I love this watch, like the other Skyhawk, Navihawk and Blue Angels series. It has all of the features and quality you expect in this series: atomic timekeeping, solar power, functions and that bold Navihawk look. In previous versions, the bezel was free-rotating, which means you hold and twist the bezel where you want it. The downside is the bezel never stayed in place. It often moved with minor external pressure.. With this new design, the crown will only rotate by turning the knob at the bottom left. An excellent upgrade that ensures it always stays in the same place. I prefer the "old style" buttons on this, as opposed to the newer design where it blends into the watch case. The newer design may look more refined to some, but I like the sporty, functional look at this one has. Now the downside. And it is major for me. Citizen designed a masterpiece and then stuck a super-glossy dial on it, which reflects all available light directly into your eyes. The picture on this page looks absolutely nothing like it does in person. In the picture, the dial is a deep, dark, flat blue, which allow the marks stand out very well. In person, though, it is a washed-out, satin/glossy light blue, which reflects a great deal of ambient light, even though there is no light directly overhead. When I look at the watch, I have to turn my wrist at different angles, which moves the reflection to different spots, just so I can see the entire dial. And even then, the glare drowns out the fantastic face design, so it never actually goes away. I went to two other jewelry stores to look at this watch and they are all the same way. I love this watch and I'm trying my best to get over it, but I don't know if I can look at the glare for the next 5-10 years. I may have to return it for a different color or different model altogether. Whatever I decide, Citizen is still the only watch for me. I won't wear any other brand.
There's no need to ever take this watch off. Its my main watch because it has almost everything i look for in a watch. My main issue is that this watch doesn't come with a saphire glass for its price point. Also wouldve been nicer to have an external rotating bezel. The things i like most are: not needing a battery, perpetual calendar, and slide rule.
getting the time to properly set only happened once since I purchased this watch. I've followed the manual (downloaded pdf) to the letter and the analog display won't sync up with the digital. I tried the radio-autosetup a few times. the analog is 20 minutes behind the digital, which is correct. I tried the full reset twice. literally no effect. I'll check with support but right now, it's disappointing to have this nice-looking watch while I check my phone for the correct time.
I have this watch and enjoy the Eco Drive and atomic clock update features, BUT, the mineral crystal scrathes too easily. If you are an average person, you can count on sending this watch to Citizen to get the crystal replaced. AND, Citizen does not offer a sapphire crystal for this model or my Blackfaced Navihawk. Over the years, I have had five crystals replace on my Blue Angel and Navihawk watches. Sad quality deficiency to the most visible part of their watches! The crystal! An unnecessary weakness to superbly functional timepieces! Please see the pit mark in the mineral crystal of my watch. Citizen must work to improve the quality of these crystals!
