Never Forget to Fall Back Again!

 

(Seiko Astrom Solar GPS - SAST003)

This Sunday marks the end of Daylight Savings Time (DST) in most areas of the USA.  Twice a year we adjust the time either forward or back depending on if we are going into or coming out of DST.  I always remember it by the old simple saying, Spring Forward or Fall Back.  Meaning in the Spring you set the time forward an hour and in the Fall you set it back an hour.  Most of us have done it all our lives and while we are used to doing it, it's still sometimes a pain. 

Like for me personally I have quite a few watches.  DST means having to adjust all of them at some point or another.  But it also means actually remembering that DST is happening.  How many time have we just missed it completely only to show up an hour early/late the following day?  More times than I care to admit.  But we carry on and go about our little time changing rituals.  Wall clocks, watches, car clocks, mantel clocks etc... but then there are a few clock that have started getting smarter.  Car clocks/radios and cell phones were among the first to offer automatically updating time.  If the feature is turned on, the clocks will automatically update to the correct time for you.  Wake up the next morning and your phone has already changed and ready for the new day.  It's a nice convenience and one that has started to spoil us to the luxuries of modern technology. 

Well now, watches are starting to make the leap as well.  Most notably the Atomic Controlled/Satellite Controlled watches.  Many watches have had DST features built in to them for years now but you still had to tell it to adjust the time.  Basically they just an hour adjustment when you told it to but these new AT (Atomic Time) watches are different.  They will adjust the time automatically without you doing a thing.  Just go to sleep as normal on Saturday night and wake up Sunday to find the watch is already updated and ready to go.  It's a wonderfully welcome feature to an ever evolving marketplace.  And beyond that it actually updates the time every night so it is to-the-second accurate all the time.  Time and date automatically adjust every day making these watches the most care-free watches to own.  Combined with the Solar technology you don't even have to change the battery!  Talk about easy to own and operate.

 

 (Citizen Skyhawk AT - JY0010-50E) 

So much so that I find myself wearing Atomic watches more and more.  They are just too easy and convenient compared to the other watches in my collect.  Not only is the watch always running (thanks to the solar tech), it's always got the right time and date down to the exact second.  Just pick it up and put it on. Not only that but I use it to set the time on my "less advanced" watches too.  It's the gold standard as far as accuracy and convenient to set by.  Whatever watch replaces it on my wrist gets set to the time before going back in my watch box.

Now don't get me wrong, I actually just blogged about the beauty of Automatics and how new technology watches have lost some of the "soul" you find in the beating heart of a mechanical watch but that is not to say they don't have their place right along side them.  So next time you find yourself going through the house and resetting everything for DST, remember that there is a better way.  And right now is the best time of all.  In celebration of these watches and just in time for DST ending we are launching a FALLBACK sale on all of our automatically updating watches.  All Atomic and Satellite watches are on sale from now through November 15th on Topflight Watches.  Just enter the code FALLBACK during checkout and receive an additional 10% off your purchase of any Atomic/Satellite controlled watch.

Citizen Expands the Atomic Time Line of Skyhawks

The 'AT' Collection of Atomic Time Citizen Skyhawks has quickly become a phenomenon, capturing both pilot's and the public's attention. Realizing they have a winner, Citizen Watch Company continues to expand the line and has two new additions for Fall, 2008.

The world famous BLUE ANGELS Flight Chronograph has now been UPGRADED to the 3rd Generation Skyhawk AT movement. That means the Blue Angels now has the most accurate time in the world, set by the Atomic Clock. Radio signals are received automatically and the time is reset every night.

The new Blue Angels AT has a digital display backlight for easy night visibility. It automatically displays the time in 43 cities around the world. It has two world time alarms. Plus it has Eco-Drive technology, so you will never need to replace a battery.

Perhaps even more exciting is the Skyhawk AT is now available in a new ALL BLACK PVD case and bracelet! The new Black AT has the same 3rd Generation Skyhawk movement with time set by the Atomic Clock in Boulder, Colorado. And it has all the great AT features including World Time, 24 Hour Chronograph and 2 World Time Alarms. But it's now dressed up in basic black!

Citizen is using a Physical Vapor Deposition method to plate the stainless steel case and bracelet with a combination of carbon and titanium for a matte finish black coating that promises to be tough and durable.

Still, the most talked about feature of all the new AT's is the LIGHTED DIGITAL DISPLAY for easy night time viewing or viewing in a darkened cockpit.

All Skyhawks feature an EB6 Pilot's slide rule bezel and sundials for the UTC Time (Greenwich Mean Time Display), 24 hour time and an Eco-Drive Power Reserve Indicator.

You can purchase the new Skyhawks any of the three Gem of the Day family of websites. Just click one of the links below to go to the catalog of your choice:

Top Flight Watches Citizen Skyhawks

Time4Tritium Non-Tritium Solutions

Gem of the Day Citizen Promaster Catalog

The First Citizen Skyhawk AT's Have Arrived!!

We were surprised and excited this morning when our first shipment of the all new Citizen Skyhawk AT Flight Computer Watches arrived from Citizen. We only received the signature rubber dive strap model, JY0000-02E. We assume that the steel bracelet model will follow in a few days.

UPDATE: 8/10/2007 - The bracelet model JY0000-53E has also arrived and is available for IMMDEIATE DELIVERY!

The really good news was that our first shipment was larger than we anticipated so we do have a small additional quantity available if you order quickly. This watch is so important we are offering it through all three of our Internet Websites. Feel free to order it through any of these links:

Top Flight Watches: Citizen Skyhawk AT, model JY0000-02E

Gem of the Day: Citizen Skyhawk AT, model JY0000-02E

Time 4 Tritium: Citizen Skyhawk AT, model JY0000-02E

Here are our first impressions. We will have new, additional photography and more information on our websites in the next few days.

First, the orange LED backlight for the digital displays is excellent! It's much brighter than we had anticipated with good coverage and no glare. This feature alone will win over virtually all older Citizen Skyhawk owners.

The normal black on gray LCD display has good contrast and is easy to read in both indoor light and bright sunlight.

We LOVE the analog battery charge display. This display is always on unless you are checking the Radio Control Atomic Clock setting. All our watches arrived fully charged and ready to operate.

Another great and unexpected feature is the home city LCD window that shows you the setting for the ANALOG display. This is a great feature when you are setting the watch to different time zones. The watch also has a permanent home city 24 hour subdial so you know the exact daypart for your analog setting.

This "home city" 24 hour subdial is completely separate from the 24 hour UTC or ZULU time subdial (below the 12'clock position on the watch face). All of this is so intuitive that this quickly becomes the perfect world time watch! The fact that Citizen also recognized the need to set up the watch for 29 time zones (instead of the original 22 time zones on older models) makes this a full fledged world time computer.

The watch will attempt to "sync" with the atomic clock three times each night (at 2 am, 3 am and 4 am). We were able to initiate the "on demand" sync at about 6 pm here in Mississippi, but only by going outdoors. We expect night reception will be vastly better, but we will keep you informed.

Since the watch is extremely accurate, there should be no problems if your watch fails to "sync" each night.

We'll file some additional reports here in the next few days, but our first impressions are extremely favorable. The only real problem we anticipate will be the previously announced lack of availability. If you are going to want one of these watches this fall or Christmas, please order very, very early. They will be sold out.