I recently purchased this watch and thought that others might like to share my impressions of it.
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Watch Data Manufacturer Citizen Watch Company Model Number JN0004-27E Model Name Promaster Navihawk Movement Quartz Analog/Digital Power Source Battery (SR927W) Accuracy +- 20 Seconds per month. At normal temperature of 5°C to 35°C (41°F to 95°F) Hands 6 hands, Hour, Minute, UTC Hour Minute, 24 Hour, Mode selector. Main Hour and Minute hands Luminous paint coated. Bezel Circular Slide Rule. Size 41mm (Bezel O.D.) - 46mm (lug to lug) Thickness 13.0mm Weight 73.1 Grams (with leather strap) Construction Case Solid Stainless steel. Crystal Domed Glass Crystal Face Black with luminous markers Crowns 4 - Push Buttons Back Stainless Steel signed screw down back. Water Resistance 100 meters (330 feet). Bracelet/Strap Black Leather strap with stainless steel buckle Suggested Retail $295.00 Initial Impressions.
The watch was received in Citizen's Promaster packaging with an attractive black leatherette covered cylinder enclosing the watch all packed in a matching cardboard box. Contained in the box were an instruction manual written in 3 languages and a warranty card. The packaging is excellent and often used in jewelry stores to display these watches. In the box was the watch with 2 tags attached and scratch protection plastic on the front and rear of the watch.I removed the watch from the box and inspected it for scratches and defects. As is usual for this manufacturer none were found.
I checked the slide rule bezel and found it to be very smooth and quite easy to turn. The markers are very small but readable with reading glasses.
It appears that the calculations it is designed for would be most useful to a pilot such as flight time, air speed, flight distance, fuel consumption altitude and other conversions. Since calculations on numbers containing a decimal point cannot be obtained this slide rule is useless for most general calculations.Comfort
The watch sits perfectly on my wrist with no side to side movement. The strap can be adjusted to fit most wrists and has 7 holes spaced about 5/16" apart. No sharp edges which might catch on clothing were observed on this watch.
Legibility
At first the face of this watch seems very busy and not particularly readable. When used in good light the first items seen are the hour and minute hands followed by the digital display. These are the two areas of most interest and fulfil the primary function of the watch as a time keeper.The digital display is crisp and readable with the primary portion having demi-bold characters which can be read without glasses. The skeletonized hour hand is painted a bright white an stands out well. The minute hand has white paint on its last quarter of length, the other portion is subdued Grey and does not stand out.
The U.T.C., 24-hour, and mode hands are painted bright white and are easily readable, but the markers that they line up with are smaller and more subdued so glasses may be required.Nighttime readability is, in my opinion very poor. The thin hands do not have enough surface area to hold a lot of reflective coating so they are initially hard to see. The glow is a beautiful neon blue but has a very short life and after about a half hour the watch is completely dark.
The digital display has no backlight and is unreadable in the dark.
I cannot imagine a pilot relying on this watch in a dimly lit or unlit cockpit.Overall legibility of this watch is good in daytime and poor at night.
Movement
The movement in the Navihawk is one of a kind since the digital and analog portions are integrated. This allows perfect timing synchronization and changing time zones is a breeze.
The ability to "park" the hands at 12:00 to read the digital display is actually of some value since many functions require the digital display.
Overall the movement is great and makes it easy to use the many built in functions.Accuracy
The movement is quartz and is very accurate, exceeding the manufacturers specs. My observed accuracy has been running about 7-10 sec. per month.Closing Thoughts
This is a good watch for those who travel a lot and need the excellent timezone functions. As to the Navihawk's usefulness to aircraft pilots I do not know since I spend my time in the passenger cabin.
There are other variants on this model, "Blue Angels, "Thunderbirds" all of which seem to have the same set of features but different cosmetics.
All in all, for me the Navihawk is a keeper.
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Right Side
Left Side
Front
BackChart of Functions Setting Instructions
