Comments on: Citizen Men’s JY0000-02E Eco-Drive Skyhawk A-T Watch

By: Ragebomb

Ragebomb — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 23:30:28 +0000

This is one of my favorite watches. It's great to have a watch that generates power from light, and is always keeping accurate time thanks to the atomic radio. I set the time the first time, then I can basically forget about it until I wear it next. I have peace of mind that it will be accurate and have power. Citizen even says that fully charged, it can keep time for months if stored out of the light (like in a drawer).

Pros:
Solid watch that takes care of itself -- eco-drive, atomic radio. The rubber strap is great and I prefer the clasp over a buckle style strap. When this watch is on my wrist, the strap never snags on any jackets or shirts. Eco-drive is very efficient. Comes with a CD with "quick start" animated instructions, as well as the full user manual. Citizen's website also has animated instructions as well as the full user manual. When I emailed Citizen's customer support, got an answer to my exact question the very next day.

Cons:
My biggest complaint is the inability for the watch to show your local date, if you've set your alternate time display to somewhere significantly distant. For example, my "home" time is Los Angeles, and my "alternate/world" time is set for Hong Kong. There is absolutely no way to display the date in Los Angeles. This becomes a problem when it's already tomorrow in Hong Kong. Citizen's customer support confirmed that the only way to show the local date is to set my "alternate/world" time to also be Los Angeles. Ugh. This watch does so much -- it has a slide rule, atomic radio, eco-drive, but can't show me the local date. This really feels like a basic (and mandatory) display for a watch of this kind.

Overall I'm still really happy with this watch. The face can at first feel a little cluttered, since there is so much info being displayed between the multiple subdials and two LCD displays. If you're a fan of high tech (and have a good memory for the current date), this watch is for you!
Rating: 4 / 5

By: Wyatt Foard

Wyatt Foard — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 20:55:45 +0000

As a science & tech minded guy, when I saw this watch I felt the stirrings of technolust that I haven’t seen for some time! I had certain requirements for a new watch. I wanted something functional outdoors for biking and at the gym during workouts. I wanted something that displayed multiple time zones easily since I regularly work with people in Europe and Asia and I can never remember how many hours away they are. Easy or automatic adjustment to time zones when I fly somewhere was important. And of course I wanted something that looks great!

I have been extremely pleased with my Citizen EcoDrive. The solar power, radio-controlled updates, multiple time zone display (analog, digital, plus UTC), chronometer, and countdown timer make this watch perfect for me. I really like the soft rubber band as it makes the watch feel totally at home in the gym or on my bike. While I must admit I haven’t used it all that often, the slide rule bezel is a lot of fun has been useful for a quick calculation every now and then. ($/gal divided by miles/gal most recently!)
Rating: 5 / 5

By: Saumitra Biswas

Saumitra Biswas — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 20:52:54 +0000

I actually have the stainless steel band version JY0000-53E

pros – looks good, accurate time, true dual time all the time, big but does not feel that heavy (I was wearing a seiko titanium before this)

cons – can not see the date or the day at a quick glance. this is the deal breaker for me. Had I realised this earlier I would not have purchased this watch, the things it can do maybe great, but the day /date feaure is needed for daily functionality.
Rating: 3 / 5

By: P. Auerbach

P. Auerbach — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:19:56 +0000

I bought the new Citizen Skyhawk A-T while having my old Navihawk repaired for the second time (the function button keeps breaking on the Navihawk; despite that, I love the Navihawk and it’s been my favorite watch for 10 years since I bought it). The Skyhawk A-T is even better than my beloved Navihawk in many ways (has back light function; has a second hand; ecodrive; the function button that kept breaking on the Navihawk has been changed to a pull-out crown; atomic-time set every night, which works flawlessly in the DC area). The ONLY thing NOT better about this new model is that it’s significantly larger and bulkier. Other than that, it’s fantastic and I have only positive things to say about it.
Rating: 5 / 5

By: Dr Biken

Dr Biken — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 16:51:19 +0000

This watch has a great set of features that are especially good for travellers and those who work "in the field". All in all, I think this is one of Citizen's best high end multi featured watches. The functionality makes sense, it is easy to use, and except for its large size, the watch has a functional, sturdy look that is not overly gimicky, or pointlessly flashy.

It's very large size (45mm Diam excl. crown x 15mm thick) is, in my opinion, its major drawback, making the watch a bit on the heavy and clunky side. The size does, however, make it easy to read. Below is my list of its Pro's / Con's

Pro's:
- Case Accepts standard 22m wide straps, so you can change out the rubber strap for your own favorite if you want.
- 200m water resistant so it can be used for sport idving and water sports
- Full timing features (Day, Month, Year, Chronograph, countdown timer, wolrd time extra dial for UTC / other timezone)
- Alarms: 2 world time alarms and a countdown alarm
- Solar powered: No battery changes needed, this is only a pro if the rechargeable battery / solar system lasts a long time
- Visibility: Large easy to read dial. Luminous hands and markers, LCD backlight for night visibility.
- "Safe" buttons: The crown and 2 pushers operate such that it is nearly impossible to accidentally change modes or alter a setting. The crown must be pulled out to change modes / change settings. Also the buttons seem sturdy.
- Accurate: Radio corrected time from Atomic clock assures accuracy to probably within 1 second
- Slide rule bezel useful for multiplication, division, time and rate problems, conversion

Cons:
- 45mm diam x 15mm thick case is big and sits too high off my wrist making it heavy and easy to bump into things. I also think it makes the watch a little geeky (OK for me since I am a geek already). however, I don't think all of the watches features could be packed into a much smaller case.
- Main time dial doesn't have any numbers next ot the markers. Makes it a little tougher to tell time at a glance and harder to tell timein the dark (is my watch upsdie down?).
- Calendar mode only shows the date for the "away" city not the home city. You must set your away city to bethe same as the home city to get the local date. This is easy to do, but still cuts functionality. If citizen would move their label and make full digital window for the home city it would solve this issue.
- Countdown timer max's out at 99 min. Why not make it 24 hr like the chronograph. I could definitely use a longer limit on the timer (cooking, "met bakc in 2 hours", etc.)
- Backlight not useable in timer or chronograph modes. (not sure how to fix this, but it would be nice to have it)
- Digital window is a bit small, but still legible
- Case back is snap on, making it difficult to open yourself (althought there isn't much need to given no battery changes).
Rating: 4 / 5