Watchlords

Let us for a moment assume, that you've got a possible post-lockdown unfreezing of an employee rewards program, where for being a good Ferengi (Trekkies will know) you can get yourself a swell Citizen. Let's assume, that the list of possible choices could be (and it might well not, if unlike before, they'd be, say, made unavailable), hopefully, narrowed down to three... Well, that's a dilemma that I might be having shortly, with a wee bit of good luck.

I could post a poll, but it's not about any vote here. Given that the unfreezing of said program might be postponed even further, or said pieces might not be any longer available in it, this is all as theoretical as it gets.

That said, here are the possibilities... All three have Eco-Drive, which means they're worry-free beaters.

https://www.citizenwatch.eu/product/bn0211-50e/
This is, basically, a Japanese equivalent of the Victorinox beaters. It even looks like a Victorinox. Unishell (top-loader) case with a 200m WR rating, where little, if anything at all, can go wrong. Downsides: the bracelet is fucking heavy, yet it rattles like the one in my Seiko 5. Seriously. Oh, and because it's quartz, it has no fucking soul.

https://www.citizenwatch.eu/product/bn0190-15e/
ISO-compliant dive watch, and the way I see it, the best-looking dive watch from Citizen. I don't fucking dive anyway, so, not like I care too much. Downsides... The crown looks a wee bit odd, and has a somewhat short threading. By the way, the 44.5mm diameter is a load of bollocks, as that measurement seems to include the crown guards. Also, it's quartz, so it has no fucking soul.

https://www.citizenwatch.eu/product/cb5001-57e/
Now, this is fucking bizarre, and it's unlike anything I've got, which makes it, like, tempting, like. Its major flaw is that it's one big and heavy fucker, the bastard child of a Flightmaster and a Navitimer - and on top of that, said bastard's on steroids. The BN0190-15E weighs a hair above 100g. This fucking behemoth weighs 192g. So, go figure.
However, yet again, they have measured the 47mm diameter from one bezel protrusion to another. The watch is, in fact, roughly 43mm (main bloc sans crown guards), 49mm lug to lug. Spec-wise, it's fucking nuts. Like the previous two, it has a 200m WR rating. Chrono (and unlike in non-RC Citizens, the chrono reset here doesn't suck flaccid cock), perpetual calendar, Eco-Drive, Radio-Controlled, quick time zone switching, alarm. It'd be a Grand Complications, if not for the fact that it's quartz - and therefore, it has no fucking soul.

So, which one would you choose, and why? If any of them - in thy considered opinion - fucking sucks flaccid cock, why? Just curious, for I am the Vintage Bloke, and it doesn't happen so often that I actually even consider anything modern, unless it's of the cheap and cheerful kind, and unless it's on a random fucking whim. The only reason why I do in this case, is because it'd be a goddamn free wartche as a reward for months of working my fucking arse off.

The first one is a desk diver, casual watch.

The second one looks more like an actual dive watch, but I agree that the crown and guard package needs some work.

That third one is for guys that think "more is better". More dials, more indices, more hands, more crowns, just more, more, more. Guys that still wear their high school class ring probably love this watch. Unless that steampunk movement still has gas in it and the nerds are out doing tachymeter calculations on the back of their girlfriend. (temporary ironic tattoos are soooo cool, right?)

I vote #1.

Do you have access to any eco-drive one watches?

I'd go #1 and let it be the beater that takes the risks for other watches in your collection that you like better. Plus--I actually like the looks of #1. Very clean, solid daily wear vibes.

Number three sucks the least.

I own the Promaster Tough, #1. Indestructible and a better fit than the INOX.

Citizen does busy dials well, second only to Breitling.

As a beater, go with #1. If you are going to flip it, go with #3. The RC Citizens have good resale value. Some, such as the LE Red Arrows models are getting more expensive.

#2 may be the most boring Citizen I have ever seen, and I am a huge fan of the brand. That one sucks huge flaccid cock.

iwasbanned wrote: ↑

July 18th 2020, 5:56pm

Do you have access to any eco-drive one watches?

Nope, even if I had the dough for one (which, anyway, I would spend on something else if I had it). They were something of a sales failure here. Ultra-thin or not, the local clientele simply isn't one for a hi-tech watch from a brand like Citizen. There was one fellow who wanted to order one, but the Citizen importer simply replied that due to a complete and utter lack of interest in these models, they don't and won't bother ordering even one. Can't blame them - there already were situations, where a client with a hard-on for a particular watch had said watch ordered straight from Switzerland or Japan, and then backed out of the deal.

biglove wrote: ↑

July 18th 2020, 8:12pm

I own the Promaster Tough, #1. Indestructible and a better fit than the INOX.

I guess this has a lot to do with the case design. The lack of a typical, round case back seems to do wonders for weight distribution and balance of the Tough.

biglove wrote: ↑

July 18th 2020, 8:12pm

Citizen does busy dials well, second only to Breitling.

I can definitely get along with that. I've handled no.3 in the metal, and the finishing quality is great all throughout the watch. As far as Citizen dials go, busy ones or not, this one's really one of the better I've seen from them.

biglove wrote: ↑

July 18th 2020, 8:12pm

If you are going to flip it, go with #3. The RC Citizens have good resale value. Some, such as the LE Red Arrows models are getting more expensive.

Apart from a recent, brief experience with trading in what I really didn't wear, and what only gathered dust, I'm not exactly one for flipping. I was thinking of using this reward program as an opportunity to get a worry-free, grab-and-go watch - one that'll make an impression on the clients (yeah, in this line of work, what I wear really does matter), and will serve me well in the kitchen, while cycling, or by the lake on a weekend out of town.
Never handled any of the Red Arrows LE pieces. However, we did have the Blue Angels LE, which is, in many ways, similar to the Red Arrows LE models. It's sort of cool, but a busy ana-digi rig is completely not my kind of watch.

I'd also go with #1, as the other two have their flaws. I'm a Citizen fan - I feel about Citizen the way Seiko fans feel about their favorites - yet, their huge product line isn't all to my liking, though how could it be. In this case, the first looks like a rock solid runner. Sometimes, that's all you need.

I'd normally choose that RC model, but #1 has it all over for a daily. Clean, solid and I like the INOX look without the bulk.

Been also thinking of this one - same E660 movement as that Promaster Air chrono (this one is a Promaster Air as well):
https://www.citizenwatch.eu/product/cb5860-86e/
Same 200m WR rating, too. The only problem are 23mm lugs.

^^ Looks like the Nighthawk.

Fore some reason I kant see the poll....

























.

I like #1 for the clean, no nonsense look, but if you want to impress clients (most of whom you say are not watch savvy) go with #3. It would make you look like a real pro - "Gee, look at the watch the salesman is wearing! He must really know his stuff in order to operate all those buttons and dials!" All that aside, if you are going to go with a soulless quartz, you might as well go for an RC model.

Falstaff wrote: ↑

July 20th 2020, 9:20am

I like #1 for the clean, no nonsense look, but if you want to impress clients (most of whom you say are not watch savvy) go with #3. It would make you look like a real pro - "Gee, look at the watch the salesman is wearing! He must really know his stuff in order to operate all those buttons and dials!" All that aside, if you are going to go with a soulless quartz, you might as well go for an RC model.

Jokes aside, I really have found using the watch I'm wearing as a conversation point a perfectly sound sales technique. Then, it's not even the watch that the client buys. It's the story, and the one who tells it, and I'm, like, not half bad at telling stories. I have made it a point of honour to never use the manufacturer's sales pitches if I found them wanting, lame, economic with the truth, or downright shitty. I have made it a matter of honour to stay true to my principles. Preachy and cheesy as it may sound, that's the way I am.

I had my watches noticed by clients - the 1939 38mm Tissot, the 1947 one in 14K gold, the 1946 Omega, the Seiko 5 SNXS79, and recently, the Seamaster.

Racer-X wrote: ↑

July 20th 2020, 5:15am

^^ Looks like the Nighthawk.

Looking up the Citizen Nighthawk, I saw a variety of Promasters similar in style, although not this exact one. The Citizen website does not mention it as a Nighthawk, so I've no idea if it is one. Frankly, there seems to be a certain disparity in classification of models between the Polish, general EU, and US Citizen websites, so, at the end of the day, hell knows.

I refuse to answer because that will show a bias toward the multi-function RC option, since you do occasionally travel into different time zones & it’s so easy to switch. Plus, alarm, dual time, stop watch, and the so-handy slide rule bezel in case your prospective clients ask you a word problem... I will not comment on how much more appropriately the 3rd option appears to meet your criteria. I will not.

However, I’m not adverse to an image....

Hard choice but I like #3. I dig all the time knobs and do-dads. I’ve also been drooling over the Navihawk and the Flightmaster lately so this kinda looks like those.

So, the reward program has been reinstated.

However, I've checked the line-up of Citizens available, and it kind of sucks cock. None of the watches I've contemplated is there. T

he Promaster Air CB5001 is only available with a black PVD case and brown dial with blue accents here and there, on a rubber strap. The Nighthawk-ish one is only available on a strap, and since it has 23mm lugs, that sucks flaccid cock. The Tough is not there at all.
Still, the line-up of watches available in the program tends to change, so, hopefully, it'll be simply a matter of time that either the Tough or an OK version of one of the Promaster Air chronos will be there.

They fuck you at the drive thru.

#1 The others are just too big

Get the best one you can, and swap it for a vintage with someone.

You're welcome!

Nuvolari wrote: ↑

July 20th 2020, 5:09pm

I refuse to answer because that will show a bias toward the multi-function RC option, since you do occasionally travel into different time zones & it’s so easy to switch. Plus, alarm, dual time, stop watch, and the so-handy slide rule bezel in case your prospective clients ask you a word problem... I will not comment on how much more appropriately the 3rd option appears to meet your criteria. I will not.

However, I’m not adverse to an image....

2400CC71-27AF-48E1-AD02-A59330F0A6D8.jpeg

I like this watch. It’s exactly what I like, how much was it? If I can ask and model?

Ok Affirm financing is evil. I just bought my first real watch in 2 years. A citizen’s promaster Skyhawk a-t..Anyone else have? It was 20% off

OK, one of the watches showed up in the program, and I grabbed it. Should be in my hands by the end of next week, or the week after that.

It's the CB5860-86E...
https://www.citizenwatch.eu/product/cb5860-86e/
...which seems to be somewhat obscure. It's a Promaster Sky, and given the few mentions of it that I found on WUS, it appears to be an Europe-only model, as per its "Euro-Nighthawk" nickname. Seems like the sort of thing you'd call a "rig" - Radio-Controlled, chrono, perpetual calendar, alarm, quick time zone switching (a standard function in most RCs), slide rule (what the fuck would I use it for, dunno, but it can't hurt to have it, no?) 200m WR. The movement's the same as in the CB5001-57E - cal. E660. Smaller than the CB5001, too - 43mm.

I'm, like, all fucking giddy here, like.

^^^good for you! May it bring you much joy and may you not find it necessary to smack your coworkers in the skull with it.

Excellent choice! And, the bracelet has a Double-Push-Schließe, Sicherheits-Faltschließe. I've always been a big fan of a Sicherheits-Faltschließe.