Review: Citizen Promaster Skyhawk A-T

The Watch: Citizen Promaster Skyhawk A-T JY8075-51E

The Why: My wife actually bought me this watch as a birthday gift, but I had been eying it for a while. We do a lot of camping and outdoor activities, and it’s good to have more of a tool watch packing some extra features and one that won’t die on me if I leave it off my wrist for a while. As a general rule I prefer to stick to automatic watch movements, but electronically powered movements serve a purpose. Nothing compares to watching a second hand sweep around the dial at 8bps, but this watch wasn’t built with cocktail parties in mind, and I wanted it for use in rougher conditions.

Stat Sheet:

Eco-Drive U680

Black Ion Plated SS Case and Bracelet

46mm Case Width

Sapphire Crystal with AR Coating

WR 200m/678ft

Omni-Directional Slide Rule Bezel

Atomic Timekeeping

1/100 Second Chronograph (Max 24hr)

Countdown Timer (Max 99 Minute)

Secondary Digital Backlit Display

2 Alarms

UTC Subdial

Power Reserve

Calendar and Time Settings for 43 Cities

MSRP: $695

Price Paid: $392

Customer Service: Citizen is one of those brands who will never offer you better pricing for buying direct. In this case, I did not even contact them. In fact, this watch was a gift from my wife, who got it from Amazon directly (not a third party seller). She paid significantly less that MSRP, which is typical.

Packaging: Came nicely packaged in a sealed box. For their Promaster lines Citizen includes a special case, and for the Promaster Skyhawk that case is mock airtight Pelican-Style case with a carry handle, latch, and foam insert. It’s a nice touch, but the plastic feels a little cheap.

Shipping Speed: Coming from Amazon, it arrived in two days.

Utility: The first thing I want to address is the dial. It’s extraordinarily busy, with lots of numbers, indices, subdials, and gizmos. At first glance it almost appears cluttered, and you would think that would make it difficult to read. But the large, bold indices and hands are easy to pick out at a glance, and all the clutter kind of fades into the background unless you’re actively looking for something. Beyond that, this thing is chock full of features.

The bezel is buttery smooth, and unlike a dive bezel, will turn in both directions. I use it most often just for keeping track of time on things like the washing machine and my lunchbreak, but you could theoretically use it for basic math such as calculating tips as well.

The LCD screens are backlit and offer you a host of options, from calendar display, to digital time display, to secondary time-zone display, and more. I’ll be honest, I’ve been wearing this watch at least 3 times a week for five months now and I still haven’t used all the functions. This watch is the epitome of “better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it”.

Fully Charged Lume/Backlight

The lume is bright, and while the initial fade is about what you would expect, it seems to hold a low level of lume longer than other watches. It also seems to need less light to charge the lume to low levels. Just sitting on my couch, with a lamp 3 feet away, is enough to leave it the hands and indices visible when I turn off the lights to go to bed. But even if that was to fail me in pitch dark conditions, a quick push of a button lights the two LCD screens bright orange.

The left LCD screen shows some statuses when you are changing functions, but for normal use it just reflects the time zone that the main dial is displaying. The right LCD screen can show a variety of options, either from the same time zone, or a different one. Time zones are reflected by city, and there are 43 options.

The U680 movement is a solar powered Eco-Drive. It is still keeping exact time with no manual adjustments five months after opening it, although it does automatically update every day at 3AM. It can be manually updated at any time, but I haven’t seen the need. The power reserve was at low when I first unboxed it, and since fully charging for the first time I have never seen it drop below 90%.

There are only things this watch is conceivably missing. The first is a screw-in crown, which seems an odd omission since Citizen advertises this watch as “WR200/20Bar/666ft [Swimming, Showering & Snorkeling]”. I would want a screw-in crown on any watch I was meaning to take underwater. That being said, I would feel comfortable submerging this piece if I had to, I would just be more careful than usual. The second is a clasp with micro-adjustments, but that was an easy fix, as I simply purchased a cheap black bracelet off Amazon and swapped the clasps.

The last thing I want to say is that this watch is complicated. Changing settings is not something you’ll just be able to figure out by messing with it. The first few times you change to different functions or adjust time zones you’ll want to have the manual handy. Some people are put off by something that takes time to learn how to use properly, and those who don’t want to invest the time in reading the manual should probably pick another, simpler watch. Personally I like getting to know a newly acquired device, so I actually count this as a positive, but your mileage may vary.

Feel: This bad boy is chonky. Size wise it seems big, as it’s 45mm in diameter without the lugs or crown, and it’s a full 15mm from crystal to caseback. To be honest I was a little surprised I was able to pull it off with my small wrists (just over 6.25in). It’s also heavy, coming in at a staunch 14.4oz. If you’re afraid of having a little weight on your wrist this watch just isn’t for you. That being said, I don’t find it obtrusive. I’m not knocking it into stuff, and after a minute or so I stop noticing the weight. With a timepiece packing so many features, big and heavy is almost inevitable. Besides, I’m not trying to slip this watch under the French cuffs of my tuxedo.

At one time or another, we’ve all been suckered in by low quality steel, so most of us have an inherent appreciation for metal that just feels like quality, and this watch definitely does. Despite pretty regular wear, there is only one spot on the inside of the bracelet where the ion-plating is showing any signs of wear, and the links in the bracelet are smooth and flexible. As I mentioned earlier, it would have very much benefited from a clasp with micro-adjustments.

The two buttons are mushy, without a positive click, but they work. Similarly, the crown doesn’t stick very positively at the first of two settings, so a lighter touch is required.

Looks: I really like the look of this watch. The sleek black case and dial offer varying shades of glossy and matte finishes, creating gradients of deep black that are quite handsome. The numerals and indices are bold but not gaudy, and the very lightly used orange accents give it just a hint of color. Orange is one of my least favorite colors, so it has to be really well used to impress me. The second hand is another bright spot, long and thin, it looks almost like a fencers rapier, and the other hands are just as nice. The etching on both the interior and outer bezels is impeccable, as is the color fill. Everything about this watch exudes precision.

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Conclusion: Big, dare I say, thicc watches are not for everyone. Neither are overly complex watches. But if you need a watch that does absolutely everything, never needs a battery change, and can be used to club small land mammals, look no further than the Citizen Promaster Skyhawk. Joking aside, I have only the tiniest complaints with the features/quality of this watch. It really comes down to whether or not you are looking for a watch like this one. Citizen offers it in several colors and band options, so if you want something more geared towards long term reliability in a more rugged setting, you shouldn’t have trouble finding one that fits your style.