The Power of the Sun

The sundial is the oldest know time keeping instrument.  The earliest known sundials are from about 1,500 B.C.  And the sundial is referred to in the Bible in both Isaiah 38:8 and 2 Kings 20:11 (about 700 B.C.).  It is of course logical to assume that man used the shadows of the sun long before that to estimate time.

One obvious limitation of the Sundial was it's inability to tell time at night, although man quickly learned to use the movement of the stars, planets and moon for that purpose.

If we "fast forward" about 3,600 years man is once again using the Sun as a primary source of power to tell time!  Citizen Watch Company has certainly perfected the use of their ECO-DRIVE power system to  harness light and store it to power very complicated watches that tell the time accurately anywhere on earth.  Here, rather than casting shadows, the sunlight (or artificial light) is converted into electrical energy and stored in a capacitor for use.  Most Citizen watches can store power for a year or more without recharging.

Shown at the top of the page is Citizen Watch Company's newest generation of their Altichron Watch which not only tells time, but also the altitude and compass directions, all powered by light.  The Watch Guys Blog reviewed the Altichron when the watch was first introduced and the functions have not changed.  Here is a link to the original review with its in depth functional instructions: The Watch Guys Review of the Citizen Altichron Watches.

The newest Altichron, model BN5058-07E, has a greatly reduced price, cleaner, more modern lines and superior strength and durability.  Unlike the plastic watches offered by some competitors, the newest Altichron is all stainless steel and is entirely analog.  It looks like a fine watch because it is a fine watch.  The Citizen Altichron is available on both our Gem of the Day and our Top Flight Watches websites at a great discount price with FREE SHIPPING.

Citizen Altichron

The Citizen Altichron is here and it's one of the best Citizen watches to come along in quite some time.  Citizen continues to produce highly technical watches that work fluidly and intuitively.  It an impressive ability and I give a lot of credit to the Citizen engineers.  It's one thing to make a watch with a lot of technical features like digital compass and altimeter but it's something else entirely to make it easy to use.  But that is exactly what Citizen has managed to do and it's the first thing that stood out to me when I first held the watch in my hands. 

The two main technical features of this watch are the Electronic Compass and Altimeter and each is as easy to use as the other.  One of the first things you'll notice is the two color coded buttons on the left side of the case.  One is orange and one is neon yellow.  Then on the face of the watch you will also notice two additional hands.  Once again, one is orange and one is neon yellow.  This is not a coincidence.  Each button corresponds with it's matching hands and automatically launches it's touted feature into action.

Pressing the orange button sends the watch into Compass Mode.  No fiddling required.  Press the orange button and the orange hand starts up and finds true north.  Simple, easy and fast.  No changing modes, no set-up, no fuss.  Just press and go.  Frankly, it's very impressive and intuitive to use.  The big large buttons also mean they are easy to use even if you are wearing gloves or other outdoor equipment.  This is truly a watch you could take into the field and use every day.  And once you are done simply press the orange button again and it goes back to normal.

So, how about the yellow button?  You guessed it.  It operates the other main function, the Altimeter.  And just like the Compass, it's every bit as easy and intuitive to use.  This time by pushing the yellow button, the watch's Altimeter function comes to life and once again does so without any complications.  One press of the button sets the yellow hand in motion and comes to rest on the current elevation displayed by the yellow numbers on the dial.  Simple, easy and efficient.

The watch also features Citizen's now famous light powered technology (Eco-Drive) and come in a variety of light-weight Titanium cases.  Model BN5030-06E is solid Titanium in the standard finish (pictured in the top image) and Model BN5035-02F has a black IP finish.  Both models come standard with a Rubber Strap.  No metal bracelet is available at this time.  Each watch is also 200 Meter Water Resistant and comes with a Power Reserve Indicator on the dial.

Retail pricing starts at $850 for the standard Titanium model and $995 for the Black IP model.  Sale prices are much lower and right now we have a special Summer Citizen Sale going on to make these deals even better!  Simply visit us at one of our sites and enter the Code: Citizen10 to get an additional 10% off the sale price.

This watch is available at both Gem of the Day and TopFlight Watches and the code is good at both sites as well.  As always, you can call us Toll Free at 1-888-243-6329 with any questions, comments or just to talk watches.  Our watch experts are available to answer any question you may have.  We'd love to hear from you.