But manufacturers of “affordable” pieces don’t have the margins. So at best, with a non-certified diver, it MIGHT have only been pressure tested at depth for 10 minutes, if at all. The construction of a watch is pretty straightforward — a movement (caliber) drives the watch just like the engine in a car, a case secures it by covering it in a shell, and a strap attaches everything to your wrist.

However, do NOT fiddle with the crown underwater or with wet fingers. If you do so, water might enter the case and compromise the water resistance. Keep in mind the high beat of a quartz and Citizen’s care in regulating them prior to shipment means the three I own keep under 30 seconds fast a year. That is the second reason I no longer wear an auto, the weekly reset to correct running at least a minute fast means at least 50 crown operations a year. The Eco Drive gets a date correction and DST – about 8. There is much less wear and tear on threads and stem. If I were to rotate 4 watches with one being an automatic the reset would then number over 90 a year as the watch would likely rarely get fully wound and would likely require time and date set every four days. Both the Mako and Seiko are attractive dive style watches. I have a Seiko 5 myself. I’ll wear it swimming or in the shower. But if I’m diving, It’s the Citizen. More: How Does a Kinetic Watch Work? – COMPLETE GUIDE Citizen Promaster Diver Review: Features & BenefitsStrap Material – Typically, a strap is made of leather, nylon/fabric, or metal. Each of the materials has its own pros and cons and different use cases. Identify your usage style and choose a strap that suits your usage style. Dive watches have always enjoyed being the center of attention among watch lovers all over the world. Some may think that the fascination for the diver watches is a new trend — it’s not! Even with options from brands like Doxa, CWC, and Omega spanning my collection, I’m still very proud of owning the Citizen Eco-Drive Promaster Diver – it’s honestly just a great watch. It’s another one of those “Honda Civics” of the watch world and a piece I reach for regularly. It has seen a ton of hikes, lake outings, jogging, and casual days at the office. Really, I find it hard to believe that anyone could be on the fence about this one—especially now that prices are dipping so low. However, Citizen is NOT another watchmaker — we’re talking about one of the world’s biggest watches manufacturers. Citizen Promaster Diver is one of the most successful dive watches from Citizen and is often considered as the best budget dive watch. The E168 is quite accurate, too — in a normal temperature range (5°C to 35°C), it offers ±15sec/month accuracy. For a budget watch, such level accuracy is surely praiseworthy.

Citizen uses their Caliber no. E168 in the Promaster Diver BN0150-28E. On a technical level, this is a three-hand quartz movement with a date display. ISO 6245 Divers certification (which is what the Citizen is) requires 125% rated pressure depth for 2 hours, and here’s the important bit, each and every piece must be subjected to the testing. First of all, this movement comes with Citizen’s proprietary Eco-Drive technology. That means it can use any kind of light to charge the battery. It’s an upgraded version of the solar-powered movements.However, Citizen disappointed me with the choice of crystal. This watch comes with Citizen’s standard anti-reflective mineral crystal. The crystal is okay-ish, but nothing can match the durability of the sapphire crystals. All of the Citizen Promaster watches are wonders of modern engineering. So, what’s so special about the Promaster Diver?

Type of Movement – It can be either mechanical or quartz. A better movement ensures more functionality and accuracy.

Specification

For example, under a fluorescent light (3,000 lux), it only needs 40 minutes to gather the energy for one-day usage. Also, on a sunny day, it takes only 11 hours to charge an empty battery fully. Once the battery is fully charged, it’ll last for about 6 months. So, you see, despite being a quartz movement, it’s free from the biggest (or maybe the only one) disadvantage. Other than the EcoDrive, the overwhelming selling point of this watch is it’s 200m ISO certification and all that it includes If your alternatives don’t at least offer ISO certification, it really isn’t an alternative for what the watch was designed to do. Especially at this price point where ISO certification is a pretty big deal. Both the Orient and Seiko listed here are not ISO certified divers. Non divers are only subject to ISO standard 2281 which only requires testing to 100% rated depth for 10 minutes. Skip lot testing is allowed meaning that not all pieces are required to be tested to achieve the WR rating. Dial Style – This is completely dependent on your taste and choice. It should resemble with personality. The case is made of stainless steel that has a brushed finish. If you’re still skeptical about the durability and reliability, you should understand that the water-resistance of Promaster Diver is ISO-compliant.