!$ Citizen Men s JY0005 50E Eco Drive Skyhawk A T Watch

I purchased this watch back in November. When I first received it, I was surprised with its weight when compared to the Casio Pathfinder Titanium that I also own. However, I've grown accustomed to the mass, and have been impressed by the durability of the black ion coating. My titanium watch is covered with scratches, and the Skyhawk's black coating hasn't received a single mark.



Agree with others - that this should be offered with a sapphire crystal, and this costs one star in my review. A retrofit is available from Citizen, with the part costing $45, so you would think that Citizen consider the marketing impact of not offering a sapphire crystal given that we are talking about a $500 watch here.



Sending the watch to Citizen costs approximately $100 for a crystal replacement (for crystal, a couple of bezel parts that have to be exchanged, and labor), and you have to be without your watch for a few weeks. Don't get me wrong - I'm glad that Citizen offers the service. Just wondering what the incremental cost of the sapphire crystal is when compared to mineral. If it were actually only $25 more for the sapphire (say $45 for sapphire and $20 for mineral glass), then you would think that they'd want to do away with all the hits they have in reviews by installing it in production. Many have dinged the Skyhawk A-T citing the ease with which the mineral crystal is scratched. It does protrude from the front face quite a bit, and seems very vulnerable. I protected mine with invisishield, but anticipate sending mine in for a sapphire crystal.



Second negative is that I wish Citizen would incorporate the U680 movement of the japanese market watch into the US version. I removed a second star for this oversight. It's really is annoying not being able to display the date in your current time zone. Citizen has fixed this in Japan, and it seems strange that they wouldn't want to address this for US market watches as well.



Comparing the functionality of my Casio to the Skyhawk, there are a few things that I miss - which causes to me to use both watches nearly equally. First is the apparent greater sensitivity of the WWV receiver in the Casio. Many nights my Casio receives an update when the Citizen does not. This when they are sitting side by side on our counter.



I wish that the Citizen had the hourly beeper function of the Casio. This helps me keep on time for appointments, and is a feature that I miss when using the Citizen.



Overall, I would still purchase the watch because the combination of functionality (solar, atomic sync and analog display) isn't available anywhere else in the market at any price. With a few minor adjustments, Citizen could have a real classic on its hands.



Another note - watch the Amazon price. It fluctuates quite a bit. I purchased mine in November for about 30% less than the current price. Wait until the price is back down around $400 and you can get the sapphire installed with the difference!








(8 customers reviews)
Customers Rating=4.5 / 5.0

More Detail For Citizen Men s JY0005 50E Eco Drive Skyhawk A T Watch

• Ecologically friendly, light powered Eco-Drive Caliber U600 Japanese-quartz movement; charges in natural sunlight or indoor light
• Max power reserve: 180 days to 30 Months with Power Save; low charge warning: 3 days; charge time from stop state to max charge: Incandescent Light - 150 hrs, Outdoors, Cloudy (10,000 Lux) - 60 hrs, Outdoors, Sunny (100,000 Lux) - 20 hrs
• Durable, hardened non-reflective mineral crystal; case diameter: 48 mm; 2 Alarms; 1/100 second chronograph measures up to 24 hours; 99 minute countdown timer; rotating slide rule bezel
• Stainless steel case; black dial; perpetual-calendar; world time (43 cities) functions; Greenwich Mean Time display; atomic timekeeping with radio-controlled accuracy
• Water-resistant to 660 feet (200 M)