Surprises come in all colours, shapes and sizes but dimensions can’t be the sole criteria that determine magnitude. That’s what you are going to feel while holding the Citizen Promaster Sky Pilot Titanium and that feel shall linger on further, compelling you to nail it before someone else does.
Let’s start with the look. Those to whom a watch means just three (even two) hands and a plain face shall find the Sky Pilot an absolute antithesis! But even they can’t deny the aesthetic appeal the busy dial brings. Busy, but it has been laid out well and there’s a great deal of logic that went behind. That keeps things interesting and easily readable; the anti-reflective coating adding further to it. The only qualm that one might have is the flat sapphire crystal; it is not the domed variety as many would prefer. But it makes the Sky Pilot more wearable, especially when you are engaged in hard, manual labour.
At 45mm across, the Sky Pilot has reasonably small crowns, which is another advantage, enhancing wearability as they are not going to hinder your hand’s actions; neither causes any wrist bite. Despite the somewhat large size, it wears strikingly well on medium wrists and a whole lot lighter because of the titanium.
The at-a-glance readability has been mentioned earlier, let’s get bit deeper into it. The size and shape of the hands contribute generously to it; so do the sub-dials and the LCD screens. It is way better than you find in other ana-digi watches and it’s a pleasure to see the central, large seconds-hand sweep.
The date is displayed in the large window while the UTC dial, small as it is, is also very readable, from the top. It’s definitely going to get a surprising ‘thumbs-up’ from users here. However, the small bits of shiny metal (next to the 5-minute markers and around the sub dials) reflect any strong, bright light falling perpendicularly upon the dial and might hinder readability a bit. With the right angles attained, this should never pose a problem. Moreover, they help to create quite a bit of a fashion statement. The lume is; however, less than a torch as you find them in diver watches in this price range but nevertheless, serves the purpose.
Accuracy is beyond question and more so, for the radio-controlled time setting. Everyday the watch shall set right the time according to the radio signals ad you can do that manually with the push of a button. The U680 movement has created a lot of happy owners worldwide.
Operations, though, are a bit fiddly at the start and require a degree of manual dexterity. The learning curve, thankfully, is short and a couple of day’s time is enough to reasonably master a full use. Setting the time, the chrono, the alarm and date and the rest get pretty easy as you spend a little time playing around with the options and more so, for they are intuitive. If you are comfortable with your smart phone, you’ll be comfortable with the Skyhawk Titanium.
No watch (es) were mentioned in this post. Click to see a couple of designs those straps inspired instead:
- https://www.creationwatches.com/products/citizen-promaster-47/citizen-promaster-sky-pilot-titanium-eco-drive-radio-controlled-world-time-jy8020-52e-mens-watch-10799.html?zenid=nimk9hgoqncgc7t29hidmabql2
- https://www.creationwatches.com/products/citizen-promaster-47/citizen-promaster-skyhawk-titanium-eco-drive-radio-controlled-world-time-jy0080-62e-mens-watch-10798.html
Coming with a complex dial and the Eco-Drive solar charging, the Citizen Skyhawk is a watch you have to check out. Representing a complementary tool for aviators, the Citizen Skyhawk is one fine timepiece which comes with plenty of features to make your life easier and a titanium case which I will describe in a second.