01/08/2020

Taking Flight With The Citizen Promaster Navihawk Blue Angels

Citizen has not only packed the Navihawk with some serious functions, but it has also powered it all with light. Watchonista takes a closer look.

By Sophie Furley

Contributor

Citizen’s Promaster Navihawk has a host of cool functions for all your horological needs. If you are a “one watch” kind of guy (or female fighter pilot), this could be the only watch you'll ever need.

Solar power

Firstly, it is solar-powered, using Citizen’s proprietary Eco-Drive technology. If you are unfamiliar with this kind of movement, the timepiece converts any source of light (natural or artificial) into useable energy, meaning that there is no winding or recharging to bother with, and the watch will never need a new battery. And if you live in the Arctic Circle, don’t worry about not getting enough sunlight, the timepiece can charge even with very dim light.

Citizen Promaster Navihawk Blue Angels

How does it work?

Just under the dial is a micron-thin disc of amorphous silicon that converts the light into electrical energy through a process called photovoltaic. This energy is then saved in a storage cell, keeping the timepiece fully charged and running on time.

Citizen Promaster Navihawk Blue Angels, caseback view

Radio-controlled time updates

The Citizen Promaster Navihawk is radio-controlled, so it automatically indicates the correct time and date without the need for any manual setting. It achieves this by connecting to local atomic clock transmitters. The result is an accuracy of an astounding one second every 100,000 years. And if you are want to be doubly sure, you can also do an update on demand. The beauty of the Citizen Promaster Navihawk is that it also updates when you are traveling, via five signal stations in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, Japan, and China, covering 43 cities.

Citizen Promaster Navihawk Blue Angels

Timing function

In addition to the world time function, the Navihawk also includes a tachymeter, a perpetual calendar, two alarms, a countdown timer, a UTC display, and a power reserve indicator, covering all your horological needs. It also features a navigational rotating bezel for tracking time at a glance.

Citizen Promaster Navihawk Blue Angels

On the outside

Not only technically engineered on the inside, but the outside of the watch has also been designed with every attention to detail. It comes in a 44mm stainless steel case with an anti-reflective sapphire crystal and is resistant to 200 meters (this covers showering, swimming, and snorkeling).

Citizen Promaster Navihawk Blue Angels, caseback view

Plenty to choose from

There are numerous Citizen Promaster Navihawks to choose from with different colored dials and materials. Photographed here is the Navihawk Blue Angels version that honors the United States Navy’s flight demonstration squadron and features the acrobatic team’s logo on the dial. The watch comes with an elegant stainless steel mesh bracelet and a dark blue dial and bezel. Yellow, green, and red touches on the dial give it a particularly sporty look, along with luminescent hands and indexes for reading at night.

Citizen Promaster Navihawk Blue Angels

What we like about this watch

Admittedly, when you first look at the dial, it seems complicated, but when you take a closer look, it is super clear and makes sense. We love the Eco-Drive technology - in an age where everyone is becoming climate-conscious when it comes to new purchases, we feel that with its solar-powered technology, the Citizen Promaster Navitimer is a smart choice. And the fact that you never have to wind it, put it on an automatic winding contraption, charge it, or change the battery gets our vote!