The Citizen Promaster Nighthawk is a lineup of multi-functional pilot’s watches. Featuring large and legible hour markings, a dual-time zone configuration, a solar-powered eco-drive movement, and even a mechanical slide-rule bezel which allows a pilot to make calculations on the fly. The Nighthawk is a watch that is just as much a tool as it is cool. Rhyme not intentional… I promise.
Recently, according to the Citizen watches website, the Nighthawk Promaster has been discontinued… And replaced by newer and updated models.
The two new Citizen Nighthawks, reference BJ7138-04E and BJ7135-02E (links to Amazon) are designed to look even more militaristic than the previous Promaster Nighthawk BJ7008-51E, which definitely had a military look, but with a more civilian and plain color scheme.
Citizen Promaster Nighthawk BJ7138-04E
The BJ7138-04E has an army green leather strap that is inspired by military uniforms, and the rich, dark sunburst dial has orange accents, that come together to look like an illuminated cockpit at night. The cool dial is punctuated by a new black and stainless two-tone case, with a black bezel.
Citizen Promaster Nighthawk BJ7135-02E
The new Nighthawk BJ7135-02E is a stealthy, black on black watch designed after stealthy military helicopters.
This watch is much more monochromatic, with accents of white, white, and white. Citizen decided to get a little crazy and actually added a subtle touch of grey also. Wow! Color!
Below is a review video of the new Nighthawk Promaster BJ7135-02E in action.
New Features & Updates
Both models feature a more aggressively geometric and angular case shape, compared to the previous model’s rounded case.
Further, the secondary crown used to adjust the additional functions, like the internally rotating slide-rule bezel, has been moved from the 8:00 position to 2:00. I think this helps streamline the design a little bit. Moving both of the crowns to the same side also has the added benefit of allowing a wider range of motion on the crown-less side, for those of you who wear your watch on the right hand.
The crown has a new swirling knurling (again, rhyme not intended) that adds to the industrial and aggressive look of this watch. It also looks like it’ll be much more satisfyingly tactile to grip and use.
Further, the hour markings have almost all been replaced with arabic hour markings, instead of just at 12 and 6 o’clock positions, like on the previous Promaster model. The geometric hour markings at 12, 3, 6, and 9 have been enlarged and emphasized; which makes them extremely useful and helpful for orientation and telling the time at a glance.
The date wheel has been subdued a bit, and the txt: “Nighthawk WR200” has been removed from the neewr model, creating a much cleaner appearance overall.
The Final Verdict
While the new Citizen Nighthawks retain all of the functionality and overall design aesthetic of the Nighthawk, some changes have been made to this iconic pilot’s watch. It looks like Citizen took some steps to modernize and industrialize the new Citizen Nighthawk Promaster lineup for a modern generation.
A more angular case shape, overall cleaner dial design and aesthetic, and the addition of an all-black model might appeal more to those looking for a day-to-day watch, who weren’t all that impressed with the original Nighthawk’s military watch aesthetic.
The new Citizen Promaster Nighthawk are available now, with an original MSRP of $495. The all-black Nighthawk BJ7135-02E and olive-strapped BJ7138-04E can alsobe purchased on Amazon.
