Customer Reviews

Citizen Men's JR3155-03E Eco-Drive Black Skyhawk Watch

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I just purchased my second of these watches (my first being a stainless steel Skyhawk model), and am smitten with these watches, but realistically see the few drawbacks to them.

First, a few selections from the long list of pros. This watch is extremely durable, and can definitely stand up to the bumps and bruises of daily life. I've worn this watch everywhere, from work to the gym to the airplane to the beach, and the only time it stopped was when I submerged it in briny sea water, and water somehow got into the watch itself. It was repaired under warranty, with no problems or questions. The Eco-Drive power supply is great- save for the rare malfunction or mishap, it doesn't need to be changed. It'll keep itself fully charged on the fluorescent lighting that we all have at work, or if that fails, it'll charge itself fully within three or four hours of direct sunlight.

The multiple time zone functions are very handy for someone who travels frequently, as I do. You can simply set another time zone in the digital display, and with the simultaneous pressing of the two buttons on the side of the watch, it'll switch the time displays between the digital and analog displays. This function is very handy if you're more than one time zone away from home- when I'm traveling in Europe, it's very convenient to be able to tell the time at home with a simple glance as opposed to the mental gymnastics of calculating the time difference. The slide rule on the crown is also very useful if you want to calculate the arrival time of your flight, or as an amateur pilot, to figure out the amount of fuel you'll use on your flight. Again, all very useful.

Now, the cons- the watch is large. I mean, BIG. If you like large watches, as I do, that's actually a pro, but some people don't really go for that style. Also, in anything other than the titanium, it's rather heavy too. There's no forgetting that you have a watch on, although you get used to its heft rather quickly. Another con would have to be the (sometimes) complex methods of changing the times. You can't simply pull out the crown and turn, you have to select the correct time zone in the digital display. It's very precise (which is the upside of this feature), but it's a little time-consuming. However, it's pre-programmed with Daylight Savings Time, so when the time comes to change the clocks, that's just a simple push of a button. It just takes a little getting used to, but once you do, you'll never wear another watch.

In conclusion, I'd like to reiterate that this watch is a great timepiece, one that I've just duplicated in my collection (the first watch is my wedding gift, and I can't bear to scratch it again). I highly recommend this watch to anyone.

Length:: 3:35 Mins

A Video Demonstartion

Great at night, hard to read during the day.

I got this as a present, and I just couldn't keep it. At first I thought my eyes were old (they are), but as it turns out the problem with the Black Eagle is that the LCD numbers and letters are inverse-video (i.e., they are clear when active and must let light pass through, reflect off the backing, and go back up to the viewer.) Now, if the light is a point source (like a single bulb) directly behind the observer's head, say at night, the LCD works great. But when the light is bright, diffuse, scattered sunlight, the LCD gets harder to read, especially when combined with the large amount of light scattered off the crystal as there are no surface reflective suppression coatings on the crystal. This would be a problem in a high wing aircraft with a lot of scattered sunlight coming in from the outside. (I have a Navihawk and yes, I do use the E6-B ring quite a bit) To make a long story short, it was harder to read than the other models.

Also, the Black Eagle's battery status indicator LCD isn't the same configuration as what's shown in the instruction manual, they're tucked away on the side of the left display about flush with the side of the case, so that's harder to read, too, as compared with the other Skyhawks.

Compared with the Navihawk, the Skyhawk's center crown is more cumbersome to use when setting daylight saving time and making setting adjustments. It takes a complete half turn of the crown to make just one input, and there seems to be a fair amount of friction on the crown stem (possibly the o-ring to keep it water-tight to 100 m) Maybe it was just this one watch.

Anyway, I sent mine back. :( It would have been a nice watch, but I couldn't surmount the annoying problems. I hope others found it more satisfying than my brief time with it.

I owned several Seiko Flight Chronographs before I got my (first)Citizen Skyhawk. Years later Seiko still has few watches that display GMT/Zulu time. This is a must in Aviation. I just love my Skyhawks. I have them stainless steel, two-tone, and black. My black one is my favorite and it has really taken a beating. All the way to Iraq for a year with no problems at all. I crossed multiple time zones all over the Middle East and Europe and this watch kept me straight. Some countries don't do Daylight Savings (Kuwait) and others do (Iraq). The Skyhawk always got it right. Having a dedicated GMT display is key. My only complaint is that my Two-tone and black models have backlights, but my stainless does not. Why would Citizen leave that out on the Eco-drive models? Anyway, if you fly professionally, this is the watch to have.

I bought this for my husband (a pilot) for Christmas to get him an upgrade on an older model Citizen. It is a beautiful watch and has all the bells and whistles it's supposed to but the font size for the time zone and charge indicator bars are a full size smaller than the older one and it's white on black as opposed to black on white the readout. It makes it very difficult to read unless you're directly under a light. Not much good if you're in the cockpit of a plane. I've since ordered the JR3125-55E. We'll see how that turns out.

I have had this watch for about a week now. Being a collector with everything on hand from Casio to Oris and Tag Heuer, i'd have to say this ranks in the upper end of all of my watches for quality, pricing aside.
It still qualifies as a "pilot's watch" to me because of the great legibility of the white hands and markers against the black, though I would agree with many about the reverse LCD display being more difficult to read in low lights. Fit and finish are great, and no worries on batteries with the Eco-drive technology. I'd recommend this model to anyone looking for a watch that bridges the gap between casual and dress. It is a bit heavy, but with the rubber bracelet adjusted properly, one gets used to it quickly. It is one of the more comfortable watches on the wrist that I own. 5 stars!

I love this watch. I can see how people might have a problem reading the dials, but for the average person, this shouldn't be an issue. It's got great features and is extremely cool looking.

I orginally purchased this watch with the bracelet style band. After two years, I was sick of that band (it's a bit heavy). After zero help from Citizen's customer service, I got a jewelry store to order the rubber band style. I didn't like the quick clasp (I know I'm particular) because I wanted to use it for more active pursuits. So - here's what worked for me and I wanted to share it with you in case you had the same desire.

I bought a $10 Timex rubber band (make sure it's 20mm). Take the band to a jewelry store and have them canabalize the buckle, "arm" and rubber holders. Then switch them over to your Citizen. It should take about 10 minutes, tops. With this modification, this is simply the perfect watch - stylish, tough, functional, and no need for a battery!

i got my watch today in the mail. its heavy but has the feel of quality. i pulled it out of the box and the light hit it. it immediately set itself to the time. after reading over the instructions, setting it was easy, the pull is difficult to pull out to set while on your wrist and difficult to turn while wearing. i was disappointed with the size of the face, i was hoping for a bigger face. but honestly for the price, feel and ability of the watch its the best watch ive ever owned.

This watch was a replacement of another Citizen watch that was much heavier and more approriate when wearing business attire. I needed a watch I would not be afraid to wear on a day to day basis and blended in with casual wear. The JR3155 series watch was perfect for that. I decided to go with the polyurethane strap instead of the stainless steel because of weight. It is light weight with no compromise to the function of the watch. Having a secondary time zone is nice. No complaints about the quality issue of Citizen watches.

This watch is my favorite watch I own... I own a Tissot T-touch and I like this even more... I love that it has all of the time zones and they are quite easy to access. I live Switzerland, but all of my family is in the States. It's nice to have the analogue time set to the Swiss time, but have the digital display show Central time in the U.S. This is definitely my favorite feature... I highly recommend this watch...