Reply With QuoteIf only that dial wasn't so busy ... Just too much going on for me!
I recently finished reading Greg Milner's excellent book "Pinpoint", which tells the story of GPS from its experimental beginnings to its pervasive involvement in almost every system civilised society relies upon. And it got me thinking About the recent crop of GPS enabled watches, especially the ones which use the GPS signal not only as a UTC time-stamp (like other radio-controlled watches) but also to figure out their location and therefore what local time should be. Very clever stuff, which combined with solar power should make a watch (in theory) completely self sufficient - until the GPS sats shut down or deorbit.
I started a WTB and Alansmithee pointed me to watchshop.com of all places - who were offering the snappily titled Citizen 9025-85E for about half its usual price. Fast forward two days and it's on my wrist - and I have to say, I'm impressed. I've never had a Citizen before, so wasn't sure what to expect. I feared it would be blingy, cheap-feeling and, basically, hard to love. Not so much.
It's not exactly small - 47mm is a lot bigger than I'd usually wear - but it's not overpowering and the lugs are short and curved to fit the wrist. This is a big watch which "wears" much smaller. Odd, but it works for me.
The case and bracelet are titanium with a DLC coating which is supposedly near-enough scratch proof. Time will tell, I guess - but the case is beautifully finished and the coating is a lovely charcoal grey colour. The bracelet (solid end links) is great, made of 5-part links each with two polished sections. It's very comfortable and my only gripe is the pin-and-collar adjustment system: the collars are tiny and fiddly to use. The Ti keeps the weight of this monster watch down to a very comfortable level; I'm not sure I'd like a steel one as much: I imagine it weighs like a manhole cover!
The GPS time setting function is easy and seems to work well - stand outside, press a button, wait 10-20 seconds, and the time and date are set precisely for wherever you happen to be standing. You have to tell the watch whether daylight saving applies or not, which I guess will be built into one of these sooner or later, but otherwise as long as the watch can see the sky, you can set it precisely with zero effort.
There's a second time zone at 6 o'clock which feeds off the main hands. Cleverly, you can swap between these two time zones with a button press - so if you regularly travel between two time zones, you can easily switch between them. There's a function which sets the second handset to UTC, too - and it also records minutes and hours when the watch is in Chronograph mode, and is used to set the alarm time.
The 9 o'clock subdial is a multi function display - normally shows day, but also records 1/20s for the chronograph, plus indicates daylight saving and power reserve. The interface to swap between these functions is simple: pull the crown one click then turn to set the mode, and use the buttons to operate.
All that tech is driven by an Eco-drive movement which charges via the dial - so it ought to be ok for years. Time will tell, I suppose!
Pleasingly, and with a nod to tradition which strikes me in my ignorance as profoundly Japanese, the technological tour de force is topped off with a slide rule bezel! Not exactly up to a B-1 in terms of tactile joy, it works perfectly well and (to me) rather pleasingly fills out the case. The dial design is pretty low key (other variants of this watch have Kawasaki green highlights, which I'm less convinced about) and the whole package feels unexpectedly classy and full of nice little aesthetic details.
So - will I keep it longer term? Your guess is as good as mine! But as a very high tech watch in a rather lovely package, finished with a most unexpected attention to detail, it's an attractive proposition. The ultimate grab-and-go watch, and one with standard 22mm lugs so plenty of strap changin options to be had.
Sensible price. World leading tech and functionality. Pleasing design, well executed. Throw in the 5 year warranty and I think I may be beginning to understand the Japanese Watch Thing properly.
It fits under a shirt cuff, too...
If only that dial wasn't so busy ... Just too much going on for me!
It is busy, I agree. However, what I like about it is that (with the exception of "Citizen Eco-Drive Satellite Wave", which I accept seems to have come from the same naming convention as "Mazda Bongo Friendee"), all that stuff is at least there because it does something... ;-)
One with a simpler dial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5wXZ_gNAWY
Originally Posted by DaveA
[/URL] How about this one? Less busy and cheaper, although I like em both.
Thanks for the review PC
I'm very interested in this tech (the GPS bit, not the slide rule)
When it comes down to a reasonable price and size I'll be in there like a ferret up a drainpipe
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Mines 44mm and wears smaller than that and can be had for around £1200
Thats the model I have my eyes on, very nice.
I like that - i have the original f900.. Cant believe i missed that offer !
Very interested in this GPS tech , thank you for the review .
Posting Permissions