Citizen Promaster Aqualand 40th Anniversary

Zach Blass

• Launched in 1985, Citizen’s Aqualand was the world’s first diver’s watch with an digital depth meter.
• The brand new fortieth Anniversary Restricted Version is a trustworthy tribute that introduces celebratory gold accents.
• Aside from telling time, its functionalities embrace a calendar, alarm, chronograph, depth measurement, dive time monitoring, and an ascent price alarm.

Within the wake of the resurgence of mechanical watchmaking, something quartz or digital grew to become taboo amongst the watch-collecting scene. It was snobbishly thought of virtually traitorous to sport a quartz watch, and in some respects, the sentiment nonetheless lingers. However in a world earlier than an abundance of digital gadgets that made our lives radically simpler, quartz watches had been offered as superior instruments of the long run. One such instance, geared towards diving professionals, was Citizen’s pioneering Aqualand dive watch, the first-ever wristwatch to incorporate a useful digital depth meter. With the Aqualand offered in 1985, as we speak Citizen broadcasts the brand new Promaster Aqualand fortieth Anniversary Restricted Version.

Its 50.7mm diameter case might sound intimidating on paper, however this measurement contains the protruding strain sensor on the 9 o’clock facet. Should you exclude it, the diameter shrinks to 44mm, which continues to be fairly broad, however the lug-to-lug of 48mm makes it way more wrist-manageable than you may count on. The chrome steel case, 14.8mm thick and 200 metres water resistant, has a muted gray hue with a matte-brushed end befitting a device watch. However in celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the design, Citizen has elected to include gold-plating on the knurling of the bezel, the strain sensor, the three case pushers, and the knurled 4 o’clock screw-down crown.

The black sunburst dial’s design ensures most legibility, with huge and huge hour indices with ample plots of lume. The identical might be mentioned for the broad central and hours and minutes arms which are cropped to make sure they don’t cowl the digital show on the 12 o’clock place. Additionally, you will discover the minute hand is rendered in a definite orange, permitting the hand and its ties to dive timing to be higher delineated. The central seconds hand has luminous materials as nicely, however it’s stuffed inside the counterweight. Due to this fact, in darkness, don’t mistake it as the present working seconds, it merely serves the aim of letting the watch continues to be working.

The digital show is most recognized for its show of the digital depth meter, however it additionally tied to the opposite number of digital functionalities together with a calendar, alarm, chronograph, capabilities, depth measurement, dive time monitoring, and an ascent price alarm that may let if you’re ascending to the floor too rapidly. That is all pushed by Citizen’s in-house quartz cal.C520 that’s pledged to run inside 20 seconds monthly.

The brand new Promaster Aqualand fortieth Anniversary Restricted Version is outfitted with a black biomass-based polyurethane (BENEBiOL) strap that’s each sturdy and environmentally pleasant. It additionally features a strap extension system to make sure it might simply be worn over a dive go well with.

At US$595, the fortieth Anniversary Aqualand seems to be a superb selection for these searching for a extremely strong and high-performing dive watch with a historic pedigree. Although it could not have the savoir faire and romance of mechanical watchmaking, this watch, together with its predecessors, are unmistakably indicative of Citizen’s robust know-how and manufacturing that additionally affords such strong timekeeping at an inexpensive value.

Citizen Promaster Aqualand fortieth Anniversary Restricted Version pricing and availability

The Citizen Promaster Aqualand fortieth Anniversary Restricted Version might be accessible in July 2025 as a restricted version of 5,800 items. Worth: US$595