Citizen Men's Analogue Automatic Watch with a Rubber Band Promaster Marine

Citizen Promaster - Been looking for a reasonably priced automatic watch for a while and this one came up on sale for £160 and i'm so glad i got it. Love the dark blue face and black bezel. Its a bit smaller than i thought it would be which is good as i don't like bulky watches. Build quality is excellent, hasn't lost any time since i got it. Seen some negative comments about the strap but to be honest i don't mind it; for the money its fine and looks ok. I've ordered some nato straps anyway as i prefer them - for a tenner a strap it transforms the look of the watch. Bezel movement is firm and requires effort to turn, again this is good i don't want it turning every time my sleeve catches it or i knock it; i don't sit there spinning it like a fidget toy and if i need to measure time i'm confident it wont move. Overall i love the look of it, the crown at the 8 position is a nice feature too, more comfortable and you don't catch it on your wrist. Lume is good as far as i'm concerned ive had no issue reading the time in any light. Automatic movement is also great; nice and quiet and hasn't stopped or lost time since i got it. Overall this is a great watch that looks the part and doesn't break the bank. Even at over £230 i'd still consider it.

I might still be in the honeymoon phase but I felt compelled to write about my experience with what must be the best value mechanical diving watch currently available. With its rival the Seiko SKX’s availability dropping and prices rising, the Citizen gives a comparable, sometimes superior experience for a very good price - it has a distinguished history having been adopted by the Italian Navy in the late 90’s. The movement has proved very stable and accurate, generally good fit and finish. There’s a little bezel play but not enough to quibble over – alignment is spot on. This one of these watches that looks so much better in person than in pictures. On the blue version, which I have, the dial is wonderful. It is a subtle blue/grey sunburst and I can find myself staring at it as I move my wrist to catch the light! I didn’t care for the rubber strap so have changed it out for a chocolate leather NATO which I think suits it down to the ground. With the blue of the dial being quite subtle you could pair this with any colour NATO. The lume is excellent and who can resist that ‘underpants’ 12 o’clock marker! In short, buy with confidence, it’s a phenomenal deal.

This is a nice sporty and classic divers watch. Great style and value.

I have been coming back to look at this watch on Amazon time and time again for the best part of a year and now as it's coming up to Christmas I thought I would treat myself and take the plunge! (No diving watch pun intended)I've had this watch just over a week now and during that time it has not missed a beat. Since taking it out of the box and setting up the date and time, I've not had to 'hack' the hands once - this thing really does keep time remarkably well. I've read online that the later iterations of the NY0040 model have an upgraded hand movement so this is probably to thank for that. The hands themselves are chunky and purposeful and they sit perfectly against the bold hour markers on the face. I recently learnt that the NY0040 has been used by the Italian Military for a number of years and found that to be a really interesting piece of trivia and also a solid endorsement.The watch is slightly smaller than I expected but this suits my smaller wrists really well and if anything just makes it easier to fit under jacket sleeves and coats. The lug width is on the smaller side at 20mm but it just makes the face the focal point and it totally works. I've paired mine with a brown leather strap (as inspired by Tommy's review further up the page - thanks Tommy!) and it really does the business. The brown compliments the blue face perfectly and really makes the detail pop. I will often sit and stare at the face and get lost in the bluey hue. This is definitely a looker!The watch is light and comfortable and that alternate crown position (to the left hand side) really does make sense when you're constantly moving around and using your hands as I often do. The crown itself is quite chunky but just be careful to thread it properly to avoid a compromised seal. Easy to operate and easy to live with, I haven't had any comfort issues since it's been on my wrist and I can't see it becoming an issue at any point. What's more, the belly has a lovely radial edge to it so that there are no sharp edges against your skin.There are one or two minor niggles which should be mentioned however, but these are only minor and to be expected from a watch at this price point. Firstly, the combination of free running bezel rotation and deeply scalloped bezel grip means that you can knock the bezel out of alignment with 12 o'clock fairly easily. If you catch the bezel on a hard edge or corner then it can shift the bezel round almost a quarter turn. The bezel clicks, operation and alignment are all spot on though and I think I can probably let this slide - perhaps I'm just not used to it yet. Secondly, the lume is a little disappointing. While impressive at the first sign of darkness, the lume does not seem to last very long and I'm not sure it even performs as well as my Orient Ray II. Even after a full day of sunlight exposure the lume's effectiveness reduces significantly within 5-10 minutes of darkness.Again these are minor flaws but important to note I think. For the positive aspects this watch has to offer and at this price point, overall this is still a great timepiece and I'm looking forward to the next few weeks as it establishes itself as my new daily beater.Pros:Timekeeping and hackingAesthetics and styleComfortCons:Bezel susceptible to knocksLume effectivenessOverall a great looking timekeeper for under 200 quid4/5