Space Jam: Sun, Satellite, And Earth Align In Citizen’s New Satellite Wave GPS Freedom

Someone once said that Swiss watchmaking is all about history, emphasizing traditional skills and finishes over everything else, while Japanese watch brands favor the future, with a focus on innovative technology and functionality.

The Citizen Satellite Wave GPS Freedom debunks that generalization.
 

In the last 30 years or so, Japanese brands have come a long way is forging their own unique identities amongst collectors. And with its latest evolution in its Satellite Wave collection, Citizen introduces a watch that’s both handsome and useful.

Founded in 1930 by Swiss and Japanese investors, Citizen has been producing durable and affordable watches for almost a century. On the business side of things, the company became a global powerhouse with the advent of quartz technology. (You have to remember that at one time, quartz movements, with their accuracy and ease of use, represented the wave of the future.) And even after quartz became synonymous, Citizen continued to push the limits of what the technology could contribute.
 

For example, Citizen launched the world’s first multi-band atomic timekeeping watch in 1993. Synchronized to atomic clocks, these watches are accurate to within one second in 100,000 years. And the Skyhawk A-T line introduced radio-controlled timekeeping that synchronized with clocks in Japan, North America, and Europe, automatically selecting the correct frequency by location.
 

In 1996, the brand’s celebrated Eco-Drive range was born. These watches use natural or artificial light (absorbed through the dial) to power a long-lasting battery.
 

Citizen has stated that, as a company, they prefer progress to status. Over the years, Citizen's research and development team have continued to focus refining both its automatic quartz technology and its synchronized timekeeping capabilities. In essence, they are always striving to build a watch that you never need to think about powering or resetting.
 

The next bold leap for Citizen was in 2011 when it introduced the Satellite Wave concept. By being able to ping signals off of satellites, it made radio-controlled timing possible in remote areas (you know, deserts, mountain peaks, the middle of the ocean) that are not serviced by land-based stations.
 

Since then, Citizen has updated the Satellite Wave several times, adjusting not only accuracy but also battery life (the most recent claims state the rechargeable/secondary batteries will last up to 40 years).

The most recent model is the Satellite Wave GPS Freedom. With coverage across 40 of the existing UTC standard time zones, watches with Satellite Wave will ensure the most accurate time you will find in any conventional watch. It also provides the World’s Fastest Timekeeping Signal Reception Speed from GPS Navigation Satellites — you can reset your home time in as quick as three seconds.
 

And if you do find yourself marooned in a desert/mountaintop/at sea situation, it's also got features such as a Perpetual Calendar, Daylight Saving Time Indicator, Power Reserve Indicator, Light Level Power Indicator, and Day/Date to help you keep track of time.
 

(Photography by Liam O'Donnell)