Keeping your watch up to date with half a dozen of old-school broadcasting stations is as XXth-century as a gasoline-powered Corvette compared to a Tesla Roadster. Addressing the inherent flaws of quartz mechanisms, which can be affected by such external factors as temperature and even humidity, Citizen is going to start selling its limited-edition Eco-Drive Satellite Wave CC0005-06E model that captures the day, date, and time signals directly from GPS navigation satellites!
Details are still scarce, but the Japanese company has reported in its press release that the new “concept” will sport their new Satellite Timekeeping system and will be limited to just 990 individually numbered pieces.
Able to “talk” to any of the 24 navigation satellites that orbit Earth, the system is usable in any part of the world, which makes it more versatile than Casio’s Atomic Timekeeping system.
As you may already know, the latter is only good as long as your watch is able to receive the signal from one of the six transmitters that broadcast atomic clock time. This makes it unusable in Africa, Australia, Latin America, and -of course- most parts of Russia.
Besides this useful feature, the CC0005-06E also sports such functions as a perpetual calendar and world time for 26 cities.
The Eco-Drive Satellite Wave rocks Citizen’s brand new solar-powered Eco-Drive Caliber H990. Being extremely energy efficient (and also sporting a fairly big battery,) it has a theoretic power reserve of 2.5 years after being fully charged and left in a dark room.
According to the Japanese brand, the Satellite Wave GPS will arrive in a rather large case. Crafted from stainless steel with black PVD finish, it will also feature a nice scratch-resistant ceramic bezel. Besides protecting the sapphire crystal, the bezel will also house a ring-shaped GPS antenna under its glossy surface.
The high-tech DLC treatment doesn’t simply make a watch (or just about any gadget that is expensive enough to make the procedure economically feasible) look extremely cool. It also protects the case from occasional scratches and even minor dings: something that traditional PVD treatment is just not capable of.
Measuring 48.5 millimeters in diameter, it will probably scare away a lot of potential customers who are mostly interested in looks, not in sophisticated electronics that make this device as accurate as it is promised to be.
Of course, the stock black-and-green polyurethane band that comes with the timekeeper doesn’t look as premium as it probably should. I mean, we are talking about an electronic gadget that sports an overwhelmingly impressive recommended street price of $6000 USD. Yet, that doesn’t look like a serious problem as, for a change, Citizen decided to equip the Satellite Wave with standard lugs, so fiding an aftermarket strap or a similarly styled DLC-treated bracelet will probably not be a problem.
We’ll report on this beautiful timepiece later when it officially becomes available.
WWR’s Final Rating
Originality 4/5
Versatility: 3/5
Build Quality: 5/5
Ergonomics: 4/5
Overall Legibility: 4.5/5
Nighttime Legibility: 4.5/5
Overall Rating: 4/5
Photos: Citizen / Ribero Watch
Citizen Eco-Drive Satellite Wave CC0005-06E specification
Price: $6000 (MSRP)
Movement: Eco-Drive, Caliber H990, solar-powered, Made in Japan
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, perpetual calendar, GMT
Power reserve: 2.5 years after being fully charged
Case: Stainless steel, black DLC
Bezel: Ceramic
Shape: Round
Size: 48.50 mm
Front crystal: Sapphire, anti-reflective
Back: Solid
Dial: Skeletonized, 3D-sculpted
Hands: Steel, luminous (green compound)
Water resistance: 50 meters
Strap: Black rubber