is also no way to turn on the back light whilst using certain modes. I understand this is due to them being unable to add extra buttons on the left due to the radio signal receiver being placed on the left. Regardless, another solution such as pressing the crown ala Timex's Indiglo might have been good.

Lastly, the watch is huge. There's no way about it. I have come to terms with it by reminding myself this is a pilot's watch made for pilots. The short lug-to-lug helps.

There's a certain romance with mechanical watches, the notion of your own movement tightening the spring, which sets in motion the gears, that tells us the time, usually accurately. But I think there's marvel in quartz movements and electrical engineering too.

I can't quite explain it well but this watch just sparks a little joy in me whenever I look at it, and I think my 16 year old self would've given me a pat on the back. Just something so geeky cool about it.