Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Atomic time - keeping, solar powered, 200m WR |
| Disadvantages: |
Not the lightest of watches |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
Citizen Skyhawk A-T Eco-drive watch, model no JY0000-53E.
At the time of writing, this watch is the top of the Skyhawk model range, Citizen's take on aviation themed watches. In addition to the usual Skyhawk features, the A-T model synchronises with the atomic clock signal. As well as being able to receive the European signal, it can also be trained to the USA and Japan time signals by setting the relevant time zone - an advantage over some of the cheaper atomic watches offered by other manufacturers.
The watch is a chunky design with a stainless steel bracelet and base contrasting the black face and rotating slide rule bezel. The hands are metallic with luminous inserts, and all the hour markers also contain the luminous inserts. The watch weighs in at 178g (on our digital kitchen scales) and the glass is 34mm diameter, with the watch 47mm wide and 14mm deep (note: all measurements taken with a shatter
resistant ruler and Mk 1 eyeball). Overall, for such a large watch you get used to the size very quickly, and the design of the bezel and glass means it doesn't snag on your sleeve.
It has a wide variety of functions - 2 alarms, chronograph, timer, date mode, 43 world cities for time zones, permanent UTC display in the top dial which is designed to look like a cockpit instrument and the slide rule. The slide rule requires some thought to use if you're not used to it, but can replace a calculator for most maths if you know how to use it. Otherwise, it simply enhances the look of the watch. The bezel movement is smooth and bi-directional.
The watch synchronises with the atomic time signal once a day - at around 2am (it will try again each hour until 6am if it fails) though I haven't witnessed this. It does keep very accurate time (+/- 15s per month according to the manual) even if no time signal is available. It can also be forced to synchronise manually, a process that takes a few minutes.
Overall, the only improvement that could be made to this watch is an option to have the case made of titanium (something other Skyhawks have).
