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Guest
·Authored by: fstshrk
I posted a review of the Promaster Sky on my blog.
I repeat it here as well in case you can not get to the blog. I love this watch.
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The lugs on the case are curved downward so that even if you have asmall wrist, there should not be undue pressure on the wrist. Thecaseback (screwed down) is also made of titanium and coated withDuratect. In nearly a month of ownership, there are no scratches on anypart of the case, bezel and bracelet. This coating definitely works. Iwish my IWC GST Chronograph Titanium was also finished with thiscoating. In fact, I wish the caseback of my IWC did not stick out asmuch and the lugs were curved. But hey, that's another review. Gettingback to the Citizen, despite the 43mm size, this watch wears nodifferently than my Rolex Explorer II on the wrist except it islighter. It is not paper light, but it is about 1/2 the weight of theRolex. The lugs and the case are beveled to be smooth and not to diginto the wrist. I wish my Kobold Soarway Diver had such a nicely smoothcase, but I am sure Mr. Kobold has his reasons for why the edges of thelugs are razor-sharp. The bezel rotates smoothly (uni-directional) andhas a lume dot that glows pretty much all night long at the 0 minutesposition.
The case is completed by a SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL coated withanti-reflective coating on the inside. The sapphire crystal is domedand looks beatiful. I have no idea why Citizen only brings in mineralcrystal versions of their world time watches to the US.
The Bracelet
The bracelet is also made of titanium, and tapers from 20 mm to roughly18 mm at the clasp. The clasp is milled and not stamped, has a verysolid feel and has the required safety foldover. The bracelet attachesto the clasp with spring bars that seem to be made out of titanium (atleast the color matches the rest of the bracelet). Like the case, thebracelet has tapered and beveled edges which makes it comfortable towear with no digging into the skin and no hair pulling. It is light butstill feels substantial, overall quality is very high. In fact, I wouldgo out and say that this bracelet would not feel out of place on awatch that costs $5000-10000. Coated with Duratect, there has been noscratching over a month of daily wearing.
My only pick is that is uses the pin and collar method of fastening andmuch like my Omega X-33, I could not adjust the bracelet myself and hadto take it in to my watchmaker (yes, we are on a first name basis bynow) to get it fixed. If you want to adjust it yourself, you will needan extra long pin punch and a press to insert it back. The suppliedbracelet will fit up to an 8 inch wrist. My watchmaker took out twolinks to make it fit my 7 inch wrist. There are 3 micro adjustmentwholes on the clasp for seasonal (too much Turkey this thanksgiving!!!) adjustments.
The Movement
This watch comes with the Citizen C651 caliber Eco-drive world timemovement. This movement is very similar to the US specification C650except all the annoying power saving features have been toned down. Forexample, the seconds hand will only stop after being in completedarkness for 30 minutes as opposed to the C650. The power reserve hasnot gone down from 3 bars during the last month. The dial has a nicelydone golf ball texture and the solar panels underneath are not visibleunless you know what to look for. The LCD display is easy to readespecially when compared to my Skyhawk AT. The edges of the LCD displayholes on the dial are coated with black which makes this dial moreprofessional (and less pronounced) looking compared to the Skyhawk AT .The lack of the battery reserve subdial also means that the 24 hr clockand the UTC clock are easier to read since they are bigger.
The lume on the dial and the hands glows brightly all night long andonce you get used to the blue green color, the brightness is similar tomy Seiko Monster (orange dial). The hands are finished with amatte-white coating which presents nice contrast with the black dialand makes them easier to read.
Unlike the Skyhawk AT, the crown can be used without pulling it out one click. This is the way it should be. I have no idea why the Citizen design team changed this from C651 when they designed the Skyhawk AT.
The Citizen C650/1 are covered in many places on the web, so I will notdiscuss the functions in detail. In a summary, the movement has 3alarms that can be set in any timezone (31 time zones), a functionaltimer, a chronograph and obviously a perpetual calendar. Additionally,I also use the diver bezel to time things. So you can be timing threethings at the same time which I do use occasionally.
My only pick on this movement is that Citizen should bite the bulletand put the UTC hand with the main clock hands (like an Explorer II)and increase the size of the LCD display to be even more legible.Again, Citizen design team, if you let me, I can design a really usableprofessional watch line for you. No payment necessary, consider it volunteer work.
The Conclusion
Normally, every watch I own, I have things that I don't like, exceptmaybe the Explorer II which has been through thick and thin with me andis about perfect. This watch joins my Explorer II as the only otherwatch in my collection where I have no reservations. Titanium so it isstrong and lightweight. Duratect coated so it does not scratch easily.AR-coated sapphire crystal and a DLC bezel. I simply love this watch.Get one soon as I am sure Citizen will discontinue this timepiece oncethey exhaust their supply of C651 movements. At a bargain list price of82000 Yen, it is too good to pass-up.
I posted a review of the Promaster Sky on my blog.
I repeat it here as well in case you can not get to the blog. I love this watch.
-----------------------------
This is my newest Citizen. Japan only Citizen Promaster Sky (PMK65-2211).Titanium case and band with Duratect coating, and a DLC bezel in alimited edition of 1000 per year. I believe this is due to the limitedmanufacturing numbers of the Diamond-Like-Carbon (DLC) coated bezel.
There is also a version with an ordinary titanium bezel with the model number PMK65-2212.
The Box
I purchased the watch from an Ebay Japan seller. The seller wasexcellent and the watch was received in 4 days via USPS Express Maildelivery. The watch was triple boxed with a standard shipping box onthe outside. When I opened that box, I saw a nicely done outercardboard box and the owner's manual on top.
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The inner box looked like this:
![]()
And finally, I saw my watch:
![]()
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The yellow light that can seen is a reflection from my camera.
The owner's manual is in both English and Japanese. It is easy to read and readily understood.
The Case
Either model is fully coated with the Citizen proprietary Duratectcoating. The case size listed at the Citizen website as 43 mm. The lugsize is 20mm and the case has standard lugs which means you can useyour favorite 20mm strap including a NATO strap. You can see the case,dial and the crystal here.
There is also a version with an ordinary titanium bezel with the model number PMK65-2212.
The Box
I purchased the watch from an Ebay Japan seller. The seller wasexcellent and the watch was received in 4 days via USPS Express Maildelivery. The watch was triple boxed with a standard shipping box onthe outside. When I opened that box, I saw a nicely done outercardboard box and the owner's manual on top.
The inner box looked like this:
And finally, I saw my watch:
The yellow light that can seen is a reflection from my camera.
The owner's manual is in both English and Japanese. It is easy to read and readily understood.
The Case
Either model is fully coated with the Citizen proprietary Duratectcoating. The case size listed at the Citizen website as 43 mm. The lugsize is 20mm and the case has standard lugs which means you can useyour favorite 20mm strap including a NATO strap. You can see the case,dial and the crystal here.
The lugs on the case are curved downward so that even if you have asmall wrist, there should not be undue pressure on the wrist. Thecaseback (screwed down) is also made of titanium and coated withDuratect. In nearly a month of ownership, there are no scratches on anypart of the case, bezel and bracelet. This coating definitely works. Iwish my IWC GST Chronograph Titanium was also finished with thiscoating. In fact, I wish the caseback of my IWC did not stick out asmuch and the lugs were curved. But hey, that's another review. Gettingback to the Citizen, despite the 43mm size, this watch wears nodifferently than my Rolex Explorer II on the wrist except it islighter. It is not paper light, but it is about 1/2 the weight of theRolex. The lugs and the case are beveled to be smooth and not to diginto the wrist. I wish my Kobold Soarway Diver had such a nicely smoothcase, but I am sure Mr. Kobold has his reasons for why the edges of thelugs are razor-sharp. The bezel rotates smoothly (uni-directional) andhas a lume dot that glows pretty much all night long at the 0 minutesposition.
The case is completed by a SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL coated withanti-reflective coating on the inside. The sapphire crystal is domedand looks beatiful. I have no idea why Citizen only brings in mineralcrystal versions of their world time watches to the US.
The Bracelet
The bracelet is also made of titanium, and tapers from 20 mm to roughly18 mm at the clasp. The clasp is milled and not stamped, has a verysolid feel and has the required safety foldover. The bracelet attachesto the clasp with spring bars that seem to be made out of titanium (atleast the color matches the rest of the bracelet). Like the case, thebracelet has tapered and beveled edges which makes it comfortable towear with no digging into the skin and no hair pulling. It is light butstill feels substantial, overall quality is very high. In fact, I wouldgo out and say that this bracelet would not feel out of place on awatch that costs $5000-10000. Coated with Duratect, there has been noscratching over a month of daily wearing.
My only pick is that is uses the pin and collar method of fastening andmuch like my Omega X-33, I could not adjust the bracelet myself and hadto take it in to my watchmaker (yes, we are on a first name basis bynow) to get it fixed. If you want to adjust it yourself, you will needan extra long pin punch and a press to insert it back. The suppliedbracelet will fit up to an 8 inch wrist. My watchmaker took out twolinks to make it fit my 7 inch wrist. There are 3 micro adjustmentwholes on the clasp for seasonal (too much Turkey this thanksgiving!!!) adjustments.
The Movement
This watch comes with the Citizen C651 caliber Eco-drive world timemovement. This movement is very similar to the US specification C650except all the annoying power saving features have been toned down. Forexample, the seconds hand will only stop after being in completedarkness for 30 minutes as opposed to the C650. The power reserve hasnot gone down from 3 bars during the last month. The dial has a nicelydone golf ball texture and the solar panels underneath are not visibleunless you know what to look for. The LCD display is easy to readespecially when compared to my Skyhawk AT. The edges of the LCD displayholes on the dial are coated with black which makes this dial moreprofessional (and less pronounced) looking compared to the Skyhawk AT .The lack of the battery reserve subdial also means that the 24 hr clockand the UTC clock are easier to read since they are bigger.
The lume on the dial and the hands glows brightly all night long andonce you get used to the blue green color, the brightness is similar tomy Seiko Monster (orange dial). The hands are finished with amatte-white coating which presents nice contrast with the black dialand makes them easier to read.
Unlike the Skyhawk AT, the crown can be used without pulling it out one click. This is the way it should be. I have no idea why the Citizen design team changed this from C651 when they designed the Skyhawk AT.
The Citizen C650/1 are covered in many places on the web, so I will notdiscuss the functions in detail. In a summary, the movement has 3alarms that can be set in any timezone (31 time zones), a functionaltimer, a chronograph and obviously a perpetual calendar. Additionally,I also use the diver bezel to time things. So you can be timing threethings at the same time which I do use occasionally.
My only pick on this movement is that Citizen should bite the bulletand put the UTC hand with the main clock hands (like an Explorer II)and increase the size of the LCD display to be even more legible.Again, Citizen design team, if you let me, I can design a really usableprofessional watch line for you. No payment necessary, consider it volunteer work.
The Conclusion
Normally, every watch I own, I have things that I don't like, exceptmaybe the Explorer II which has been through thick and thin with me andis about perfect. This watch joins my Explorer II as the only otherwatch in my collection where I have no reservations. Titanium so it isstrong and lightweight. Duratect coated so it does not scratch easily.AR-coated sapphire crystal and a DLC bezel. I simply love this watch.Get one soon as I am sure Citizen will discontinue this timepiece oncethey exhaust their supply of C651 movements. At a bargain list price of82000 Yen, it is too good to pass-up.
