This is by far, the most underrated watch by Citizen. I wear this everyday and in one of the harshest environments for any watch, and it doesn't miss a beat. I love it, and will get a second for when this one does die.
I work in heavy industry - mining. It gets exposed to everything from mud and muck, to intense and constant vibration. Doesn’t miss a beat. Have now got the green faced model.
The early Citizen Navihawk remains to this day my favorite flying tool watch. This brand really thinks about how their watches will be used, not just how they look.
2 years after the fact but I just found this video in 2023 after buying the PMD-2951 and struggling to get it to sync from the USA. You're right, Clockwise Station "JJY" and Timezone "Japan domestic clock" was the key to getting it to work. Thank you very much!
Damn that watch looks great. I think they're crazy for making it a unique market product for Japan. It looks way better than the similar tough solar titanium models
Glad u mentioned the bracelet digging. At first that really annoyed me but a year later i don't notice anymore. I also moved the clasp part over to one side so the upward curve matches the curve of my wrist more (did it by taking out links from one side and putting back in on the other side)
Interesting. I may have a look at that. I tried again to work with it and I just couldn’t get comfortable with it. I ordered a titanium standard clasp from AliExpress will try that if it ever arrived. Also annoyingly I probably lost a few of the tiny collars inside the links
Good morning Sam & community. So I connect the watch to JJY by using for instance the Clock Wave, Junghans Mega, Radio Wave etc app to get the japanese time? Now, how do I adjust the local time - Western Europe for instance. Do I have to adjust it manualy...?
Sam, I love this watch and of course, the review is outstanding. My nit to pick: I dislike when the minute hand fails to reach the minute markers. Citizen and Seiko often put minute markings on the chapter ring only and so the minute hand doesn’t reach all the way. In fact some have quite a large gap. This impacts legibility unnecessarily. Overall though this watch has a lot of strong points, and looks killer on that Toxic Rogue.
Nice watch! I own citizen urban eco drive and I'm very satisfied. Only gripe with these light powered watches is the lume being not as strong as battery powered
The strength and longevity of the lume has everything to do with the type of lume paint applied and the strength of the light that charged said paint (and how recently), nothing to do with solar vs alkaline battery power.
@@jimclip2012 Last year I bought a citizen pro-master diver in titanium. And i noticed the lume is inherently better than my first non diver citizen ecodrive. Perhaps they applied better lume being a diver watch and for better reading underwater.
Hi, I'm interested in buying this watch along with a NATO strap. Please can you tell me the width of the NATO strap I'd have to buy to go along with this watch as you wore in 7:12. Thanks!
If I was a one watch type guy this could be the one. I found a guy online who's had his for a year and wears it daily, including a lot of outdoor activities. He says the watch finish is holding up great. My one gripe is the price.
Hey Tom, I hear you on the price i wrestled with that the most, but I feel its well worth it now I have the watch... and it doesn't come in that silly Scuba tank! Making me fell like that money went into the watch!
@@CasualWatchReviews If it was going to be the daily I'd pop for it, just can't justify the price for an addition to my collection. (Too many watches so little time!) She's a looker, enjoy!
Its a great looking watch and your video is the best one I have seen on this watch. Well Done. I find it strange that they used a Snap On Caseback however.
That’s a very interesting watch. Really cool the way it sets itself. Citizen makes some really nice watches. I have a Promaster Tough which is similar to this, but is stainless and has a regular Eco Drive Movement.
I think they make the best quality Quartz watches in the game, they are also not afraid to innovate something Seiko really doesn't do with their quartz watches I feel.I think the king of innovation is still Casio for the quartz stuff having said that!
As far as I can tell it can only reach the japanese mast. I did a bunch of research on it. I don't have the watch anymore so its been a while since I looked at it. I have no idea how you would change it the watch has one button then the main crown.
Watch looks fabulous. Especially this bracelet version. The only don’t is a diameter. It should be 45 mm without a crown. 500$ is a bit too much for Citizen, l think. However some more expensive models eg Red Arrows for £550 or Night Hawk are even more expensive. Anyway, a survey was fantastic and you deserve a big 👍
Great, review and camera work Sam. Citizen is best in the solar quartz category imho. Great finishing on it too. The price point brings it equal to the Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical which is tough competition albeit for a completely different technology.
Hey Tod good point. I honestly can't see how Omega have made a better case for that flipping seamaster Bond they want 9k for. This is stunning work form Citizen, the crown is fantastic
Why are all the cool watches JDM? I love Citizen and this watch is a great pick up! If it did pick up on different time zones to set itself, this would be the perfect field watch.
I've had one of these for about a year and half now, and I love it, it's my favorite. Quick note - it's not really 41mm diameter case. I know that's the spec on Citizen's website, but it's really a bit less than 40mm if you measure it yourself. As for the bracelet, mine doesn't dig into me at all, maybe try moving it a bit one direction or the other. My endlinks fit really well too, it kinda seems like your lug width is just a bit too big.
@@CasualWatchReviews I know what you mean haha. I like it on a Barton arm green canvas - i.imgur.com/W8fAngy.jpg and my favorite strap is probably BluShark's 'British Khaki' - i.imgur.com/4krnR00.jpg
I got this watch with a green dial. it looks very nice, but I find that the failure to receive tyhe German atomic Radio clock is a dissapointment. Having to put an app on your phone to have it adjust to the right time takes away a lot of the äutomatically setting" function.
@@CasualWatchReviews how long would this last without sunlight? I believe you mentioned around 6 months? I can’t decide what to choose between this and the Oceanus s100 or t200.
You said you figured out how to use the app. I purchased it and attempted to get it to start an atomic clock without success. I followed the instructions, selected WWV, turned volume all the way up, put clock in receive mode, placed iPhone next to clock and pressed “transmit”. Nothing after 20 minutes. Any thing I missed?
Hey, yes you need to have it transmit on the ‘JJY’ mast, the watch will only respond to the japan simulated mast. So your very close to getting it working.
Very nice. Subscribed right off! Why not try to bend the clasp deployment? It looks to not follow the the curve properly, and even if it did you’ve got to make it comfy for you. Very nice watch.
The clasp is very rigid so i don’t think you could flex it much. It looks so awesome on a NATO its been living on one most of the time? Appreciate you watching and commenting!
And if you live in the U.S. where there is no mobile service, say behind a ridge from the serving cell tower or in the middle of "nowhere," you are screwed.
Citizen watches are so underpriced it's laughable! The quality of these watches is far superior to any watch even 10x the price. I certainly don't complain though.
It’s the same argument as Toyota vs Ferrari. They serve different demographics/purposes and are known as the golden standards in their respective class
Why did they ruin this watch with the black PVD bezel? I mean, has anyone seen anything like this before? Such a deal-killer for me, so I went with the blue, which fortunately is very dark blue (looks black from a distance), and it has a red seconds hands that I prefer rather than yellow.
@@jimclip2012 Really, the indicator of radio signal strength is not binary? That's a curious engineering choice. The logic escapes me. Casio didn't make that mistake. The G-Shocks indicate battery or capacitor charge as H-M-L, and the radio sunchronization as pass or fail. What's going on at Citizen HQ? LOL
@@ivermec-tin666 according to the instructions that came with mine, it indicates the strength of the radio signal. I agree, battery charge would be more useful. But maybe in Japan, proximity to the tower(s) is important, but even there I would think the battery level would be more useful, because the nightly reset happens overnight, so you wouldn’t even see it happen.
@@jimclip2012 Japan is a fairly mountainous country, so yes, the terrain could impact radio reception. The last house I lived in I couldn't get reception inside the house (an old house with many layers of lead paint built up over the years). I had to leave it outside on the clothesline to get an automatic update from Fort Collins, CO at night. Radio synchronization is great when it works.
@@ivermec-tin666 good point, especially since this is a JDM model. I can get it to connect with the two different simulator apps, but my accuracy results have been mixed using the app. Would’ve been nice if the watch also could work with the other types of sync signals around the world (one of the apps let’s you choose the type of signal), but alas, this is a JDM model. I just set mine manually, and since it’s a perpetual calendar, I might need only set the watch 2-3 times a year and still stay within 30 seconds or so of accuracy. Of course, I’m used to automatics, which can easily drift off by that much in a single day LOL
This indeed may be great, but its self adjusting characteristics are useless out of range of the Japanese radio time signal, or an app on a phone. ln that respect, buying one is paying for a feature that is either non existent or requires the use of an external device.
This is by far, the most underrated watch by Citizen. I wear this everyday and in one of the harshest environments for any watch, and it doesn't miss a beat. I love it, and will get a second for when this one does die.
It won't die.
What kind of treatment do you put it through? How is it doing when it comes to scratches? I really like the blue dial version.
I work in heavy industry - mining. It gets exposed to everything from mud and muck, to intense and constant vibration. Doesn’t miss a beat. Have now got the green faced model.
@@benp8136 do you wear it with it's original bracelet?
it looks amazing with your nato strap! Almost the best look I have seen on the market, a true must-have
I want one! Citizen is the most underrated watchbrand.
Agreed!
The early Citizen Navihawk remains to this day my favorite flying tool watch. This brand really thinks about how their watches will be used, not just how they look.
Great review. Love the edits with dimensions and the way you point stuff out. Easily the best review of this watch I have seen.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Ryan
@@CasualWatchReviews sadly you only fueled the desire of want for this watch. Haha. Cheers!
2 years after the fact but I just found this video in 2023 after buying the PMD-2951 and struggling to get it to sync from the USA. You're right, Clockwise Station "JJY" and Timezone "Japan domestic clock" was the key to getting it to work. Thank you very much!
Hey! Thanks for watching, glad it worked out!
Yes this Citizen is an excellent value watch
Damn that watch looks great. I think they're crazy for making it a unique market product for Japan. It looks way better than the similar tough solar titanium models
Great set of dimensions on this one, awesome grab and go every day piece 👍
Yes i spent my time really researching this one, not just impulse buying that I tend to do with the more affordable watches.
That’s a great looking watch! Nice unboxing and review!
Thanks mate, I was forced in to more outside stuff as the exposure was a little darker than I would have liked!
Glad u mentioned the bracelet digging. At first that really annoyed me but a year later i don't notice anymore. I also moved the clasp part over to one side so the upward curve matches the curve of my wrist more (did it by taking out links from one side and putting back in on the other side)
Interesting. I may have a look at that. I tried again to work with it and I just couldn’t get comfortable with it. I ordered a titanium standard clasp from AliExpress will try that if it ever arrived. Also annoyingly I probably lost a few of the tiny collars inside the links
I quite like this one. Looks nice with that bit of pop of color on the second hand.
Thats what really attracted me to it, they have done a good job of this one!
Good morning Sam & community. So I connect the watch to JJY by using for instance the Clock Wave, Junghans Mega, Radio Wave etc app to get the japanese time? Now, how do I adjust the local time - Western Europe for instance. Do I have to adjust it manualy...?
No that’s it, the app I used sets the watch to the local time of the phone.
One of the best watches i have studied on youtube the last few weeks. A few things i wish was different: to much lettering and more color combinations
Also the minute hand is a bit short, that’s was ultimately put me off it.
Just bought the green version, excited to receive it.
I still really love mine. I still have not worn it a lot of the bracelet, but it looks awesome on most straps!
Sam, I love this watch and of course, the review is outstanding. My nit to pick: I dislike when the minute hand fails to reach the minute markers. Citizen and Seiko often put minute markings on the chapter ring only and so the minute hand doesn’t reach all the way. In fact some have quite a large gap. This impacts legibility unnecessarily. Overall though this watch has a lot of strong points, and looks killer on that Toxic Rogue.
Hey Chris, oh I didn't notice that... I like the handset but yes I see your point for sure!
I wish they made this watch without the black bezel. It would look perfect.
Which nato strap is that? Looks great and matches it well
Nice watch! I own citizen urban eco drive and I'm very satisfied. Only gripe with these light powered watches is the lume being not as strong as battery powered
The strength and longevity of the lume has everything to do with the type of lume paint applied and the strength of the light that charged said paint (and how recently), nothing to do with solar vs alkaline battery power.
@@jimclip2012 Last year I bought a citizen pro-master diver in titanium. And i noticed the lume is inherently better than my first non diver citizen ecodrive. Perhaps they applied better lume being a diver watch and for better reading underwater.
@@diegocanale1124 that makes sense. The lume isn’t composed of lightbulbs, thus isn’t dependent on battery power.
I own one of these watches, and there's nothing wrong with the lume!
Hi,
I'm interested in buying this watch along with a NATO strap. Please can you tell me the width of the NATO strap I'd have to buy to go along with this watch as you wore in 7:12.
Thanks!
20mm nato will do!
@@CasualWatchReviews Thanks so much. You the best!
If I was a one watch type guy this could be the one. I found a guy online who's had his for a year and wears it daily, including a lot of outdoor activities. He says the watch finish is holding up great. My one gripe is the price.
Hey Tom, I hear you on the price i wrestled with that the most, but I feel its well worth it now I have the watch... and it doesn't come in that silly Scuba tank! Making me fell like that money went into the watch!
@@CasualWatchReviews If it was going to be the daily I'd pop for it, just can't justify the price for an addition to my collection. (Too many watches so little time!) She's a looker, enjoy!
Very cool watch Sam! I love the way it looks on the nato - this is a real keeper - congratulations 😊👍
Hey Jeffrey, yep Im really liking this one! This Toxic Nato is pretty cool!
Will it pick up radio signal from Europe? (is there a dedicated app / website to allow the syncronization from Europe?)
There is a mast in Europe and this app will also work.
Its a great looking watch and your video is the best one I have seen on this watch. Well Done.
I find it strange that they used a Snap On Caseback however.
Thanks for watching, appreciate it! Its a screw in case back I think? May have to go back and check!
That’s a very interesting watch. Really cool the way it sets itself.
Citizen makes some really nice watches. I have a Promaster Tough which is similar to this, but is stainless and has a regular Eco Drive Movement.
I think they make the best quality Quartz watches in the game, they are also not afraid to innovate something Seiko really doesn't do with their quartz watches I feel.I think the king of innovation is still Casio for the quartz stuff having said that!
Good video, very competent understated watch
Hey Marcos, thanks for watching and commenting!
Do they make a version that receives the signal from the Colorado atomic clock in the USA?
Not that I know of that looks like this. There is a similar eco drive model but without the multi band Joe.
Can you set the time and date like normal watch with the crown ?
I never tried apparently it’s very frustrating to do.
Understand the app, but there must be a relatively simple fix to change the receive to the European transmitters?
As far as I can tell it can only reach the japanese mast. I did a bunch of research on it. I don't have the watch anymore so its been a while since I looked at it. I have no idea how you would change it the watch has one button then the main crown.
@@CasualWatchReviews Thanks for the reply. Why did you move the watch on?
Nice watch good review stay safe cheers from Manchester
Hey Mark... hope my home City is coping with all this COVID-19 stuff. Keep safe mate!
Nice looking watch...well done Sir!
hey, yep I'm really liking it so far, appreciate you watching as always!
That’s a beauty...love the Japanese day!
I have to confess... I changed it back after a few days 😂
Good review, thanks.
Thnaks Michael, looks like you binged watched a few!
@@CasualWatchReviews these are all the ones I missed expecting to see you in the C section! 😂😂😂
Watch looks fabulous. Especially this bracelet version. The only don’t is a diameter. It should be 45 mm without a crown. 500$ is a bit too much for Citizen, l think. However some more expensive models eg Red Arrows for £550 or Night Hawk are even more expensive. Anyway, a survey was fantastic and you deserve a big 👍
Hi Krzysztof... thanks for watching!
I own a PMD56-2952, and there's nothing wrong with its size!
Great, review and camera work Sam. Citizen is best in the solar quartz category imho. Great finishing on it too. The price point brings it equal to the Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical which is tough competition albeit for a completely different technology.
Hey Tod good point. I honestly can't see how Omega have made a better case for that flipping seamaster Bond they want 9k for. This is stunning work form Citizen, the crown is fantastic
A good looking watch Sam,keep safe mate!!
Same to you Stephen, keep safe and thanks for all your support in the comments over the years!
Really nice piece,the only problem is the price plus taxes to buying from Japan or GBritain,any way thanks nice review
I got my PMD56-2952 from a watch dealer in Lancashire for £294 including postage!
I've been flirting with the green dial version for years. Cool watch dude
I have been flirting with this one all day... the wife is not happy 'you love that watch more than me' may have been muttered once or twice 😂
so with the phone app does it set it to the japanese time zone or US zone?
It make the watch think its talking to the Japanese mast then sets itself to whatever your phone clock is set as.
@@CasualWatchReviews thank you so much.
brill watch .. really like cheers
Hey Craig, agreed!!
Hi. Great upload, thank you. Your BN0151-09L what make buckle and strap is it fitted with in this video ?
Hey Karl, one of my favourites, the zuludiver rubber strap from Watch Gecko
I have one of those as well 👍. but not the same buckle. Could you post a picture so I can get the same ?
karl domingo yep if you look on WatchGecko www.watchgecko.com/zuludiver-400-italian-rubber-drivers-watch-strap
Zuludiver 300 or 400 ? Thanks 🙏
karl domingo the strap is the one above in the link.
Is the secondary day of the week display in English
Bryan Holleran Yes it is
Yes that's right, its English the other view, good question because you sometimes see Spanish for US watches.
Why are all the cool watches JDM? I love Citizen and this watch is a great pick up! If it did pick up on different time zones to set itself, this would be the perfect field watch.
Hey, yes I know, I have seen some cool looking Seiko watches that are JDM only and even the Citizen mont bell ones are cool
I have the Royal Marines without te RM logo. That one is only available in the UK. In blue or black.
I've had one of these for about a year and half now, and I love it, it's my favorite. Quick note - it's not really 41mm diameter case. I know that's the spec on Citizen's website, but it's really a bit less than 40mm if you measure it yourself.
As for the bracelet, mine doesn't dig into me at all, maybe try moving it a bit one direction or the other. My endlinks fit really well too, it kinda seems like your lug width is just a bit too big.
Hi Dustin, Maybe I will try it again on the bracelet then, it looks so cool on a number of different straps I struggle keeping it on any one
@@CasualWatchReviews I know what you mean haha. I like it on a Barton arm green canvas - i.imgur.com/W8fAngy.jpg and my favorite strap is probably BluShark's 'British Khaki' - i.imgur.com/4krnR00.jpg
I got this watch with a green dial.
it looks very nice, but I find that the failure to receive tyhe German atomic Radio clock is a dissapointment.
Having to put an app on your phone to have it adjust to the right time takes away a lot of the äutomatically setting" function.
Yes I agree, but the app works really well honestly. Once you get the hang of it, its easy enough
Is this solar?
Yep
@@CasualWatchReviews how long would this last without sunlight? I believe you mentioned around 6 months? I can’t decide what to choose between this and the Oceanus s100 or t200.
I my is alan can I get a app for my s 10 samsung to work the watch pmd56 2952 in the uk
Hi Alan, I think this app is available for android? Just make sure it supports the Japan masts.
Try JJYEmulator
Hey, does the seconds hand hit marks accurately for you? mine is a bit off.
This has long since been sold but I’m sure it did.
You said you figured out how to use the app. I purchased it and attempted to get it to start an atomic clock without success. I followed the instructions, selected WWV, turned volume all the way up, put clock in receive mode, placed iPhone next to clock and pressed “transmit”. Nothing after 20 minutes. Any thing I missed?
Hey, yes you need to have it transmit on the ‘JJY’ mast, the watch will only respond to the japan simulated mast. So your very close to getting it working.
Great review for a very cool watch! And thank you for showing the app you used to sync it. May I know where did you purchase this watch at for 467?
Yep i actually bought it from a seller in ebay in Japan, its a great watch
Is this a promaster?
Yep
@@CasualWatchReviews and ant-shock? I'm torn between this and the bn0118-12l...
Very nice. Subscribed right off! Why not try to bend the clasp deployment? It looks to not follow the the curve properly, and even if it did you’ve got to make it comfy for you. Very nice watch.
The clasp is very rigid so i don’t think you could flex it much. It looks so awesome on a NATO its been living on one most of the time? Appreciate you watching and commenting!
And if you live in the U.S. where there is no mobile service, say behind a ridge from the serving cell tower or in the middle of "nowhere," you are screwed.
Citizen watches are so underpriced it's laughable! The quality of these watches is far superior to any watch even 10x the price. I certainly don't complain though.
Yep the quality, especially these titanium cases are amazing.
Yeah pls dont say this out loud. We like it like that.
There is still something romantic about mechanical pieces that some people seem to value more. I understand it to a certain extent.
It’s the same argument as Toyota vs Ferrari. They serve different demographics/purposes and are known as the golden standards in their respective class
Super titanium ???
Yep, it’s a brand name citizen use for their more scratch ‘resistant’ titanium. They explain it on their website.
Why did they ruin this watch with the black PVD bezel? I mean, has anyone seen anything like this before? Such a deal-killer for me, so I went with the blue, which fortunately is very dark blue (looks black from a distance), and it has a red seconds hands that I prefer rather than yellow.
Nothing wrong with it, it just makes it a bit different. Find another watch with similar styling...
I believe that the H-M-L markings indicate the charge of the capacitor rather than the strength of the atomic clock radio signal.
Incorrect
@@jimclip2012 Really, the indicator of radio signal strength is not binary? That's a curious engineering choice. The logic escapes me. Casio didn't make that mistake. The G-Shocks indicate battery or capacitor charge as H-M-L, and the radio sunchronization as pass or fail. What's going on at Citizen HQ? LOL
@@ivermec-tin666 according to the instructions that came with mine, it indicates the strength of the radio signal. I agree, battery charge would be more useful. But maybe in Japan, proximity to the tower(s) is important, but even there I would think the battery level would be more useful, because the nightly reset happens overnight, so you wouldn’t even see it happen.
@@jimclip2012 Japan is a fairly mountainous country, so yes, the terrain could impact radio reception. The last house I lived in I couldn't get reception inside the house (an old house with many layers of lead paint built up over the years). I had to leave it outside on the clothesline to get an automatic update from Fort Collins, CO at night.
Radio synchronization is great when it works.
@@ivermec-tin666 good point, especially since this is a JDM model. I can get it to connect with the two different simulator apps, but my accuracy results have been mixed using the app. Would’ve been nice if the watch also could work with the other types of sync signals around the world (one of the apps let’s you choose the type of signal), but alas, this is a JDM model. I just set mine manually, and since it’s a perpetual calendar, I might need only set the watch 2-3 times a year and still stay within 30 seconds or so of accuracy. Of course, I’m used to automatics, which can easily drift off by that much in a single day LOL
This indeed may be great, but its self adjusting characteristics are useless out of range of the Japanese radio time signal, or an app on a phone. ln that respect, buying one is paying for a feature that is either non existent or requires the use of an external device.
you wear it too tight
I wish you had said something sooner before my circulation was effected and my hand fell off. We live and learn.
Very nice, congrats!
Yep loving it so far Miguel!