It is all fun and games until this bad boy comes to the playground! Behold divers! The giant Japanese watch manufacturer has recently launched what the watch enthusiast community is considering as one of the most interesting dive watches of 2021. The new Citizen Promaster NB6004-08E was quietly introduced to the world of watches in March 2021. It comes with an automatic in-house movement and sports a masculine design that you will surely love.
With the new Promaster, Citizen continues the tradition of reliable, accurate, and affordable Japanese watches, so coveted for these particular reasons. In this article, we will take a closer look at the properties of Citizen Promaster NB6004-08E and come to the conclusion if is it worth accompanying your wrist while exploring underwater life.
Switching to Mechanical – New Movement Caliber 9051
Unlike the majority of Citizen watches, which we are now accustomed to seeing with the Eco-Drive technology (light-powered quartz movements) built-in, the new Promaster NB6004-08E features an entirely new in-house mechanical movement. At the heart of this new Citizen diver watch with 200 meters of water resistance, beats the Citizen caliber 9051.
The movement provides up to 42 hours of power reserve and comes as a modern 4Hz frequency mechanism. It boasts a high anti-magnetic resistance and according to Citizen, the new Promaster can withstand magnetic fields of up to 16.000 A/m. Well, it’s great to know that you are wearing a powerful anti-magnetic watch on your wrist. See, we encounter magnetic fields on a daily basis (computer hard drives, door catches, televisions, microwave ovens, radios) and they can seriously damage the ability of the watch to keep track of time accurately in the long run.
Compliant with ISO 6425 – 200M Diver Watch
Rest assured as the new Citizen is built with anti-magnetism in mind among its other benefits. Perfect for sailors who work aboard ships with magnetic compasses. But the niche is not this specified. Not only does the new Promaster keep track of time accurately on dry land but it also does well underwater. The new Citizen Promaster mechanical dive watch is compliant with ISO 6425 – the international standard for accurate and reliable diving watches. Again, Citizen continues its tradition of making diving watches by delivering a 200 meters water-resistant timepiece that doesn’t have just the looks to prove it.
Unparalleled Resistance
The new Promaster sports a 46mm case in Citizen’s Super Titanium™ with surface-hardening technology Duratec*3. The case back also comes in solid titanium and for $100 more, you can get the NB6004-83E with a titanium bracelet. The benefits of having a titanium watch on your wrist are countless. Yes, it is scratchable, however, the scratches can easily buff out if you want your watch to always feel like new.
However, the surface-hardening Duratec*3 technology used in this titanium diver watch boasts the resistance to scratches with unparalleled surface hardness. And not to forget about the comfort.
Enhanced Comfort
A dive watch should not fatigue your wrist and the new Promaster weighs only 105 grams (50 grams less than the Rolex Submariner). Courtesy of the lightweight titanium case.
The latter is easy to polish and although it adds to the price consumer has to pay, titanium is biocompatible, meaning it won’t cause irritations to the skin. Although lightweight, the new Promaster is not one of those watches you will forget you are wearing. It feels substantial on the wrist and certainly won’t fit under the cuff. But hey, you know all Citizen dive watches don’t.
200 meters water resistance, anti-magnetic, sapphire crystal, titanium case
Overall Aesthetics
With slight differences, the design of NB6004-08E is a successor of the previous Citizen Promaster diver watch generations. It comes with the conventional luminous hour marker and diver’s hands. The black dial with its charming trapezoidal pattern is in perfect contrast with the hands, necessary to increase legibility underwater and further complete the design of a dive watch.
The large uni-directional diver’s bezel in titanium includes a semi-shroud on its appealing and strongly masculine design. The diamond pattern on the bezel is mimicked with the watch face and the crown which meet functionality and design halfway. The rotating bezel enhances its excellence with a single lume pip point at the 12 o’clock position.
Citizen Promaster NB6004-08E Specifications
Movement
The in-house automatic caliber 9051 with hand-wound capacity has an accuracy range of -10/+20 sec/day and provides up to 42 hours of power reserve. The watch is anti-magnetic to 16.000 a/m and comes with hours, minutes, seconds, and a date function. It has 24 jewels and has an oscillating frequency of 28.800vph (vibrations per hour).
Water Resistance
The new Citizen Promaster NB6004-08E has a water resistance rating of 200 meters. It is designated by ISO (International Organization for Standardization) as ISO 6425 certified. The latter can be obtained by a watch after successfully completing the tests of a dive watch. Luminescence, legibility, the measuring system that indicated the elapsed time underwater (bezel), and resistance to shocks as well as low and high temperatures are the tests the new Citizen Promaster 2021 has to pass to come to your wrist.
Case
The watch features a super titanium case with a 46mm diameter. It measures 15.3mm in thickness and a roughly 51mm lug to lug length. Further features include a titanium screw-down crown with knurling. The case back is also made of titanium, but this time solid. The glass is domed sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating. Finished with a partially shrouded unidirectional rotating diving bezel.
Dial
The new Citizen Promaster diver watch features a black dial with a trapezoidal pattern. Its large applied hour markers and hands come with a luminescent coating. The date window is perfectly positioned at the 3 o’clock position. The artistic work further includes orange details in the minute & second hand and at the 12-hour marker.
Models and Price
The new Citizen Promaster comes in two models:
- NB6004-08E comes with a black polyurethane bezel and has a price tag of $800.
- NB6004-83E comes with a solid titanium bracelet and has a price tag of $930.
From Eco-Drive to a series of in-house mechanical movements in a single year – Geek Corner
What is happening with Citizen watches? After over a decade (since 2010) without debuting any new mechanical movement in Citizen watches, the Japanese watchmaker surprised us all by delivering two in-house mechanical movements: the caliber 0950 and caliber 0951 which are used in the Series 8 collection of Citizen watches.
The collection was initially released in 2008 for the Japanese market with Eco-Drive quartz movements. It was strongly revived this year by featuring in-house calibers with high-end features like magnetic resistance, modern operating frequency, and 42 up to 50 hours of power reserve.
Series 8 collection of watches – Citizen
As for the accuracy, it is unmatched with the supremacy of high-end luxury Swiss watches or quartz watches as the movements have an accurate range of -5/+10 seconds per day (caliber 0950) and -10/+20 seconds per day (caliber 0951). That’s something you can live with as the accurate rate is still better than 90% of watches on the market these days and honestly, Citizen watches can perform better than these advertised numbers.
And the third and most beautiful movement that also created a buzz around the internet is the Citizen mechanical movement caliber 0200, a product of technique and technology exchange between Citizen and Swiss-based movement manufacturer La Joux-Perret (almost independent in innovation and ideas although acquired by Citizen in 2012). The movement beats at the heart of The Citizen ref. NC0200-90E and has a retail price of $6000. More about the Citizen caliber 0200 here.
Price and Availability
The new Citizen Promaster NB6004-08E starts from $800 for the model with the polyurethane strap and for another $100 you can get the one with the titanium bracelet. You can get yours from Citizen’s exclusive distributors and authorized dealers.
In Final Words
Really, there is nothing you can add to make this watch better as it already has what it needs to prove its worth. From The Land of The Rising Sun, we have taken for granted seeing new feeds that wow us every time. Citizen, among Casio and Seiko, creates clean and reliable timekeeping tools like the new Promaster.
It is suitable for scuba diving and will definitely grab some attention when you wear it. The watch is built with quality materials and at this price range, robust construction and a reliable in-house mechanical movement are rare. To further justify the price, remember that the watch is ISO certified and anti-magnetic. Its substantial case size, however, makes it sometimes look and feel exaggerated for everyday wear. But hey, if you want to make a statement, or grab some attention, the new Citizen Promaster NB6004-08E will serve as a great conversation starter. It is a great sports watch and you can wear it outdoors and rule.
