Satellite Wave GPS
For world travellers
The accurate time. Anywhere in the world. Satellite Wave GPS* is a technology created especially for world travellers. It receives position data and a time signal from orbiting satellites and automatically adjusts the time. The development of this technology was a challenge that CITIZEN felt compelled to take on as a global company.
* GPS is the acronym for Global Positioning System.
Whole-earth coverage:
In the desert. Out at sea
Genuine world travellers don't restrict themselves to only visiting major international cities. That is why Satellite Wave GPS has reception in 39 of the world's time zones. Wherever you are—out in the desert, on a ship at sea or on the top of a snow-capped mountain—you can get the accurate time for that specific location with Satellite Wave GPS. * Time zone coverage varies by model.
The accurate time travels
with you
Satellite Wave GPS receives position data in addition to a time signal. Wherever you go, Satellite Wave GPS uses a combination of position data and a time signal to synchronise your watch to the local time. You can enjoy complete peace of mind even when passing through a series of different time zones, as you do when driving across a continent, for example.
Get in sync quickly.
It's all about now
Everyone wants to know the local time as quickly as possible after reaching a new destination. Satellite Wave GPS captures position data in as little as 30 seconds. CITIZEN was also the first company in the world to receive a GPS time signal in as little as 3 seconds, a record. Now it's possible to get the adjusted time super-fast, wherever you are on Earth.
* In 2015, CITIZEN achieved time-signal reception time as fast as three seconds for a light-powered GPS satellite watch.
About Satellite Wave GPS
Explore the technologies that go into Satellite Wave GPS.
A technology that communicates with satellites
Satellite Wave GPS is a technology that receives position data and a time signal from GPS satellites orbiting at an altitude of 20,000km which it uses to automatically update the time and date of your watch. To synchronise your watch, simply go outside to a place without too many trees or tall buildings to obstruct the satellite signal, point your watch at the sky and perform the manual operation.
Coverage of 39 time zones worldwide
Satellite Wave GPS has coverage of 39 of the world's time zones.* It's a technology that works almost anywhere on Earth.
* Time zone coverage varies by model.
Time Zone Map (simplified): The information on this map is correct as of January 2016. Time differences can change according to national/regional circumstances.
From signal reception to time display:
Speed is of the essence
The ability to rapidly capture a time signal and rapidly display the accurate time for a specific country or region directly impacts user comfort and convenience. That is what inspires CITIZEN to keep researching and developing new ways of accelerating the signal reception time.
An algorithm unique to CITIZEN
We wrote, road-tested and revised literally thousands of programmes before developing our proprietary algorithm. It is thanks to this algorithm that we achieved the world's fastest satellite time-signal reception speed* of as little as three seconds.
* As of September 2023, for a light-powered GPS satellite-synchronised watch, according to Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. research.
High-Speed Motor
Our watches incorporate a specially designed high-speed motor. As soon as the time signal has been received from the GPS satellites, the motor rapidly moves the hands to display the accurate time. Mission accomplished!
The Satellite Wave GPS Story
Bold vision. Exciting innovations.
2000s
Accurate time.
For people everywhere
The desire to provide the accurate time to as many people as possible around the world was what inspired us to start developing Satellite Wave GPS. When we launched our initial R&D efforts, there were no GPS chips for dedicated high-speed time-signal reception, so we had to develop them ourselves. We were literally building the future as we worked our way through a whole series of challenges.
*GPS is an acronym for Global Positioning System.
2011
The World's first light-powered
satellite-synchronised watch
After considerable trial and error, we debuted Eco-Drive SATELLITE WAVE, the world's first light-powered satellite-synchronised watch, in 2011. The design of this first watch played up the GPS concept, with motifs evoking such themes as satellites, space, the Earth, sun, and light. This model represented the coming together of all CITIZEN's most advanced technologies at the time, not to mention our commitment to a bold aesthetic vision.
Eco-Drive
Satellite Wave
2014
The need for speed.
And other benefits
The challenge of figuring out how to display the correct time while maximising speed and minimising stress was a challenge CITIZEN was happy to confront head-on. In 2014, we released the Eco-Drive SATELLITE WAVE F100 which achieved a time-signal reception speed as fast as three seconds. Because each of the three hands—the hour hand, minute hand and second hand—was equipped with its own independent motor, adjusting the time became not merely fast but also wholly stress-free. When it came out, Eco-Drive SATELLITE WAVE F100 was the world's thinnest satellite-synchronised watch.
Eco-Drive
Satellite Wave F100
2015
GPS functionality takes off
In 2015, CITIZEN developed a model capable of receiving position data in addition to a time signal. This was the Eco-Drive SATELLITE WAVE F900, a thin watch that stayed faithful to the concept of rapid reception while getting the most out of GPS functionality.
Unveiled at Baselworld in 2015, this model is equipped with a motor that enables the hands to spin at ultra-high speed both clockwise and anti-clockwise to rapidly display the correct time for the wearer's specific location. The Eco-Drive SATELLITE WAVE F900 was the world's thinnest multifunctional GPS satellite-synchronised watch when it came out.*
* As of September 2018, according to Citizen Watch Co., Ltd. research.
Eco-Drive
Satellite Wave F900
NOW
Technology for world travellers
The worldwide pandemic that broke out in early 2020 and closed international borders reminded us all how the desire to travel is hardwired into us as human beings. Visiting places you have never been before; meeting new and different people; seeing stunning landscapes for the first time—these are the experiences through which we grow as people. In the future, CITIZEN will keep making watches for true global travellers that tell the correct time anywhere in the world.
BETTER STARTS