Eco-drives are some of the best solar-powered pieces around. Citizen’s acclaimed for producing them, and many of their watches have the tech. One of them is the Promaster Divers. To learn more about them, take a look at our citizen promaster diver review.
We will be reviewing the BN0151-09. We’ve discussed its specs in the following table.
The timepiece is built like a standard dive watch. It has a large stainless-steel case and a rubber strap. The rubber on it is ribbed, making it more comfortable to wear. It also makes it look more interesting.
It is a vision in blue – its band is navy blue while its dial is a much deeper shade. We think Citizen nailed them as the watch looks regal.
If you have small wrists, you might want to stay away from it. Its case is 1.69 inches (43 mm). It’s also bulky as its bezel has ‘shark-like’ teeth. They’re there to help you turn it better. The other Promaster divers have them too.
We’re fans of heavy timepieces as they feel more premium – you’re looking at a 15.17 ounce (430 grams) device.
The Diver might remind you of the Rolex Submariner. It pays homage to it, but it’s not the strongest tribute piece out there. Some of the things it shares with its counterpart are bezel, the shape of the crown, and rhomboid markers.
Don’t get too rough with its display – it’s made from mineral. It can handle a beating, but it’s not as durable as sapphire or Hardlex. The rhomboid markers on it are thick. You’ll notice that they have a tint to them. This is as they’re full of lume. Their luminous pigment is bright, and we’re glad that it’s on its hands too.
There is a small calendar on it. It’s in the 4 o'clock position and only reads the date. We think calendars in this position aren’t the easiest to read – you’ll be straining your neck. Yes, the other Promaster Divers have them too.
As you know, it is solar-powered. What’s great about Eco-drives is that any light source charges them up. They also stay charged for a while – usually 6 months.
As its dial is so dark, its white markers pop. We love that there is a red watch hand. It’s bright and helps you read the time from across the room.
Its case is made from quality stainless steel, so scratching it is not easy. You might notice that its crown is in the 4 o'clock position. Why? To lessen the chances of it slamming into your wrist. The crown is also large and edged, making it easier to grip.
Being from a ‘diver’ line, it’s no surprise that it can handle considerable depths. The BN0151-09L is water-resistant up to 660 feet (200 meters). It is ISO 6425 certified, so you can dive with it. As its dial is luminous, you’ll easily be able to read it underwater. All watches from the collection are ISO certified.
It is superbly waterproof. Its strap is rubber – polyurethane to be exact. The material bounces water off easily. As it’s so waterproof, all kinds of muck stay off it. This includes dust and dirt. The device also has a quality stainless steel case, it doesn’t let anything stain it.
You’d know that its bezel rotates. Each time it turns, it ticks. It acts as a timer to help you get out of the water. We aren’t sure how many ticks it has, but they’re loud.
Its strap is thick. Although rubber is more comfortable than stainless steel, wearing it on your wrist for long will make you sweat. The Promaster diver has a tang buckle clasp. It is secure as you pin a latch into place.
If your wrist is big, finding the right hole might be tough, and latching the pin might not be comfortable either.
Thankfully, you’re able to swap its clasp for other types. We’re huge fans of push-button deployant clasps. As their name suggests, working them is a literal push of a button.
You’re looking at a quartz device. More specifically, it is a Japanese quartz unit. There are countless quartz mechanisms out there, and we don’t know the name of the specific one used. If we had to guess, we’d say it’s a Miyota – Citizen’s a fan of the ultra-accurate movement and it’s in the best citizen watches.
Sunlight powers its battery. We’re fans of solar-powered pieces. They are easy to take care of as you never have to change a battery. Citizen’s Eco-drives are known to be some of the best.
As we looked at a Promaster diver, the best thing to do is compare it with its siblings.
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The device looks peculiar. It has a sharp green bezel that catches your attention from across the room. Something else that will catch your attention is its three sub-dials. They are its chronographs. They read the milliseconds, seconds and minutes passed. If you don’t know what a chronograph is, it’s a stop-watch. The large buttons on its side work it.
Like its sibling, it has rhomboid markers that are full of lume. The pigment is bright and is also on its hands. Unfortunately, there is no sharp red-hand.
It is larger than the BN0151-09L – it comes in at 1.811 inches (46 mm). Although larger, it’s lighter. It weighs 7.8 ounces (221.1 grams).
Yes, it can handle considerable depths underwater – it a Promaster diver after all. It’s ISO 6425 certified and water-resistant up to 660 feet (200 meters). As it’s made from quality stainless steel, you won’t scratch it. It also makes it very water-proof. It has a rubber band – polyurethane to be exact. It’s unfortunately not ribbed.
There is a calendar on it. Like the BN0151-09L, it only reads the date. We’re glad that it’s in the 3 o'clock position, though.
It is an Eco-drive, so it uses the sun to power its battery. Yes, it hosts a Japanese quartz movement.
We’re fans of the shape of its crown – it looks like one. It’s also dainty, so the chances of it slamming into your wrist are low.
If you’re wondering about the glass on it, you’re getting hold of mineral. Be careful with it, it’s not sapphire.
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If you’ve ever seen the Rolex Submariner, you’ll know that the BN0198-56H looks a lot like it. It’s a great homage piece. Something that differentiates it from its counterpart is the colour on it, though – it’s more of a grey, while the Swiss timepiece is black.
There are rhomboid markers in place. They are bright and contrast sharply against the dark backdrop. As you can imagine, they are full of lume. The watch's hands are luminous as well.
The citizen eco drive promaster diver is on the larger side – its case stretches 1.77 inches (45 mm) across. That being said, it’s pretty light. It only weighs 3.92 ounces (111.1 grams).
Shark-like teeth are on its bezel. They help you rotate it. They are also present to pay homage to the Submariner.
As it’s made from quality stainless steel, it is very waterproof. Its strap is steel too. It’s not that wide which is great as a sweaty arm is not ideal. Attached to its strap is a deployant clasp.
It is water-resistant up to 660 feet (200 meters). If you want to dive with it, know that it’s ISO 6425 certified.
The crystal on its dial isn’t very tough, you’re looking at regular mineral. The device is an eco-drive, so it isn’t surprising that it hosts a Japanese quartz movement. Unfortunately, we don’t know what the specific quartz movement in it is.
The BN0198-56H has a calendar on its display. You know how we feel about calendars in the 4 o'clock position – the one on it is thankfully at the 3 o'clock angle. But it only reads the day’s date. This is something you see in the Promaster Diver collection time and time again.
We think the Citizen’s Promaster Divers are exceptional dive watches. They’re on the larger side, but they have great designs. We love that they’re solar-powered – you will widely see Eco-drive movements in Citizen’s pieces. Eco-drive is arguably one of the best solar mechanisms available. It lasts for up to 6 months and makes use of any light source.
For our Citizen promaster review, we took a look at the BN0151-09. We hope you learned quite a bit about the line, especially since we compared it with some notable siblings.
