Citizen's new Eco-Drive field watch launches in the US, but it's already cheaper elsewhere

Citizen has just launched the AW1890-01A in the US — you can purchase it now. It's a field watch built around a grid-textured gray dial, a 41.2 mm silver-tone stainless steel case and a gray nylon NATO strap. It is listed on citizenwatch.com at $350.

Legibility does most of the work on the dial. Bold Arabic numerals are present on the outside, an inner 24-hour scale sits beneath them for anyone reading military time, and a curved minute track frames both. The hour and minute hands are partially skeletonized with luminous fills, the seconds hand is blue, and a date window occupies 6 o'clock. The crown is deeply knurled — it makes a lot of difference on a watch likely to be handled in gloves.

Power comes from caliber J810, Citizen's three-hand-and-date Eco-Drive. It charges from any light source, indoors or out, and is built to run without a battery change. Water resistance is 100 m, which covers swimming and snorkeling. The crystal is mineral instead of sapphire, and Citizen describes it as impact and shatter resistant.

The 01A joins the Terra Force series Citizen introduced at the start of the year, alongside the AW1890-19B on brown leather with a linen-textured white dial and the AW1890-51X on a triple-link steel bracelet with a green one. Both retail for $350 as well, which means the nylon-strap version costs exactly what the full metal bracelet does. Case, caliber and water resistance are shared across all three; only the dial texture, the strap and the seconds-hand color separate them.

Citizen's product page carries both a 'New' and an 'Exclusive' tag, though independent dealers including Long Island Watch and Arizona Fine Time already stock the reference for lower — Long Island Watch is selling it for nearly $90 cheaper.

US orders are quoted for delivery as early as 8 September, and the movement is covered for five years, or six with registration.