A part of many driver, flyer, diver collections, the Citizen Nighthawk makes for a great entry piece into the world of aviation watches. What makes it so appealing? First and foremost, it is the dial. At a glance, the dial itself seems cluttered and busy. However, it is ultra-legible. The applied indices are spaced out evenly and are broken up by two cardinal hours at 12 and 6.

The watch also provides a bevy of tools and functions via its slide rule on the outer ring which is activated by the second crown at 8 o’clock. Additionally, it features a dual time system using the 24 hour semi-circular ring on the left side of the dial. Time is read on this by way of the two planes that are constantly in flight. The white plane will indicate the AM time on the white ring of 12 hours, and the red plane will show the PM hours on the red ring.

The movement is a Citizen Eco-Drive quartz, and makes for a fantastic grab and go piece with little to no maintenance due to its solar charging. What is more, the hour hand can be set independently from the minute hand which makes this a great watch for travel in addition to the second time zone. The Nighthawk features 200m water resistance and a screw down crown on the 3 o’clock crown.

One of the major complaints about this watch is the sheer size. Despite it being 41mm, the majority of the watch is the dial as the lug to lug is only some 46mm at a thickness of 12.5mm. Personally, it doesn’t wear too big for my 6.75” wrist. The piece also has a mineral crystal rather than sapphire, which given the price point makes sense. The 22mm bracelet itself is also very nice given the price, and is certainly hefty enough to withstand everyday usage.

The Citizen Nighthawk can be had for under $200 which makes it a tremendous value, and ultimately a piece that punches above its weight class.