Too many hands for me, but very clever ones
By Kenji Watanabe, Osaka ยท
I am a systems engineer, so in principle anything that receives radio time signals, runs a perpetual calendar, shows world time, and has a full chronograph should make me happy. The Skyhawk A-T almost does.
Caliber U680 is impressive. Light-powered, radio synchronised in the major regions, and the perpetual calendar means the date stays correct through short months without me touching it. For a frequent traveller this is a real comfort.
My problem is legibility. At 46 mm by 13.6 mm the case is large, and the blue dial is full of scales, subdials, and small markings. Finding the time quickly, the one job a watch must do first, takes me a little longer than I would like. The leather strap is a slightly odd choice for something rated to 200 m, and the mineral crystal is disappointing at 525 to 695 dollars.
If you love pilot watches and like learning a manual, buy it. If you mainly want the time, the date and to never set your watch again, a simpler Citizen with radio control will be kinder to your eyes.