Citizen Promaster Diver 200 mt Automatico NY0040-09W Men's Watch Beige/Black Strap, Beige/Black, Bracelet

Product Information

Protecting the front of the timepiece is a mineral crystal glass. This is commonly found on mid range watches as well as diving timepieces. Mineral crystal glass is specially hardened to offer a good level of both scratch and shatter resistance. The shatter resistance if often a key decider for diving watches as you’d often rather have better shatter resistance than scratch resistance. This is why we don’t see sapphire crystal glass so often. Watch Movement The first thing I noticed as soon as I ripped up the handbrake and looked out of the car window was that directly across the street from the Air BNB was a dive shop. I looked down at my wrist and felt butterflies in my stomach. My mind was already made up. After a couple of days snorkeling the crystalline waters of Playa Chica I worked up the courage to walk into the dive shop. The people there were a band of incredibly friendly Brits, who immediately let me know all about the PADI discover scuba dive. The almost symbolic price of €50 got you a 30-minute dive, where you would learn how to gear up, equalize, and breathe underwater using a regulator. We agreed upon a time and date and just like that, it was in the books. I hear stories that Hardlex is better than mineral. It may be; I haven't gotten scratches on either. But the Citizen is a fingerprint magnet (as you can see in the above photo). Does it have A/R on the outside? I can't tell and I couldn't find that spec. But with the "belief" that Hardlex is harder, and the crazy amount of fingerprints I see on the Citizen, Seiko is the winner here. The preceding is coming from a recently converted shameless fanboy of the NY0040-09W. Although it is still a NY0040, the design decisions made using the luminous dial make the 09W something completely different from the other NY0040's and your typical dive watch. I've probably drank too much of the "kool-aid", but believe the 09W is an overlooked gem that should be in everyone's collection. I currently prefer to wear the 09W over the SKX009 any day. I started a thread to discuss the 09W in more detail for those interested.

A strange feature of the Miyota 8200 movement is the fact that the crown sits at this odd 8:00 position, something I’ve already mentioned I’m a fan of. Water Resistance Rating Believe it or not, good Citizen divers are vanishing from market even while been in demand,, even in this day of modern marketing! A number of subsequent commenters opine that the Citizen wears smaller (even "women's watch" small.) The Seiko has a slightly more octagonal shape, and, as discussed below, a much bigger, protruding crown. Because of that, I would agree that it wears larger. But in my experience, not extremely so. I think the watch feels like a 41.5mm watch.. It wears smaller than the SKX007 just a bit, maybe it's the crown location that gives that feeling. For those unfamiliar with the NY0040 line of divers, it has been around for some time, introduced originally in 1997. I think it is fair to say that it does not get a lot of attention nowadays. It is a conventional sized diver with a vintage look. Here is a summary of the key features that I have been able to glean:

Diving Watch for Men

I agree that that the NY0040 is under-rated and very competitive with the Seiko SKX line on a point by point comparison. From a QC perspective, NY0040 is better. You rarely hear of the bezel, chapter ring, dial face misalignment problems that are common with the SKX (and I wonder why). Also, as you pointed out, the out-of-the-box accuracy of the Miyota 8203a movement trounces the Seiko 7S26. My 09W is typically within +/- 3 spd while my SKX009 is very "positional" sensitive and can gain 20+ spd. I've heard reports that the Citizen is better regulated out of the box, but to be honest, I haven't even timed the accuracy of mine yet. I'll accept that as true, but not greatly different from the Seiko. Yes, the Seiko has a direct drive second hand, but I haven't noticed the oft-reported "second hand stutter" on my Citizen. Sorry for the out-of-focus Citizen on the top. I was shooting in macro, in fairly low light, and the depth-of-field was killer! I didn't notice until I was done taking pictures.)

But there are problems. I'd prefer the 22mm lug width on the Seiko (the Citizen's included rubber strap is severely notched, and it's easy to see why... 22mm just feels more proportional for this type of watch). And while the Citizen's all-brushed bezel looks really great straight on (on top of the brushed top of its case) it looks quite odd from a side view when looking at its sleek polished sides. I'll have to go for a tie. Whether you are looking to dip your toe into the world of mechanical watches and are looking for a solid starting point, or you are in the market for a quality beater, the Citizen Promaster NY0040 definitely holds its own. Despite having flown under the radar for a long time, I think it’s a watch that deserves more recognition and consideration. With a retail price of around €190, it’s a true value proposition. With a military past for added credibility, these Citizens are a perfect care-free companion for any situation you might find yourself in.water resistance - ISO diver certified for scuba. The watch has been used by different military agencies and has been reportedly pressure tested to 500M without failure. There’s no denying it’s a well made Japanese watch that’s ideal for diving with the ISO certification and high visibility display. Plus it’s what I’d class as an affordable watch which is something I love featuring on this watch blog. Both the hands and the hour markers have a good coating of lume to make reading in dim lit conditions much easier. Most decent diving watches are expected to come with sufficient lume. Personally, I’d have preferred a coin edged bezel design but that’s more down to my personal taste than anything else. That being said, a lot of other people obviously seem to like it.

Now the key information: the Citizen part number of the bracelet. Two versions exist as of June, 2006: an all silver tone version (part # 59-S00012) and a variant with gold tone finish on the center row of links (part # 59-S00014). The latter might look good on the NY0045-05 with gold tone accents on the bezel, dial and hands. Overall, it’s easy to see why the Citizen NY0040 has been such a popular timepiece. I think it’s a shame that it isn’t as well known as its Seiko counterparts to be fair.

Regarding comparing the NY0040 to Orient Divers, it is another example of comparing "apples to oranges". The Orients may carry the 200M rating but are really "dressy" dive style watches. With the NY0040 (or SKX), you are getting the real thing: a rugged and dependable working watch.

I’m sure many people would be well aware having already seen the ISO diving certification but it’s worth mentioning that the Citizen NY0040 does have a screw down crown function. If you haven’t used a screw down crown before I’d have a read of this useful forum thread. I posted the information below some months ago. Due to the renewed interest in the subject I’ll post the text again here. It should be available via the search function, possibly with the photos.One final thought, if others agree, I would like to propose we come up with a name for the 09W and would welcome suggestions. After all, there are Seiko "Monsters", Orient "OSD", Omega "Speedys" and the like. Based upon my earlier comments, here are my two suggestions: the "Ghost Diver" or perhaps, the "Green Lantern". I don't know how to set up a poll, but if there is sufficient interest, I will go research, or better yet, ask that another fan set one up. Both have their pluses and minuses, and your preferences might be different than mine. Because aesthetics are important in this race, I'd buy the Citizen again, if given the choice between it and the 007. But there's room for both in a collection (particularly if you buy a 009 or the SKXA35, with their considerably different aesthetics, or if you're up for modding an 007, which is much easier to do with a plethora of off-the-shelf parts available). But the real win, to me is that the Citizen really contends. Every time we recommend an 007, we really should be also recommending the NY0040. Sure, maybe it's a little hard to find, and maybe it is or will soon be discontinued, but as long as it's around, it's a competitor, and a viable alternative, for folks wanting that inky dial and chrome-lined indices. One other unexpected result from my encounter with the 09W, I have started looking at other Citizen NYXXXX divers. I still like my Seikos and Orients, but see these Citizens as quality watches that deserve to be in everyone's collection. What an underappreciated example of the classic no-frills all-business rugged auto diver. I hope Citizen continues to build this line of watches for a long time. To give an example, when I sleep say at 7pm I wake up at 4am and could tell the hour but not the minutes...