Is this the best dive watch under the $200 mark?
The Citizen Promaster was one of the first dive watches I ever laid eyes on. From that moment forward I was hooked on dive watches.
A few coworkers of mine, when I worked in the Turks & Caicos, had Citizen Promasters and that was their daily dive watch of choice. So of course I had to add one to my collection when the time was right.
Citizen’s parent company has been around for more than a hundred years, so although they don’t go back as far as the Swiss are concerned, they have been making watches for a very long time and have a rich history as watchmakers. Even more impressive are the achievements they have made, such as the first solar watch, first watch with a depth gauge, first watch with a thermometer, first dive watch with a PC interface, among many other accolades.
In my experience the Promaster is a workhorse that is built to take a beating and keep on going. Mine has been to mountaintops as well as 130 feet deep. As it is one of my more inexpensive watches I don’t feel the need to baby it, so it winds up going with me places other more expensive watches don’t.
Watch Specifications
Model: BN0150-28E
Case diameter: 43mm
Case thickness: 12mm
Movement: Solar Powered Japanese Quartz
Band width: 20mm
Lug to lug: 48mm
Water resistance: 200 Meters
Crystal: Mineral
Case
This case is manufactured of brushed 316 stainless steel. A lot of dive watches are a mixture of polished and brushed surfaces, but not the Promaster. All of the surfaces on this watch are brushed.
This is good for one reason, it can take a lot more wear and tear and still look good. The brushed surface doesn’t show scratches as easily as polished stainless, so you don’t have to baby it.
This is a watch built for utilitarian purposes, it’s not a showpiece. That’s what I like about it, your mileage may vary.
Crown
The Promaster has a proper screw down crown at the 4 O’clock position. It is a little small to manipulate, but operation is very smooth and easy to operate. I’m a big fan of crown guards and this crown is protected by them.
A nice little touch is the Promaster logo is in a relief on the crown.
Crystal
Although it is only a mineral crystal, I have been abusing mine for a couple of years and it only has a small nick in it. So small you wouldn’t know it is there. Sapphire would be better, but at this price I’m not complaining too much. I am guessing I will be getting years and years of service out of mine.
Dial/Hands
I especially like the orange arrow minute hand. I can’t explain it, but I absolutely love these type of minute hands. They are not very common on dive watches, but I find it very easy to pick out and read the time at a glance.
The dial is pretty basic and easily legible as the dial on a dive watch should be. The dial is actually the solar cell that powers the battery for the quartz movement.
The indices are pretty basic, but legible.
Movement
The Promaster has a quartz movement, but it is powered by Citizen’s Eco Drive system. So although it has a battery, you don’t have to change it. I am not an automatic watch snob, even though this is a quartz movement, it’s kind of like an automatic in that it doesn’t need a battery change. I like the fact that is sun powered, I’ve never had a problem with mine. Although not for everyone, I think it is a good system that will last a long time.
The watch supposedly doesn’t need servicing for at least ten years. I haven’t heard any complaints on the internet about this being a fallacy. On the case back it specifically says it is only to be opened by an authorized Citizen service center. My guess is that this movement is fine for a decade.
Click here to see my explanation of
Strap/Bracelet
I am not a fan.
The only real gripe I have with this watch is the rubber strap that came with it. So much so that I immediately ordered a NATO strap to put on it, and have never taken it off. I tossed the rubber strap in the trash it is so awful. I do wish I would have kept it for the photos.
I’m personally not a fan of rubber straps, your mileage may vary. I do like that the N.D. Limits are printed on the strap. Adding the NATO strap added a few millimeters to the height of the watch, but I still think it looks fine and doesn’t sit too high on the wrist.
As of this writing there are no aftermarket stainless bracelets purpose built for this watch, which is surprising. If you find one let me know, I’m interested.
Presence
At 43mm case size this is one of the larger watches I own, but it certainly doesn’t look that big on my 7 inch wrist. This is due to the fact that the crystal is only mm wide. With the NATO strap I barely notice that it is there. Normally I actually prefer a heavier watch with a stainless bracelet, somehow this light watch is still pleasing to me.
It definitely wears smaller than its 43mm size. If you have a smaller wrist but want a larger dive watch I would give this one a shot.
Style
The Promaster is not trying to be a fashion watch, that much is for sure. This is a purpose built dive watch more like a Jeep or 4Runner. It’s not built for looks.
I find this type of ruggedness pleasing. I’m not afraid to bang it around and wear it while I’m getting dirty outdoors.
The brushed finish should last for years, it’s much more suited to this style of watch as where a case with a lot of polished surfaces is going to show wear much sooner.
Lume
The lume on the Promaster is very nice indeed. I often notice at night that it is all lit up just from being in ambient light during the day. Lume is typically one of the places where watchmakers skimp if they are trying to cut costs. You’ll get no complaints from me regarding the lume on this watch, it has it in spades.
The Promaster has enough lume to keep up with the likes of Rolex and Omega. Citizen deserves an award for the amount of lume they crammed onto the hands of this watch.
Bezel
While the bezel is a 60 click bezel, it functions flawlessly. The ideal is the 120 click bezel, but for the price I can’t fault Citizen here. Especially since it works so well. It is very smooth and has no back play whatsoever. The grooves on bezel are just enough to grip with bare hands as well as gloves.
The insert is aluminum, where ceramic would be nice, but many $300 watches don’t sport ceramic bezel inserts. I still haven’t managed to scratch mine in two years and I don’t baby it.
The wonderful function of this bezel is a nice attention to detail that many watchmakers would have overlooked at this price point.
Water Resistance/ISO Rating
Yep, this has the ISO 6425 rating to 200 Meters. It is a proper dive watch. No worries in this department.
Pros
ISO 6425 rating
Lowest cost ISO Rating on the market that I have found
Value for price
Cons
Rubber strap
Mineral crystal
Final Thoughts
Is this the best dive watch under the $200 mark? I think it is.
The Promaster checks nearly all of the boxes, great movement, lume, ISO rating, great bezel, rugged. If you are in the market for a rugged dive watch that is going to last years and you don’t have a lot of money to spend this could be the one for you.
Overall the Promaster gets a big thumbs up from me. I can’t see selling this one anytime soon. If you are looking for a budget dive watch you could do a lot worse than the Citizen Promaster. The value for your money is very high at this price point. I have no doubt that Citizen will be making Promasters for years to come.
If you find a better built watch under $200 contact me immediately, I want to get one and review it.
Note: There are a lot of Citizen Promaster dive watches ranging from under $200 to more than $1000. Some of them have depth functions, and some are a combination of digital and analog. I purchased mine for $185 on Jomashop but they are also available on Amazon.
